Everyone wants to know how to be a successful businessman, freelancer or something else that follows the same principals. Of course there is no magic formula for this but there are some basic rules to follow that will make it a little easier for you.
1. Be better than competition
Does this mean that I have to be better than anybody else in my business? Well of course not. There can be only one who is the best and we all know that there are a lot of people who make money even in small niche businesses. So what does this mean then? It just means that you have to be better than the guy next door. Here are a few examples what you could do better.
- Specialize in a certain area where your competition is weak
- Offer faster completion times than competition
- Provide in-depth expertise on a certain topic
- Develop a reputation that you are the one that gets the job done no matter what
- And most important, be a leader in your field. For this to happen you have to gain experience and specific knowledge but this will be the main thing that will separate you from the rest
2. Solve problems
You are hired for some purpose and the best thing you can do is to solve your customer’s problems and not make them worse. You won’t believe it but there are actually many people who cause more problems than they are solving and you don’t want to be one of them. Whatever you are doing, try to do it at your best. Don’t be sloppy! Take care of your customers. Sometimes you have to think for them and point out issues that they might have overlooked. You are the expert and you should act like one!
3. Be profitable
This is probably the most important thing from this list. It doesn’t matter how good you are, how many customers you have or how satisfied they are if you are not profitable you will not be able to pay the bills and will be forced to shut down your business. So don’t be modest and charge your customers what is right. If you are worth it they will gladly pay it and if you are not than you are doing something wrong. Time is money even if it means only a couple of hours. I had a period once when a few of my friend asked me if I could help them at something. At first there was just a call here and a call there but the thing started to get annoying and I was wasting hours of my time every day just to help them out. I was tired and my other projects were suffering as a consequence of that and then I realized I have to make a stop to all of this. It is Ok to give advice but don’t waste your time when you have something else to do.
I know that just reading this won’t make you a successful business man / freelancer but this are the basics and I think that everyone has to know and follow this basic rules in order to succeed.