I’ve worked as a freelance writer / author for well over a decade. However, I’m currently in the process of transitioning the way that I approach my business. After taking a women’s entrepreneurship class last year, I gained clarity in some ways. However, in other ways, things got a bit murkier. So, as I make changes, I’m trying to figure out the best path forward for authentic small business growth.
From Freelance to Sole Proprietorship
In the past, I always worked as a freelance independent contractor. However, I realized in the last year or so that it is really important to separate myself from my business. As a result, I finally established a sole proprietorship last year.
I honestly hadn’t ever thought that this was particularly important. I’d always heard that the main reason for this was so that if someone sues you professionally then you aren’t liable personally for those costs. This never seemed like a huge area of concern, so I put it off.
Benefits of Operating as a Professional Business
However, I’ve since realized that there are a lot of benefits to operating as a “real business.” For me, this business benefits include:
- Access to better grants, loans, and lines of credit as a business
- Additional opportunities for business classes and other tools that are only available to businesses, not individuals
- A great sense of professionalism, not just in terms of what others perceive but in terms of my own self-confidence
Steps I Took Towards Small Business Growth
I did a few things in order to make the transition from freelancer to true entrepreneur. First, I registered my business name with my county. Then I applied for my Employee Identification Number (EIN). Finally, I set up my business checking, savings, and credit accounts. Simply doing these few things really changed the level of professionalism I experience.
However, I did make one mistake. I need to file for a fictitious business license. I had registered my business as Kathryn Vercillo DBA Create Me Free. However, that’s not my business name. I’m supposed to instead register as my name and then file Create Me Free as the fictitious business license. However, I had already set up my business accounts with the full DBA business name. Therefore, when I do register the name change, I’ll have to change my business banking accounts. As a result, I’m leaving it as is for now. However, I’ll circle back to that eventually.
Business Classes Both Confused and Clarified Things For Me
I have taken a number of business classes online over the past year or so. In particular, I had the wonderful opportunity to take a 12-week women’s entrepreneurship class, followed by a short series on how to do a business pitch, and I’m not taking a follow-up class that dives deeper into some of the business topics. These classes have significantly helped me in many ways. However, they’ve also confused me a bit.
Honing My Business Pitch … Incorrectly
Things really went awry for me when I learned how to do a three-minute business pitch. It was a great experience. I learned how to condense what I’m doing down to a very succinct description. I even had the opportunity to work with a videographer to film my pitch. It was a really great experience. However, I also realized that trying to do it “right” actually threw me off what I’m really interested in doing.
Defining My Target Market
Basically, what I do under the Create Me Free business brand is explore the link between art/craft and mental health/ wellness. On the one hand, I examine all of the ways that art offers therapeutic benefits. On the other hand, I look at how mental health challenges hinder artistic productive, especially in terms of financial and creative success for artists. So, my target market is artists with mental health challenges. My secondary target market is therapists, teachers, and others who work with those artists.
Refocusing My Small Business Growth Goals
While business class helped me hone in on that, the pitch process confused me. In order to fit the time limit, I focused on the clear services that I already offer – primarily blogging and social media for artists. However, what I realized as the pitch began to gain interest from potential clients was that this isn’t the part of small business growth I’m actually interested in.
While I love the work that I’ve done in that area, I’m trying to grow in other areas. I offer research-based writing that provides information, inspiration, and empowerment to artists with mental health services. Therefore, I want to grow my products, rather than my services. Namely, I want to grow my Patreon support, promotion of existing and new book titles, and begin to offer workshops. These are the small business growth areas I want to hone in on.
It’s okay that the pitch isn’t gaining me what I initially intended for it. The great thing about trying these new things is that I’m able to quickly see what works and what doesn’t work. I’m able to pivot, refocus my small business growth goals, and try again. Classes are super fertile areas for this kind of growth. Therefore, even though they’ve been time-consuming and sometimes emotionally draining, these classes have really been a great investment for me.
Small Business Growth: Next Steps
Here are the things that I intend to do next in order to further my small business growth:
- Expand upon my two-year financial projections. I started this for a grant application. It turned out to be really helpful for business planning, so I want to dive deeper into this.
- Quarter-by-quarter planning for small business growth. I want to set specific goals for the products I’ll launch and develop each quarter for the next 1-2 years.
- Continue to take business classes. I’m still learning new things from these courses. Therefore, I think I should stick with this approach to small business growth for now.
- Invest time in in-person networking. Now that things are starting to open up again “in real life,” I think it would behoove me to do some in-person networking in the art and mental health industry spaces.
Do you have any tips for small business growth and planning?
Read More:
- Loan Or Save: What Is The Best Way To Fund Your Business?
- 10 Benefits of Hiring Your Child as an Employee to Your Business
- How Much Can You Earn From an Ice Vending Machine?
Come back to what you love! Dollardig.com is the most reliable cash-back site on the web. Just sign up, click, shop, and get full cashback!
Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer who loves to live a balanced life. She appreciates a good work-life balance. She enjoys balance in her relationships and has worked hard to learn how to balance her finances to allow for a balanced life overall. Although she’s only blonde some of the time, she’s always striving for total balance. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you and to discover more together along the way.
Comments