How to Write a Business Plan: A Painless Guide for Freelancers

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Congratulations on getting ahead of the game and researching how to write a freelance business plan!

Most people think that they don’t really need to do this. They’re not looking for a loan from the bank, so what would they need a business plan for?

Well, one of my favorite mottos, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, is “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Having a business plan will give you a clear direction for what you want to achieve for your business and allow you to set goals to make sure you achieve it. If you decide to bumble along without a plan, you are likely to lose focus and either not achieve your goals or take a lot longer to achieve them.

Writing a freelance business plan doesn’t have to be difficult. If you’re not looking for a loan or investors, then it can be quite short. No one else need ever see your plan. It’s really just for you, to remind you why you set up your freelance business, what you want to achieve with it, and how you plan to do this successfully.

I’ve already spoken to you about the steps you need to take to quit your job and start a freelance business. Today I’m going to delve into one of those steps: writing a freelance business plan.

So, without further ado, here’s a breakdown of the different sections that your business plan might include. Feel free to tailor it to meet your own needs.

Elements of a Freelance Business Plan

Most successful business plans contain some essential elements that you’ll want to consider. You may wish to include an overview section, a breakdown of your goals and how you plan to achieve them, a description of your ideal client, your marketing plan, and your financial plan.

The Overview

The overview is kind of the introduction to your plan. It should lay out who you are and what you do. You can break it into two sections: your mission statement and your “why.”

Your Mission Statement

Your mission statement will set the tone for your business plan. It should be a concise statement of the aims and values of your business. Sounds boring, right? Yes, it is boring, but it will help you to be very clear about what your business does, how it does it, and why it does it. It should answer the who, what, and why (and where if you’re a local business) questions.

You could think of it as an elevator pitch or slogan. It should be a short pitch that describes what you do and how you help people solve their problems. Get straight to the point in order to hold people’s attention.

My mission statement goes something like this:

I’m a freelance proofreader and copyeditor. I help self-publishing authors and bloggers make sure that their content is clear, consistent, and as free from distracting errors as humanly possible. I also write articles on my website helping other aspiring proofreaders and editors start their own successful businesses.

Your “Why”

Here’s that “why” word again! Most blog posts you read on writing a business plan or setting business goals will include a section on figuring out what your why is. I really don’t like the term, but I get it. You need to know why you have set up a business. It needs to go deeper than just to make money. A more emotional reason is better. Maybe you want to create a more flexible schedule so that you can spend more time with your family. Maybe you want to be your own boss. Or maybe you have a passion for something that you really want to pursue like I do with proofreading.

Your Goals

You gotta have goals! Otherwise, it can be difficult to figure out what to focus on to grow your business. Having goals will help you to stay motivated to keep working on something even when you don’t feel like it. It will help you to stay focused on what you want to achieve and stop you from getting distracted by shiny, new things. You will also stay accountable because you took the time to think about and write down your goals.

Start with the Big Picture

I recommend starting with identifying where you want to be in a year’s time. Even better if you can identify where you want to be in five years’ time. Starting at the end and identifying what you want the results to be will give you an idea of what action you need to take to achieve those big picture goals.

Break It Down into a Quarterly Action Plan

Once you have an overall idea of what you want to achieve for the year, then determine what action steps you need to take and assign them to each quarter of the year. Breaking your goals down like this will make them feel more attainable. You will feel like you are making progress toward your goal every quarter, which will keep you motivated. Check out my post on how to set SMART goals for your business.

Download my free Business Goal Setting Workbook for an easy way to set and track your business goals!

Your Ideal Customers

Of course, every business needs customers. As a result, they should be the focus of your business plan. You need to get a clear picture of who your ideal customers are, what their pain points are, and how you can help to solve those pain points.

You need to know who to aim your marketing efforts toward. Trying to market to everyone and anyone won’t work. It would be like shooting in the dark.

Try to build a picture of them in your mind: who are they, where do they live, what age are they, what are they interested in, and most importantly, what are their issues? You can even give them a name if you want to make them more alive in your mind.

My ideal client’s name is Vanessa. She’s a blogger who has written an e-book or online course that she wants to sell to help her clients with a particular issue. There’s so much that goes into creating a digital product that she doesn’t have time to proofread her content, but she also wants to make sure that it’s not full of embarrassing errors. (Vanessa, if you’re reading this, I’m here to help!)

Once you’ve identified who your customers are, then you need to figure out where to find them.

• Check out your competitors’ social media accounts to see what their engagement is like on each platform. If your competitors are getting good engagement on Facebook, then you need to be on Facebook.
• Consider your demographics. Are you trying to target twenty-year-olds? Then maybe try TikTok instead of Facebook. Are you targeting professionals? Then maybe try networking on LinkedIn. Are your ideal customers mostly female? Then maybe try Pinterest.

Figuring out where your audience hangs out will help you to accurately target your ideal customer and stop you from wasting money on Facebook ads if your audience is on Twitter. Engaging with them will also help you to figure out what their pain points are.

Your Services

In this section, write a detailed description of your services, your pricing structure, and what tools you will need to fulfill your role.

Keep your ideal customer at the front of your mind when writing this section. Your focus should always be on the benefits your services will bring to your clients. You can also include why your service is unique or better than your competitors.

This is also a good place to keep note of any ideas for future products you could create or services you could offer based on the knowledge, skills, and experience you’ve built up. The product might be aimed at other people who want to learn how to do what you do, or it could be a product that helps your clients with an issue they face.

Related content: Interested in becoming a proofreader but not sure where to start? Read my ultimate guide to setting up a freelance proofreading business.

Your Marketing Plan

In this section, you’ll map out how you’ll get in front of your ideal customers and convince them to work with you.

Again, you need to keep your ideal customer at the front of your mind when implementing your marketing strategy. How you can solve their problem should be crystal clear.

Where are you going to market your services? You have a few options for how to market your proofreading and editing business.

Your Website

Having a website is essential for a freelance service provider. Your clients need a way to find you. You may find some work through local connections and word of mouth, but to create a sustainable business you’ll need to look further afield.

Don’t have a website yet? Check out these helpful posts:

How to choose the perfect domain name

How to set up a website for your online business

Content Marketing Strategy

Blogging: You can use blogging to increase traffic to your website. It’s good for search engine optimization to keep adding fresh content to your website. You may also become seen as an expert in your field, which will help you attract new clients.

Email Marketing: This gives you direct access to your clients/followers. Sending an email newsletter every week will keep you at the top of their minds. Building a list of email subscribers is also very important as it means you will be less reliant on social media platforms when trying to reach your audience. This article explains other reasons why email marketing is so important for freelancers.

Social Media Strategy

Having a presence on social media will help to attract potential clients and drive them to your website.

You’ll need to create a strategy to get the maximum benefit out of using social media.

Try not to spread yourself too thin. Focus on one or two platforms where your customers are and start building good quality engagement with them.

PRO TIP: It would be wise to register accounts with your business name on the other social media platforms even if you’re not going to use them yet. You don’t want to come back in six months’ time and find that someone else is using the name. If you’re not ready to actively use the platform you can use apps to schedule your posts or else put a note in your bio to let people know what platform they can find you on.

Posting on social media can be really time-consuming. Check out this post for a list of online business tools that will help you streamline your process and save time.

Advertising

Here are some ways you can advertise:

• Directories – Set up a profile on free or paid freelancer directories
• Paid Ads – Run ads on social media platforms
• Banner Ads – Place banner ads on targeted websites
• Newspapers/Magazines – Place an ad in your local newspaper or magazine if you want to attract local clients

Networking

Networking should be part of your overall marketing strategy. As well as networking with potential clients, it can also be beneficial to network with other freelancers who offer the same or similar services as you. They may be able to refer work to you if they’re too busy or it’s not their particular area of expertise.

You can do this by joining a professional association for your industry or joining Meetup networking groups. You can also network online in Facebook groups or by participating in Twitter chats.

Your Finance Plan

It can be difficult to figure out how to budget when you’re a new freelancer.

You need to figure out how much you need to start your business. You’ll have start-up costs like getting a domain name, website hosting, new equipment, software, and even stationery.

You’ll need to decide how much money you can afford to allocate toward marketing.

I think you should also have an education budget. You’ll need to make sure that your skills are constantly up to date and relevant.

Write down your financial goals for your business. How much do you want/need to earn?

This isn’t the kind of business plan that you would show to your bank to try to get a loan. In that case, you would need a way more detailed plan showing projected profit and all that jazz. It will just make you aware of the kind of expenses you will have and how much you need to earn.

Yes, writing a business plan can be intimidating. Rather than getting stressed out about it, think of it as the first step in your exciting adventure. Plus, with a comprehensive business plan in place, you’re one step closer to success!

Need more help with writing your business plan and starting your editing business? Check out my Business Planning Powerhouse course, a comprehensive course that will help you

• Get clear on what services you want to offer and who your ideal clients are
• Find the right training course for you so you can hone your skills before you take on paying clients
• Get your head around the different ways you can market your business to find clients
• Set rates that will adequately cover your business and living expenses without scaring potential clients away
• Identify what you need to include in your client contract to protect your business
• Streamline your client processes so you offer a seamless experience for your clients
• Safeguard your business in case of emergencies

It breaks down each section of your business plan and includes a Business Plan Workbook and several spreadsheets and templates so you can build your business blueprint that will take you from vague idea to successful editing business.

Have you written a freelance business plan yet? If not, what’s stopping you?