July 31, 2007

The most important business of all: yours

Filed Under Writing |

Life running your own business has its ups and downs. The ups are great, the downs, not so great… unless you develop a plan! When business slows down, it’s time to market yourself.

The strange thing about marketing is that it might not pay off immediately. You need perseverance and a lot of patience to make it work. I started freelancing three years ago, and word of mouth helped tremendously for about the first year. Then things started to slow down.

After reading tons of freelance resources, I found, through other people’s struggles, the inspiration I was looking for. Instead of panicking and wondering where that next check was coming from, I saw the free time as a gift, a rare opportunity to focus on the one business that was most important: mine!

I focused on updating my sites, sending out some emails to my clients, and making tons of contacts. Eventually business picked back up (though not through my marketing efforts), and months later those efforts started paying off. That was a great feeling, and after having another slow period this month I knew it was time to do more marketing. I also found comfort knowing that this slow period was normal, and that by keeping busy I was generating income indirectly.

I took time to update my blog and business site. I was astounded to discover I had completed nearly 20 new projects since my last site update! I also offer a ton of new services and knew more about SEO, allowing me to more effectively place my site in the search engines. I made some new business cards and offered my services on a few classified sites.

Hopefully this plan can work for you, but don’t expect an immediate cash payoff. Instead rest in knowing you are taking time to nurture your own business and set the stage for success in the future.

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