Starting your own freelance business can be a little intimidating. However as you get used to the different needs and the flow of business, it will get easier, I promise.
Here you are going to find five of the top tips that can help you while you are getting started and there are even a few tips to help you keep building your business after you’ve already been established!
Invest as You Can
One of the biggest things that you are going to need is your own tools. Now, if you have ever taken a walk around any sort of store related to building or tools or any sort of home improvement then you’ve seen the prices of electrician tools.
Part of the issue when you first start out is investing in these tools. You can take on simpler jobs as you start out that aren’t going to need advanced tools, but that isn’t always the way that your career is going to start.
This is where making sure you are financed (see Get Business Aspects in Line) is going to help you out the most. There is going to be a bit of overhead in the beginning because you are going to have to start paying off loans needed for getting those tools.
But here’s the flipside: you have the tools now. Once you have those tools you are able to get more contracts, higher stakes contracts, and more variety overall. This is what will help bring in the income necessary to start whittling away at that overhead.
Build up a Media Presence
Be it on sites such as Upwork or Fiverr, or even Angi, there are multiple ways to get your name out there. It’s a lot of work to start off with but it is absolutely necessary to build your social presence as soon as you possibly can.
Social presence doesn’t mean just working on sites that are meant to help you get hired. This means making sure that you have social media accounts such as Facebook, instagram, X, and any others that you see other electricians using on the regular.
Why even work so hard to build a social media presence? Ads! You can send out ad campaigns that will lead people to your social media which in turn leads them to your information which leads to, you guessed it, more jobs!
While the turnaround rate from ad campaigns can be a little slow at first, as you build your reputation, you will find that ad campaigns and social media presence will help your business exponentially.
Get Business Aspects in Line
Here is where you have to make sure that all aspects of a business are ready to go. This means licensing, getting your business name set up, registering your business with the state, getting business accounts set up, securing funding, and more.
Starting a business isn’t just putting your name out there and starting to work. There are several steps that you have to follow in order to get your business set up.
More than likely because of the overhead caused by tools and initial investments, you are going to have to talk to a bank to get a loan.
You’re going to need a business plan that outlines what you are doing.
Start Building Your Customer Base Early
Don’t discount the beauty of friends and family discounts and spreading knowledge by word of mouth! One of the best ways to start building your customer base is to start with your friends and family.
When you start this way, you may have to do a few discounts here and there, but then when you start building a larger client list of people who have heard of you, those discounts become less and less. It helps to know that this takes time.
Building any client base is going to take plenty of time which is why you also need to grow your social media presence and send out ad campaigns. See how things are all starting to come together?
Compare and Contrast Your Pricing
Let’s be realistic here: each of these points are going to be pretty major in how you are going to start your business.
We’re ending with the one that can make or break your business though. If you have the list of clients, you have the tools, and you have everything you need for the business lined up, then you have to look at pricing.
Take a look at other electricians in your area. See how far they are willing to drive out, what their rates are and how they serve their customers. This is going to be a way that you can compete.
Set your prices right in the middle to start because you don’t want to create enemies but rather friends in the freelance business.
Last Thoughts
In conclusion, there is a lot that you have to get done when it comes to starting your business. There’s the legal side of starting things, the social aspect, customers and prices. Each area is absolutely necessary for your success and each of them takes time to develop. Good luck!