How to Ensure Your Freelance Business Survives: A Ten-Point Plan (by Anthony Haynes)

19/5/2013

In this latest guest post, my colleague Anthony Haynes lays down ten handy tips that are worth any freelancer, editorial or otherwise, considering as part of their ongoing business planning.

Anthony's article arrived in my inbox the very same day I'd spent several hours attempting to eradicate a rather unpleasant virus from my computer. Point 7 therefore struck a particular chord with me, and served as a good reminder that regular assessment of one's IT security is a must. That aside, there's plenty more here for the editorial professional to think about.

Anthony Haynes is Creative Director of The Professional and Higher Partnership Ltd.

You’re busy. You just finished editing one typescript and there’s another one waiting for you. You need to keep on top of your invoicing and chase late payments. There’s a networking event to attend and leads from the last one to follow up. Plus a website to update and a tax return to file.

All of which means it’s easy to avoid continuity management.

That phrase, “continuity management”, isn’t one that sets the pulse racing. It enjoys none of the heroic status accorded to starting or growing an enterprise. “The great thing about Steve Jobs was his continuity management” is not something you’re used to hearing. Continuity management sounds pretty damned dull.

But if you’ve invested huge amounts of energy and other resources in developing your freelance business, it makes sense to do what you can to mitigate risks and plan for contingencies to ensure the business survives.

Here, in no particular order, are some steps you can take.

Seek to have written agreements in place for each assignment. They help not only to resolve disputes but also (more often) to prevent them arising in the first place. Have a standard terms-of-service agreement at hand. When using a full-scale contract seems over the top, at least establish a letter of agreement - even with clients you know well. There’s really no reason why, in principle, they shouldn’t be able to sign a piece of paper.
Take out business insurance (typically, professional indemnity and public liability insurance). If you already have, check that the information you’ve disclosed to your insurer is up to date.
Think how your business can survive if you’re ill. Review how you share information with partners and associates: if they’re well briefed, they may be able to help keep things ticking over at least. Consider sickness benefit insurance. And recognize that keeping physically fit provides both a personal and a business benefit: going to the health club is good business decision.
Use a limited liability structure for your business. In the UK, you can form either a limited company or a limited liability partnership. Then, if you’re sued, your personal assets (barring some exceptional circumstances) will be sheltered. You can then use them, if necessary, to revive your business.
Think strategically. If there’s one market that’s particularly lucrative, it’s tempting to throw everything at it; but that increases your risk profile. What happens if that market starts to decline? Some diversification – say, a second specialism – helps to control risk.
Recognize the importance of suppliers. Your business is only as strong as its weakest link. If a supplier (say, the proofreader for a project you’re managing) lets you down, your business suffers. Assess suppliers not only on the basis of cost or skill; consider too their reliability and their own continuity plans. Though it’s tempting to outsource everything to your best supplier (all your indexing requirements to one indexer, for example), using an alternative supplier from time to time reduces your level of risk.
Monitor and review your IT security. Most people are aware of the need for a firewall and virus-checker. The need for backing up data, though widely recognized, isn’t always acted upon. Think carefully about using hardware (laptops, USBs) outside the office, since this is how many businesses lose data.
Keep updating your skills.
Talk regularly to your stakeholders – clients, suppliers, associates, professional bodies, etc. Doing so will increase your awareness of potential risks.
Lift your head up, look beyond your business, and scan the horizon. Ask yourself: from your reading, listening, watching, and monitoring, what changes are afoot – economic, political, legal, social, or technical – that might require adjustment on your part?

Finally, once you have a continuity plan, you can in effect use it as a sales tool: the more your clients can see you have planned to ensure continuity, the more professional and reliable you appear.

Copyright 2013 Anthony Haynes