I’ve been working as a freelancer for more than 10 years now. This means I don’t have a traditional employer who puts money into my checking account. My earnings are directly related to how much work I do, and what types of work I do.
Unsurprisingly, like most people just starting out, I didn’t make a lot of money when I first began running my own small business. However, in the past several years, I’ve been able to triple my income — and the steps I took to do it are those that most freelancers and business owners can follow.
Here’s what I did.
1. I found a specialized niche
When I first started working as a writer, I would write anything people were willing to pay me to write. For years I wrote about air conditioning and pest control and other random topics just to get paid.
However, I was always passionate about finance and law because that’s where my educational background was. So, I kept focusing on trying to find as much work as possible within this area, and I dedicated myself to really learning the ins and outs of some complicated financial issues like Social Security claiming strategies and retirement plans and mortgages. Once I became an expert in this specialized area, I was slowly able to transition to better paying work in the field of my expertise.
The reality is, it’s OK at the beginning to accept almost any job — but if you want to be really successful, in most cases you’re going to have to get really good at something that not everyone can offer. By finding your own specialized niche where there’s a smaller pool of candidates, you can begin to earn higher prices by offering your goods or services.
This will look different for you if you aren’t a writer. If you’re a landscaper, for example, you might want to start specializing in something unique like building water gardens rather than just mowing lawns. Or if you’re an interior designer, you might want to focus on commercial spaces in the hospitality industry. Whatever your chosen profession is, try to find an area where you can specialize — and ideally, a lucrative one where people will pay a lot for your unique expertise.
2. I became more selective with my time
Becoming more selective with my time was another great way to increase my income. While I took low-paying clients when I was getting started, I began phasing them out as soon as I was able to substitute for higher paying work.
Now, I have a minimum threshold that I’m willing to work for and I don’t accept any jobs that don’t meet it. And, if you want to increase your income, you’ll need to do the same thing. As you begin to improve your skills and develop your specialization, you need to start valuing your time more and charging more for the work you provide. You only have so many hours in the day, and dropping lower paying work makes room for you to increase earnings.
Finally, I’m not afraid to pay for the tools I need to do my job well. While I once tried to struggle with whatever free software tools were out there, I now happily pay for apps that make my life a lot easier like the pro version of Zapier to automate some of my workflows, WaveBox browser to keep all of my different links accessible, and Sortd to turn my Gmail account into a Kanban board.
You’ll have your own tools that work for you — but don’t hesitate to pay for what you need to do your job as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Following these three steps can work well in any industry, and in almost any small business. If you want to increase your income dramatically, I highly recommend you give them a try.
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