How To Revive Your Business
It took me a long while to write about this because quite frankly it isn’t nice to admit that your business has been lagging for a couple of months when dozens of people send you emails asking for help. Who am I to give advice when I made the cardinal mistake of letting my business grow thin?
But I’m afraid it did happen and since I’m always honest I figured, this is must-know information for all business owners working from home. Regardless whether you are a writer or pursue some other online pleasures, your business is your lifeline and to preserve it means you need to keep adding new clients to the mix.
The dangers of complacency
To say I got complacent is the understatement of the year. However, in my own defense I have to admit that I’m always working my business. What makes it more complicated to manhandle is the fact that writing isn’t my single method of revenue generation. Throw into the mix website creation, Squidoo lens creation, blog maintenance, niche marketing, link building to name a few and you get a good idea of what I do on a day-to-day basis.
Back in March I got very complacent about my writing clients and didn’t do anything to replace outgoing clients with new incoming ones. Therefore this resulted in a pretty dismal month of income in April and May, cutting my income effectively into half. I did at the time have other things in mind, but this really isn’t an excuse for my lack of action.
By being complacent about your business you risk future revenue simply by not promoting yourself as usual. I stopped visiting other blogs, I stopped branding, I basically did nothing to attract new clients to my site.
Reviving what seems lost
As you can imagine, that situation didn’t really warm my heart and for a while I felt like a loser. But as dismal as I felt, I’m never the person to stick my head into the sand for too long. Once I realized that nobody else but me can revive my business I stopped feeling sorry for myself and went in search of new income streams. It took ONE silly little article for $10 (which is below my usual rate) to bring me back on track.
I went to a forum and did what I haven’t done in 18 months; I bid for article writing jobs. I did this for two reasons, first, I wanted to prove that it is possible for anyone to get work fast (and I did get work within 1 day) and second, I did it to create fast income streams without having to do major promotion work.
While $10 are barely enough to pay my bills, it was a start, and interestingly enough once I made the mental shift to revive my business, new clients found me all by themselves – without ANY additional promotion.
Energies REALLY do move in mysterious ways!
Anybody can do the same
Even if you are just starting out, you can do the same. Go bid for your first project and see the money rolling in. Since my initial $10 (I needed about 50% of my income replaced at that stage) I have earned well over $3,000 within the last 10 days alone. As you can see, it is possible to turn your business around by making the MENTAL SHIFT first, followed by ACTION!
How I earned this income:
- Content writing
- SEO writing
- Website building
- Proofreading (this income isn’t even included in that figure add + $2,000 - it’s a big project)
- Squidoo lens creation
- Article writing
Interestingly enough, June is set to become my biggest month ever! I’m also still to launch my first ever eBook product with my JV partner (this project is still on, albeit it has been put on the back burner for a while).
All you really need is a MINDSHIFT
It’s true, our mind is an amazing tool and should never be under-estimated. Like most people I also have my down-days where I can’t be bothered to even get up. Usually this happens when I lose a long-term client. But it is natural since they move on to other pastures or the project has come to an end.
Even though I know this to be the reality, it is hard not to take things personal when you receive an email stating “your services are no longer needed”. Naturally it is all in good faith and I just have to get over myself in those moments and keep on moving in a forward direction.
I wrote this post to give you HOPE because I know how lonely it can get in my head-space when I allow myself to become negative.
Let me know your thoughts if you like.
Monika
About the Author: I'm a passionate freelance writer and problogger. To further build my business I'm also in the process of building my own niche empire which pays me residual income.
Passive Income | Jun 2, 2009 | Reply
Thank you for writing this MOnika – its really hard to blog when its not going perfect isn’t it! I have lost several of my writing gigs – but I haven’t sort to replace them – I realised I am not that much of a writer and, probably more importantly, I don’t want to write for hour after hour -the procsstination I indulge in when faced with writing jobs drives me insane!
Instead I have decided that definitely plan a) is the passive income and plan b) if partners contract ends next month- is SEO for small business, better money, I’m better at it – and there is far less competition
Writer Dad | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
And that is WHY you are AWESOME, Monika! I’ve always loved your honesty, since well before I was a pro myself.
John Soares | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
It’s amazing what we can do with our writing careers once we give ourselves a kick in the ass. There’s been a couple of times when business really dropped off in my specialty, but after just a day of contacting my clients and also asking for referrals, I was rolling with major projects.
Zania | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
Hi Monika,
nice to see you are thinking positive and finding a way to revive your business
Personally, I think that many people who make a living from the web are suffering right now, not only freelance writers.
Your post arrived in my email box along with two others who were saying their traffic was down and their sales.
And for me, I must admit it is getting harder to keep up the constant momentum needed to increase sales. In fact, it was wearing me out big time, lol!
So I decided that May would be a ‘rethink’ month.
I took a step back from the way I was working. Took a few days off and then planned my strategies.
With my particular business it is too early to say whether the new strategies are working, but at least I have worked out a plan to cut down on being on the web 12 hours plus a day. And those days off didn’t make any difference to my sales thank goodness.
As to your ‘complacency’, if I remember rightly, you were quite ill not so long ago. To my way of thinking, your drop off in taking on new work wasn’t only about having other things to do. You really needed to take a break from it. So don’t blame yourself.
And as it has given you the boost to get out there and make new contacts and get new writing work, it’s all to the good.
Hmmm… I went to edit this post and found it mixed up with someone elses.
Hope it sorts itself out
Tim Fitzpatrick | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
Monika,
I was waiting for a new post from you as I really enjoy your blog.
As one who is starting out in the freelance writing business, I truly appreciate all of your posts as they have been very helpful.
I am starting to get into a groove a bit with my writing but still struggle to be able log some serious hours. I find that after a couple of hours in the morning, I need to get out for at least an hour and take a walk. After lunch, I can put in a couple of more hours but then my brain gets really frazzled and I can’t stand to look at the computer anymore.
Did you find this to be the case when you first started out?
Thanks again for all your advice for us newbies.
Regards,
Tim
Monika | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
@ Lis: It’s great you are able to admit this to yourself though (about not really wanting to write). You basically did what I hinted at toward the end of my post. I admire you for thinking how you do and being strong enough to shift your ideas and business tactics.
I totally agree re. SEO. I do SEO writing and optimizing for businesses myself and it pays very well! Like you said, the market is big enough. Like you I also work on the passive income side of my business and will continue to do so until I can get my husband out of his job. That will be the day when we pack up and go caravaning for good.
Can’t wait.
Monika | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
@ WD: Oh Sean, you are flattering me. You should see me blush right now. In all seriousness, thank you for your nice words. I certainly appreciate them, especially coming from you. I do hold you in very high esteem.
Monika | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
@ John Soares: It is, isn’t it?! I’ve always believed in the power of our mind. Despite this I indulge in the occasional self-centered-sorry-ass-tear-jerking-ballad, I guess many of us do this. It is refreshing to come up for air after a darker period and seeing how beautiful the world really is.
Monika | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
@ Zania: Yes it did. I actually had to approve you which is strange given the fact that you left many comments previously. Technology REALLY does my head in occasionally.
How good of you to step back and objectively observe your business – what’s working and what doesn’t. Interestingly enough I’ve done exactly the same last month. Along with making decisions about my REAL motivations I also did some “cleaning and weeding”.
I’m also in the process of doing a major home clean-up, getting rid of junk which has occupied my head space for some time and takes away parts of my creativity by annoying me. It feels great spring cleaning my life and my business. Judging by the results I see it works.
Like you I had to re-think my approach to running an online business. I was working too many long hours and I’m happy to say that these days I work no more than 8 hours/day – often it is much less. I have learned to prioritize and also reject certain job offers simply for the fact that they are not worth my time. On the dangers of sounding snobby, I believe this is necessary if we want to keep our equilibrium intact.
The major reason what brought on that mind-shift was my ill health. I simply couldn’t afford to run myself into hospital or worse. Now I feel I’m on the right track which is liberating to say the least.
Thank you for the supportive words and thoughts. I’m sure you will see some improvements now that you have analyzed your own business. I wish you only the best.
Monika | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
@ Tim: Actually, this still happens to me now. LOL.
What you are doing is correct. You NEED to take regular breaks, otherwise you run the chance of getting burned out – I should know! The hardest part of my business is to find the peace to work “in the zone”. It is the biggest challenge and no doubt it is probably the same for many other freelancers. Getting rid of ALL distractions is near impossible so I had to learn to work with some of them – or work around them.
I also find that by working in short bursts of two hour blocks I get more work done that if I was to work 14 hours straight (which I did for a long while). I AM addicted to the computer and the online world and have to restrain myself from going into extremes – what can I say, I am a woman of extremes anyway, LOL.
Keep doing what you already do, perhaps you want to set away a few blocks of “high concentration” working time – time when you are most likely not disturbed by the rest of the family. Even if you take 40 minutes at a time you be surprised what can be achieved when there is absolutely no distraction. This means, switching off email notifications, Skype, the Internet and even unplugging the phone if need be.
I hope this helps and if you ever need help feel free to send me an email Tim. I want to help.
Brett Legree | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
You’re back!
I was so happy to see this post from you, and as per my tweet, I was kind of worried about you (just as you were worried about me, I guess).
I’m laughing at this part here… “I AM addicted to the computer and the online world and have to restrain myself from going into extremes” you must have read my mind or something
Anyway – glad to see you’re kicking ass and taking names. Passing you a fourex and a flat white at the same time (because you never know what you might fancy right now!)
-Brett
Monika | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
@ Brett: LOL, I take both thank you very much – feel kind of thirsty at 10.50 in the morning.
Aren’t we funny? We both worry about each other yet we use social media to connect. Hehehehe…. makes me roar with laughter *excuse me while I do a belly-roll.
But then I’ve always said, great minds think alike – even if it is about each other.
Glad to see you are doing well and keeping busy. Here is a transatlantic ray of sunshine for you… catch!
Venkat | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
Monika,
Glad you are back. Energies really do move in mysterious ways! Indeed, but before moving they look into your mind to see what you want and how strongly and urgently you want.
Monika | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
@ Venkat: Yep this is so true. I’m glad to see this confirmed yet again because it reminds me how important it is to keep a positive mindset at all times – or at least as often as we can. Thanks for stopping by and sharing.
I hope you are well.
Melissa Donovan | Jun 4, 2009 | Reply
We freelancers have to hustle all the time to keep the work coming in. It’s not easy! I remember doing $10 articles when I first started and no, they did not come close to covering the bills.
Monika | Jun 4, 2009 | Reply
@ Melissa: LOL, I started out with $5 articles when I first got started. Imagine the writing I had to do to earn a somewhat half-decent income. Stepping back to $10 after you earn several times that amount for each article isn’t easy – but it was necessary to do that mental shift and thankfully it worked.
Whatever is needed – right?
Brett Legree | Jun 4, 2009 | Reply
@Monika,
I hope that the hot and cold beverage duo did the trick
great minds do think alike, thanks for the transatlantic ray of sunshine, as well as the transatlantic kick in the behind on Skype… keep your eyes peeled, there’ll be something on that site soon.
Tim Fitzpatrick | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
I have actually just run into a situation that is right on subject for this post.
I did an article for free that fit into what I want to write about (food science, chemistry) in exchange for a testimonial.
The organization liked my article and then asked if I write blogs. I told them yes and asked them for a budget this time. The response was that they didn’t have one but would in the near future.
Is it possible to take a very unofficial survey as to whether I should accept this offer? I have read in different forums that I shouldn’t give away the farm. This is essentially giving it away but my gut feeling tells me to move forward with it in hopes of happier times in the “near future”.
Thanks for you all your responses in advance.
Monika | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
@ Brett: Don’t worry I will hold you accountable for it. I’ve got you in my close vision now. Been already back to check it out but I am giving you a lifeline for now.
Monika | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
@ Tim: Thanks for your contribution. When you say budget, do you mean pay in return for your work? My guess is that you do mean that but am not entirely sure right now. In case you do, this is a VERY tricky situation. Personally I have always refused to work for people long term if they don’t pay me for their time. I have on rare occasions written free samples for a potential client, but usually I refer them to this blog or other work I have done online – there is plenty to choose from.
The problem – as I see it – with free gigs is that they might promise you a share of their revenue or future pay but you never know whether it WILL happen. I suppose I’m too cautious and perhaps not trusting enough because I feel they are simply looking for a cheapskate way out to hire talent. In my eyes, if you run a business you have to be prepared to pay people for their time – it’s a simple as that.
If on the other hand you are comfortable with the idea and have nothing else to do, then maybe you can give this a try. You mention your gut feeling – usually I listen to mine. I suggest you do what feels RIGHT for you – you know best what this is going to be.
Does this help?
Brett Legree | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
*phew* I’m thanking you for the lifeline tonight… I’m “Mr. Mom” until tomorrow night, so I’ve not had a very sharp mind the last two nights.
The fact that Friar dropped in for a beer and a movie tonight did not help one iota. But I’ll be at it *hard* on the weekend, so keep checking!
In all seriousness though – I was sitting in a meeting today, listening to the overpaid suits saying a lot about nothing at all, and I zoned out.
And all I could think was, “I am wasting my time and my talent here.”
It says something. I know what I have to do. It may not happen overnight, but it won’t happen if I don’t start.
So keep watching and start kicking if you see nothing
Tim Fitzpatrick | Jun 6, 2009 | Reply
Monika,
Thanks for the reply as it does indeed help. The reason why I considered doing this was to get the testimonial and since I am just starting out, mmmm? They do have a magazine that they publish as well so that leads me to believe that they will have funds and it is a serious operation. Perhaps I can add their blog as part of my portfolio.
I’m still mulling it over as I wouldn’t want to blog everyday for this organization for free.
Tim
Monika | Jun 7, 2009 | Reply
@ Tim: Glad to have been of help. Yes, it certainly helps to think this over in detail since it sounds like a big commitment. Would be good if they got you to write for their mag though.
Monika | Jun 7, 2009 | Reply
@ Brett: I’m glad you said: “I am wasting my time and my talent here,” because that is what I was thinking all along. Good to hear you see the light and make a move now.
Brett Legree | Jun 7, 2009 | Reply
@Monika,
Well, I’ve known it for a long time, to be sure. And we took a vacation several weeks ago, and while on vacation I brought my business idea into sharp focus.
But like most vacations, I also came back to my “slave job” rejuvenated – and so, for a few days, I felt optimistic. Complacency set in again.
However, it has become so bad there that I cannot stand it anymore. Now, I won’t be able to leave next week or anything, but I will not be there this time next year.
Monika | Jun 8, 2009 | Reply
@ Brett: I know what you mean. Our mind is often on a high while on a vacation and as soon we are back home – in our usual environment with all its distractions etc. we fail to act on our intentions. What matters most I think is you being on the right track and it seems you are. Onwards from here on…
Brett Legree | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
@Monika,
Well, I’m not going to let you down
and I’ve got another person holding me accountable, for another one of my dreams. I’ll focus on those two things, with two people kicking my butt… I cannot fail!
Monika | Jun 10, 2009 | Reply
@ Brett: That’s what we need don’t we? We always need others to help us get back on track, even though if we should be accountable ourselves. I’ve been back over the weekend to check but nothing….hmmm….I’m onto you!
Brett Legree | Jun 10, 2009 | Reply
@Monika,
You got me
keep checking though, I’ll have to keep up my end of the bargain or you might send the Mafioso after me!
Monika | Jun 11, 2009 | Reply
@ Brett: LOL, hmm… that might be an idea. Let’s see, … connections…hmm… well. I’ll get back to you on that.
Brett Legree | Jun 11, 2009 | Reply
@Monika,
Well, I’d better get cracking then… you’re well connected thanks to the internet!
(Don’t look tonight
as I had my kids at soccer & t-ball, just did my exercises and am about to turn in for an early night. But I’ve been making lots of notes… and the weekend is coming! You can start looking then!!!)