Stages of a Freelancing Business

Stage 4:  Teenage-dom

Prepare Your Freelancing Business for College

The teenage years can be rough on everyone.  The teenage wants to go out into the world and discover their own interests, while the parents are attempting to balance those desires with the reality that they’re not quite of age just yet.  For many households, it becomes a tug-of-war of wills.  The best way I know of to ‘win’ is through strong, open and ongoing communication by everyone.

A freelance business at this stage is no different.  We may find that clients are coming to us finally, but we need to listen and pay attention.  It’s important to discover what their needs really; to discern which ones are best suited for our business and which may lead us in the wrong direction.  Regardless of who the clients are, there is a steady momentum that’s beginning to allow you some freedom to step back and take a look at where the business is going and what it wants to be ‘when it grows up.’

3 Tips to Help Your Teenage Freelancing Business Prepare for the Future

You know your family has a strong value system and you’ve spent years teaching those values to your children, but now it’s time to see how they’re going to incorporate them into their own lives.  Being a teenager is a stage of discovering and finding oneself in the world – not just the ideal vision, but what’s really practical too:

1. Take a step back and look at all the services a/o products you offer.  Are there things that no longer fit?  What are the majority of your ‘best’ clients asking for?  What do you want to spend the most time and energy on?  Then, develop a plan around creating your business based on these choices.  You love working on websites and have a history and ability of offering a design, hosting, and writing, but find that you really want to focus on the writing aspect.  How might you be able to serve your clients and do what you love the most? 
2. Are there ways you might be able to package your services that yield more value to your clients, and less time and effort for you?  For example, a PR Speaker I know wanted to offer his ideas at a lower cost in order to better serve smaller businesses, so he developed a workbook and CD package that he sells for less than $100 as opposed to the $3000 per month fee for his corporate PR services.  A freelance writer may have a history of writing quality articles, and decide to write a ‘how to’ ebook of what she’s learned along the way.
3. What is the one thing you’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t?  And how can you begin to move in that direction?  This may or may not be specific to your business, but our lives are interconnected.  For example, every time my husband spends a day golfing, something he’s been wanting – a phone call, higher sales, a new client, etc. - shows up in his business that day.  And even if it’s not something he can point to, he’s in a better frame of mind, making more things possible everywhere he goes.

I don’t have teenage children – yet – but the women I know who do often tell me that it’s both easier and more challenging.  Their teenagers can finally take care of themselves physically, but understanding their other needs still takes time and effort. 

Your teenage business will too.  Thankfully it won’t have the hormonal changes, but you’ll still need to be asking often, ‘What do you need?’ so that you can make sure it continues developing productively.