How to Start Your Freelance Biz! A Step By Step Checklist
So you’re ready to start your freelance business! Let me be the first to say congratulations! Making your business official is super exciting but it can also be a bit overwhelming and hard to know where to start. Which is why I’ve created this list to give you a clear idea of what you need to do and the most efficient order to do it in. So let’s get to it! You can download the checklist by pushing the button below and use the info in this post to help you with each step!
START WITH THE FREE STUFF
It can seem super overwhelming to get started with your freelance business, so I recommend starting out with some things that you can do for free!
1. SET UP AN EMAIL
set up your email first. You can pay to have a G-suit email or set up a free email. Just make sure it is relevant to your business. Having a separate business email will help you stay organized and is more professional than using a personal email. Only use your business email for actual business stuff. Set up your email FIRST so that you can link to it on your social accounts.
2. SET UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Set up some social accounts! Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn are good places to start, but you can also make a Tik Tok, Pinterest or Behance depending on your industry! Make sure your profile picture represents your brand, a clear bio and get your email address on there somewhere so that people can contact you. I recommend posting 3 photos on each platform just so that there is something there. Again, it’s important to have separate business social media accounts and not just put your business stuff and personal stuff all in one place. Chances are, your clients don’t care about kids or what you ate at brunch this weekend. Not sure how to get started on Instagram? Here are a few tips to help you with your posts!
NOW GET SERIOUS
3. REGISTER AS A BUSINESS AND GET AN EIN
Next, it’s time to get registered as a business in your state and to get a Federal tax ID number or EIN. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. It’s not hard to register your business and it’s not expensive. You can’t open a business bank account without an EIN and as much as you might not like it, you need to make sure you are keeping track of your income and expenses for tax reasons. To be official, you need an EIN. Don't be intimidated, you can do all of this online. If you live in Utah, you can register your business and get your EIN here .
4. SET UP YOUR BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT
Once you have an EIN, set up a separate bank account for your business. It’s important to keep your business finances and personal finances separate for tax reasons and for peace of mind. To learn more about budgeting, see my budgeting for your business guide. Any purchases you make for your business should come from this account.
TIME FOR THE FUN STUFF!
5. ESTABLISH A VISUAL BRAND IDENTITY
As a designer myself, I’m a HUGE believer in creating a logo and brand that are consistent and professional. If you are a designer yourself, make a nice logo, establish some brand colors, fonts and style of photography. If you are not a designer, I BEG YOU to hire a designer to do this for you. Figuring out the basic elements of your brand now, will save you a lot of time, effort and money later on. Here’s what I would recommend for starters:
A logo that works in color as well as in black and white.
Brand colors that reflect the feeling of your brand and appeal to your target audience.
A font for copy, a font for headers and maybe a fancy display font for special occasions.
It’s also a good idea to make sure you have a consistent style of photography and of speaking and of communicating with your audience, but if you at least have those three things, you’ll be good for now.
6. GET A WEBSITE
Now that you have a business account set up, you can purchase a domain! I highly recommend buying a domain for your website rather than using a free domain, but if you’re really strapped for cash, a free domain is fine. For my website, I use squarespace. On your website you need 3 things:
A few really good examples of your work with a cohesive look and feel. These can be personal projects or client projects, just make sure they represent the kind of work you want to do and are presented in a professional way.
A contact page. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. If people can’t contact you, you can’t get work. Duh. You can put a form on your website for potential clients to fill out, or you can just put your email info up there. I don’t recommend giving out your phone number (because having clients randomly call you is the worst,) but you can if you’re into it.
An about me page. People don’t just hire you for your work, they hire you for you! Tell the people a little bit about you and your experience.
Make sure the look of your website is consistent with your brand. Use the same fonts, colors and photography style throughout.
7. BUSINESS CARDS
Make some Business cards! This might sound funny, but I’m a big believer in business cards. Get some put together with your email, website and relevant social media accounts.
8. BUILD SOME CONTRACTS
USE CONTRACTS PEOPLE. Even if it’s something super simple, make sure that your clients know exactly what they’re getting and you know exactly what is expected of you. Use a contract for EVERY SINGLE PROJECT. I recommend getting a contract ready so that when you get your first client you’re ready to go and not scrambling around to put something together.
9. START REACHING OUT TO CLIENTS!
Now that you’re legit, it’s time to start reaching out to clients! You’re ready to go! You’re official and now it’s time to do some leg work! Make a list of clients you’d like to work for and start emailing them or visiting their businesses. Eventually once you are established clients will find you on their own, but now in the beginning don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and go after the clients you want to work for!
A FEW MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
Now, goal here is not to get overwhelmed. The things above are the things you MUST DO before you even start to worry about this stuff. Once you have the basics taken care of, here are a few more things you can do.
TRADEMARK YOUR NAME
If you have a business name, trademark it! That makes it so no one else can use it and it also makes it possible for you to claim social accounts and web domains with that name
SET UP AN EMAIL MARKETING LIST
An email marketing list is a handy tool. You can use it to promote products, to inspire your audience or just to get information out! Many website platforms have an email marketing feature you can purchase, or you can use an outside source like mailchimp.
SET UP A PAYMENT PROCESSING SYSTEM
In the beginning, it’s ok to have your clients write you a check, but eventually, setting up a invoice and payment processing system can be really handy. Platforms like Dubasdo and Honey Book help you to track your clients, send contracts and invoices and receive payments. These platforms are definitely more legit than having your clients mail you a check, but they do cost money. If you’re just starting out and don’t have a lot of clients, this might be something to wait on. Don’t go spending money you don’t have unless you know you can make it back and that the investment is really worth it for where you are.
JOIN A COMMUNITY BUSINESS SUPPORT GROUP
In almost every community there are groups where you can go to get inspired and help from other small business owers! Here is Provo we have Creative Collaborative, Rising Tide, Braid Workshop, 1 Million Cups and more! Getting involved in your community is not only a great way to get your questions answered, but it’s also a great way to meet potential clients in other industries!
