Bootstrap to Freelance Success

Let’s get something out of the way at the start, successful freelancing is based on sales. Since we know that sales is simply solving other people’s problems, we can start freelancing for little or no upfront cost. Sales involves thinking more than product, so it’s reasonable to conclude that freelancing can be done on a budget. We can bootstrap our way to a better position.

Arguably, the best businesses can be started for little or no investment and have the potential for a large return. However, we shouldn’t fool ourselves into believing that we won’t be investing our time because we most certainly will be. Considering this, we can implement a strategy that makes us more effective and requires us to purchase efficiency later.

When we talk about bootstrapping, what we’re really doing is sales experimentation to find tactics that work without losing a bunch of money to ineffective tactics. We also don’t want to spend money on third party services when we don’t have enough work to fully utilize them. In essence, we don’t need certain tools or services to go to the next level.

Ultimately, the goal is to do things that are effective and inefficient. We’re not going out of our way to make them inefficient, but usually this is the case. Before the author gives a practical example of this, consider any real business that might go into your mind; preferably a small business. Maybe it’s a previous employer. Think about their processes. Every business will have processes that are inefficient but they get the job done (even if the job isn’t necessary). People tend to get so used to doing tasks that they forget the process is inefficient. It’s a good idea to look at inefficient tasks when you have so much work, you can’t take on anymore because of that inefficiency.

Bootstrapping in action

When the author got into making SVG art and icons, he used a free open-source software called Inkscape. Other than other free and open-source graphics software, the costly competitor is Adobe Illustrator. After watching some tutorials on Youtube, the author used Inkscape for about three years: 1 year as a hobbyist and 2 years for professional needs.

Beside using Inkscape, the author used many other free software for other tasks such as the free version of Figma for web design, blender for 3d graphics and animations, and OpenShot for video editing to name a few. As the number of clients and workload started increasing, the need for better tools became apparent. In order to take on more work with higher pay, the need for professional tools that cost money became apparent. The fact that the author purchased a full Adobe CC license does not mean that every other web designer/developer needs to do the same at a certain point. It comes down to what your processes are like and how you use money earned from your freelancing career to best support taking you to the next level.

Better software tooling isn’t the only answer. Sometimes you need to invest in a faster internet connection speed to appear more professional on video calls or transmit large files. The type of work you do might require access to better source materials such as in researching. You will also want to reinvest in yourself with books or specialized education. You might get to a point where you start considering hiring other freelancers to subcontract work. This was the case for the author. When you become an expert in a niche market, it’s important you have a network of other freelancers you can rely on to subcontract work or refer clients to.

Don’t wait for the premium tools

Since most of the cost of freelancing will come from tools and third party services, we can take the opportunity to increase the performance of our internal processes. Be effective, not perfect. People new to business and freelancing will be tempted to wait for perfect timing. This is a huge mistake.

The primary goal of being a successful freelancer is reputation management. When you’re starting out, your primary goal is not to make money. If you deliver a great customer experience using free tools, you will earn a positive reputation and the money will shortly follow.

Realistically, you’ll have to enter the market at a price that’s less than your desired rate until there is public proof (5-star ratings and reviews) to trust you on delivering. Approximately 80% of your time will be spent on client acquisition (proposals and interviews) with the remaining 20% actually doing freelance work. That means you would get about 20% of the value out of your tools (wasting 80% of your money spent). Depending on you, your market, and your skills, you could be using your time like this for a few months.

By being diligent, managing your reputation, and allowing time for growth, a day will come when your time usage reverses polarity: 20% of your time spent on client acquisition and 80% on freelance work. That’s why it can be better to use free tools and assess what tasks you repeatedly do, so when that day comes you can make more informed decisions on where to reinvest in yourself and your business.

SUMMARY

Be encouraged that unless your freelancing skill really needs a high-cost or premium tool, you don’t need it to get started. Focus on client acquisition and reputation management at the beginning of your freelancing journey while using free and open-source tools. Clients simply want their problem to be solved and don’t have too much care on how that is accomplished.

Remember, the day will come where your time spent on client acquisition gets very small and you need a way to buy efficiency to take on more work. Keep making assessments on your freelancing processes so that you’ll know what tools to prioritize to complete regular tasks more efficiently. With this strategy, you’ll be continually experimenting, building, and optimizing. Therefore, bootstrapping can be used as a catalyst for enhancing your processes rather than something forced due to a lack of capital or cash flow.

A good method of spotting a potentially bad client is noting how they reply to a structured and well-written proposal. If the reply isn’t even close to the way you imagined how you would reply to a freelancer if you were the client, you can safely assume that the relationship moving forward is not going to be fruitful. Think of it as that they are not your client, but someone else’s. Surely somebody else will match how they think, but they are not right for you. Entering into an incompatible relationship is likely to end in regret and frustration in addition to damaging your reputation. Keep your reputation intact for the clients that deserve working with you and will treat you as the expert and professional that you are; you will meet them!