As a business coach, I work with a lot of established six-figure writers, copywriters and marketing professionals.
One of the main challenges these pros face is scaling their business. They find they’re working nonstop and have essentially “sold” their work capacity to the highest bidder.
Now they’re trapped in a money-for-time cycle. And while the income is great, they have no life or joy.
And that’s when the question of how to scale their operation surfaces.
In today’s podcast episode, I pose three big questions to ask yourself to change the way you think about the “how to scale” problem.
Because making big, successful shifts in your business starts with asking yourself better questions.
The notes that follow are a very basic, unedited summary of the show. There’s a lot more detail in the audio version. You can listen to the show using the audio player below. Or you can subscribe in iTunes to get this show delivered straight to the Podcasts app on your smart phone, tablet or iPod.
Six-figure writers and marketers often wonder how they can keep growing their business—or scale back without negatively impacting their income.
But they shoot down ideas about scaling because they don’t believe it’s possible.
In this episode, I’m not going to go into “how” to do this.
Rather, I wanted to get you thinking about the problem the RIGHT way by posing three big questions you need to ask yourself.
Question #1: What Do You Do Exceptionally Well?
In other words, what kind of client assignment do you do better than others?
I’m sure you’re good at several different service offerings. But which one rises to the top?
This question is important because specialization is the key to scaling effectively. It’s difficult to scale a business that claims to do anything for anyone.
It’s difficult to scale a business that claims to do anything for anyone.
Not only does it become very difficult to find and train the right people…it’s also an uphill battle to market and sell your services when your positioning is diluted and unclear.
Question #2: How Could You Systemize That?
How could you systemize the process of delivering that service?
A project is nothing more than a set of steps designed to achieve a goal. Every project has a beginning, an end, and several steps in the middle.
The next question is… how could you document what you do to deliver that service to a client? If pressed, could you sit down and write down all the steps you go through?
Remember…. a project is a set of tasks. Who said you had to do them all yourself?
Question #3: What If You Were Suddenly Forced to Scale Back?
What if you had NO choice—if your life was threatened—could you document every step of that process if I gave you two or three hours to do so?
Having freedom and a wide range of choices is a good thing. But it can also hamper your growth because you get to comfortable.
Freedom of choice is a good thing, but it can also hamper your growth because you get too comfortable.
When you have the choice to keep doing things the way you’ve always done them, you won’t know what’s possible.
To try new approaches and models, you need a strong catalyst. Because change won’t happen on its own.
In the course of running my own business, I’ve been forced by life circumstances at different times to let go of the idea that I was the only one who could do something.
And guess what? Letting go and trusting that I could train others to take over some important tasks was critical to getting my business to where it is today.
Don’t give up on this idea too easily. And if you’re having trouble with it, ask yourself: “If I had NO choice, how would I get help? Where would I start applying that help?”
If you’ve entertained the idea of scaling your creative business, but you’re not sure whether it’s even possible, I hope these questions get you thinking differently about both the challenge AND the opportunity.
By the way, these aren’t questions you can just answer in your head right now.
Use them as journaling prompts and spend some time thinking and writing about them.
By the way… whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you grow your freelance business:
1. Grab a free copy of my book.
It’s called Earn More in Less Time: The Proven Mindset, Strategies and Actions to Prosper as a Freelance Writer. The title says it all. 😉 — Click Here
2. Join my implementation program and be a case study.
I’m putting together a new implementation group this month. If you’re earning $5k+/month (or the part-time equivalent) from your freelance business … and you’d like to grow your income quickly with better clients … just email me at ed@b2blauncher.com and put “Case Study” in the subject line.
3. Work with me privately.
If you’re a 6-figure writer who’s trying to earn more in less time, with less stress, I might be able to help you get there faster than you think. Just email me at ed@b2blauncher.com and put “Breakthrough” in the subject line, and I’ll get back to you with more details.
