Sometimes, your business is like a garden.
You’ve tilled the soil; you’ve amended it so it’s got lots of nutrients to feed the plants. You’ve planted all the seeds and seedlings. You tend your garden regularly so it doesn’t get over-run with weeds.
That doesn’t mean your garden will produce right away. Sure, some plants will deliver sooner than others. But gardening is about patience. It’s about nurturing, watering and feeding your garden so it grows healthy vegetables and beautiful flowers.
My freelance copywriter business feels a lot like my garden right now.
I see lots of potential meals in my garden, but they’re not quite ripe yet. And some of them may get eaten by other critters. I bring in a small harvest fairly regularly, so I’m enjoying my garden. But it’s not producing the way I want it to.
In my freelance copywriter business, I have lots of potential projects on the horizon, but I don’t have signed contracts yet. I have lots of ideas on how to make my business grow, but implementing them will take time. Probably more time than I really want them to take.
So right now, I’m nurturing my business. I’m making it healthier and more robust.
- I’m taking classes and going through courses so I’ve got the skills to deal with whatever my clients need from me. (And I’m an information junkie, so I’m having fun.)
- I’m working on my own marketing so more clients can find me. (FYI, I just put up a Facebook page for my business last week. I wrote a blog post about it too.)
- I’m following up with current clients and directly seeking out new business.
- I’m setting up a better schedule for my own work so I make sure it actually gets done.
- I’m finding new ways to offer my services to potential clients.
- I’m working on making some parts of my marketing system “evergreen” so they keep bringing in business without my having to spend a lot of time on them.
In short, I’m planting seeds, weeding and fertilizing my business. I want it to grow and thrive, so I have to put in the work, and I have to be patient.
Being patient is the hardest part.
I want to taste the fruits of my labor now! That’s half the fun of running your own business (and of gardening.) But I know that as the season progresses, my garden will continue to grow and I’ll be able to harvest all of my hard work. Fortunately for me, my freelance copywriter business can grow year-round, unlike my garden.
So, here are the things I’ll be doing to grow my business over the next several months.
- I am committing to posting a new blog post every Tuesday. I know I’ve been a bit lax about it over the last few months, posting on random days and not posting at all on some weeks. From now on, please look for new blog posts on Tuesdays. Sign up here to be notified of when they’re released.
- I will revamp my website a bit so it looks more like a website and less like a blog. The blog area will probably remain the same.
- I am offering retainer agreements to 6 clients who need ongoing work done. If you are currently my client, or are interested in becoming a client, and are interested in obtaining one of these slots, please contact me for further details.
- I’ll be promoting my landing pages, blog posts and website via social media. Some paid, some free. I expect I’ll document some of those experiences here, so please stay tuned.
- I intend to find speaking opportunities in my local area to promote my business and share my knowledge.
Stay tuned for more updates and more blog posts about how the ideas above end up working for me. As always, thanks for following me on this journey as I build my freelance copywriter business.
If you have questions about building your own business or ideas you want me to write about, please post them in the comments.