For those who run home businesses, (like a freelance writing business!) there are a number of unique challenges you're likely to face. For example, you end up with a huge spike in sales in a short space of time. It might sound funny, but when that happens it can be something of a nightmare. Suddenly, having lots of sales to deal with is a drain on resources.
If you’re just starting out, you might be wondering what you need to do to keep on top of it all. Here's what you need to know.
Freelance writing business
Tell The Taxman
First, let’s think about the legal implications. Whatever you earn, you need to declare. So, when you suddenly start bringing in more you'll want to make sure that you keep the IRS informed as to what is going on in your business financially.
This doesn’t mean you have to do it straight away, but you should at least remember to keep records as well as you can. The more you stay above board, the easier the whole process is, so this is a vital first consideration when your sales start to spike.
office supplies for a writer
Switch To Buying Online
You’ll need to start trying to find ways to make better use of your number one resource: time. A great way to do this is to start buying all those essential little things online rather than at the store. This is true for everything right down to the smallest items of stationery.
In fact, it is often the smallest things where this is truest, partly because going out and buying them constantly takes up so much time. I have an Amazon Business account, which gives me discounts and makes it easy to keep up with what I spend.
Even stamps can be bought online - you just purchase and then print them on a printer. Doing this will save you plenty of time, allowing you to deal with the sudden influx of sales.
Consider Hiring Help
You might well be used to working alone, especially if you have your home office all set up there. But when things start going haywire, it might be time to start hiring some outside help.
This can come in a number of forms. It might be that you want to actually take someone on as an assistant in your business. This will depend on space and what kind of money you have spare, of course, but it might be worthwhile. You might alternatively decide to use the online workforce which already exists, and outsource some work to other remote workers.
However you decide to do it, getting some help is likely to prove useful in the long run. Don’t go it alone if you think that you really can’t manage.
Bonus tip: Here are How to Increase Sales – 25 Tips from the Pros that can help you uplevel, too.
What to get to the point where you have more work than you can handle? Then read my book. It has surefire ways to get clients and to build your business, whether you are a newbie or a seasoned writer:
