How to Build a Freelance Business, a Symple Guide for WordPress

You’re a born entrepreneur, a risk taker per se. At some point in your life, either recently or in the past you decided, “Heck I’m going into business for myself”, and here you are. Perhaps that isn’t the case. Perhaps you just loathe the 9 to 5 grind you’re stuck in. You need more out of life. You crave the freedom of being your own boss, and the possibility of earning infinitely more.

 

You want to build a freelance business, so you can work wherever and whenever. You want to work from home, and never have to sit for hours in traffic. You desire to work in your pjs, actually cook lunch, and watch an episode of your fav show in between projects. You desire to travel the world without having to wait for a vacation all year long. You crave falling in love with new cultures, and being genuinely happy.

 

You feel it in your gut that you’re up for the challenge, and can’t wait to cash in your first check. Perhaps the excitement is intense. Perhaps you love intense. Intense is good. Well, your ambition is admirable, but where do you start?

 

In today’s posting, we shall cover some of the fundamentals you should consider (and implement) when building a freelance business based on WordPress. Prepare for instruction, and more so inspiration, as these tips will make you quite the champion you desire and deserve. Are you ready? Here we go.

 

Decide on the Business Idea

 

First things first, you have to decide the business you want to launch and build. You can’t start a business just to start one – you know – for the hell of it, or for the thrill, or to show off to friends. Your choicest business idea should be guided by your passions, experience and knowledge. there are a couple of WordPress-related avenues into which you can venture. You just need to find your love.

 

You can develop WordPress themes and/or plugins if you possess web development skills or are passionate enough to learn. You can transform yourself into a respectable WordPress blogger, provide WordPress hosting, and/or offer live WordPress support among others. While all these are lucrative opportunities, you will spend a lot of time working in and on your business, so best is to follow your passions.

 

You also need to be well-versed at whatever it is you will be doing. How will you offer a service if you don’t the first thing about the service? Most importantly, your business idea shouldn’t fall from space. It should be realistic enough to cater to a certain problem; it should be a solution in the market. In simpler terms, your products and services should be something people are willing to pay for. Finally, you can create any freelance business with WordPress, so don’t limit yourself to the options we’ve mentioned.

 

Craft a Sound Business Plan

 

When I started my freelance blogging business, I had no plan whatsoever. Just a shred of an idea, and motivation for ten people. Nonetheless, lack of a business plan delayed my transition into a full-blown blogger. I learned my lesson, which is…

 

A plan helps you to remain focussed, and stay on top of business matters even when you feel like quitting. You can make financial projections, set up reliable content strategies, devise effective marketing and generally win big. And without a plan, you’ll be like a ship without navigation. You will lose direction, wreck and end up wasting a lot of time and money. This I know firsthand, and out of my experience, I now start businesses (as well as my day) with a plan.

 

Your plan doesn’t need to fill pages; it doesn’t need to be the plan of the century; just a written declaration of how you’ll move from zero sales to a healthy freelance business. Your day to day plan can be a few tasks in Evernote, or your calendar app. Need help drawing up a business plan? Check out by the iThemes for some inspiration. Moving on…  

Build it & They Will Come

The most important asset you can have as a WordPress freelancer is an online hub where prospective clients can learn more about your services/products, check out your portfolio, contact you, and eventually make orders. This is where WordPress shines.

 

The platform is easy to setup and use. With the perfect WordPress theme (see Total Responsive WordPress Theme) and a couple of plugins, you can build just the perfect portfolio website without a hassle (like this, or even this).

 
You don’t need to hire a web developer to set up a WordPress site for you, just fire up your theme of choice, add a couple of power plugins, and you’re good to go. Without a doubt, you’ll need great WordPress hosting for your business, so you can concentrate on business without having to worry about malicious hackers, for instance.