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So You Want to Be a Freelancer (part
3)
Article by Elena Fawkner
Where Does a Freelancer Find Work?
OK, onto the nitty gritty. You've decided to start work as
a freelance website designer. You have the appropriate qualifications, training,
experience and equipment and you've consulted your accountant to determine the most
tax-effective business structure and your lawyer to set up your new company and advise you
in relation to issues such as business licenses and fictitious business names. You're
ready to hang out your shingle. Now what?
=> Approach Your Warm Market
Start with who you know. Where did you get your website
design experience? If it was with an employer, consider whether that employer may not be a
source of business for you. That will obviously depend on the circumstances under which
you parted company but if you left on good terms and didn't burn any bridges on your way
out, by all means contact your former employer and let him or her know that you are now in
business for yourself and ready, willing and able to take on new projects. If possible,
get a reference or testimonial too. That will come in handy when it comes to touting for
new business from strangers.
Next, turn to your network of business associates you
developed while working for your former employer. Note, we're NOT talking about clients of
your former employer, rather your own network of colleagues. Contact them and let them
know about your new venture and your availability for project work.
Be extremely cautious about approaching clients of your
former employer if your current business puts you in even indirect competition with that
employer. You may be constrained from approaching former clients if you signed a
non-compete covenant in your employment contract, for example.
=> Create Brochure/Resume
Go to the time and expense at this stage to prepare some
sort of resume of your experience and services. Get this professionally printed as a
brochure and send it, together with your business card, to your former employer and
colleagues as a follow-up to your conversation. By giving them something tangible about
you, it is more likely that you will come to mind when next they have a need for your
services. If you've already provided them with your brochure/resume, when the time comes,
the person concerned will think "hey, Joe's doing this sort of thing now. Where's
that information he sent? Oh, here it is. I'll give him a call and see if it's something
he might be able to do for us."
=> Approach Your Cold Market
Once you've approached your so-called "warm
market", it's time to start on the cold. Start by gathering up a list of businesses
in your local area or industry that you think would have use of your services. Prepare a
letter of introduction and send it, together with your business card, to your list of
prospects. Your letter of introduction should make if very clear why you are writing.
Identify yourself and the specific skills that may appeal to the reader and why.
Follow up in a week with a telephone call to make sure the
materials arrived safely. If the other person is approachable, try and strike up a
conversation about what you could do for the business. Otherwise, thank the person for
their time, ask them to keep you in mind for future work and calendar to contact them
again in 30 days' time.
Continue to work your market like this. Remember,
persistence pays off. Don't be discouraged if you receive little warmth or interest in
response to your approaches to your cold market. It takes time and persistence. Just don't
take it personally. A good way to approach it is to tackle a fixed number per day. Start
out by making a list of, say, 300 businesses you want to approach. Develop your list from
the Yellow Pages, local library and the web to start with. Calendar to approach 10
businesses a day for the next 30 days. That means ten calls a day, followed by 10 letters
of introduction (together with a copy of your brochure/resume and business card) and a
follow up phone call a week later.
Where there is interest, you may be able to schedule a
meeting. Where there is no interest, schedule for a further follow up call in 30 days. If
there is still no interest, schedule for a further call in 90 days. Or maybe you would
prefer to do something else to stay in contact. A good way is to publish a newsletter for
your clients and colleagues. Make it relevant to the recipient and it's a good way of
keeping your name in front of your prospects. A quarterly newsletter is probably frequent
enough. Send it, with another of your business cards, to your list and, over time, you
will see that it will start paying off in the form of business.
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