It’s important to look at your freelance writing career as a business. Even if you’re only going to manage a few projects a year for extra income, freelancing is a business.

If you have a business, without a business plan you’ll lack direction, goals and it’ll be difficult to achieve the success you desire.

Your business plan helps you outline your goals and how you’re going to achieve them. It’s essential!

And if you’re worried that writing a formal business plan is going to take months don’t be. Your business plan doesn’t need to be formal. You can also write it in a single afternoon.

Make sure you create your business plan in a format that is easy to access. For example, typed on your computer and saved as a document. You may also hand write it and keep it in a binder. Your business plan will serve as your roadmap to achieve your freelance writing business goals. You’ll access it often so make sure it’s easy to use.

Over the next two posts we’ll explore the step by step outline of the questions to answer as you’re creating your business plan.

Step One:  Your Freelance Writing Business Description.
•    What is your niche or specialty?
•    What are your services?
•    Who is your audience?
•    What makes you unique or different from your competition?

Step Two:  Your Freelance Writing Goals
•    What are your financial goals and how will you achieve them?
•    How much money do you need to start your freelance career? How much money do you have?
•    What’s your budget? What monthly expenses do you have?
•    What other goals do you have for your business?
•    How do you plan on achieving them?

Step Three: Your Resources:
•    What equipment do you need?
•    What equipment do you have?
•    What connections in the industry do you have and how will you use them?
•    What strengths do you have? What weaknesses? How can you compensate or overcome your weaknesses to create an efficient and profitable freelance business?

Next time we’ll take a look at three more elements of your freelance writing business plan.

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