Meet McAuley Freelance Writing, LLC and Learn About Mistakes that Can Cost You Your Business
by Anne McAuley Lopez, McAuley Freelance Writing, LLCMcAuley Freelance Writing, LLC
As a business owner for more than a decade, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many business owners and observe how they run their businesses. While some are busy going to networking meeting after networking meeting, others are laser-focused on connecting with their target clients and power partners. If you’re not getting as far as you desire in business, it may be time to look at your business to see where you’re wasting time and make effort to change it for the better. You may be making mistakes that can cost you your business.
BEING BUSY DOES NOT MEAN YOU’RE PRODUCTIVE
Many years ago, I was part of a few networking groups and I kept seeing a few of the same people at every meeting. Often, they were too busy to chat after the meeting – isn’t that the point of being at a networking event? – and they had to make their way to their next appointment. Another business owner was in a meeting with me and constantly checking her phone as if it didn’t matter what we were talking about, only that she had another meeting.
After interacting with these business owners, I learned that they were not making the money they wanted and I realized that, while they were busy, they weren’t productive and they were not targeted in their actions. Here’s the deal:
You don’t need to go to every networking group.
You do need to identify your target client.
Go where your target clients are and partner with other professionals who have a similar target client.
As a content writer, I partner with business owners as well as digital marketing agencies (website designers, graphic designers, social media managers). This year, I’ve identified agencies with whom I want to work with to offer content to their clients. In other words, I don’t want to be busy just to be busy. And you don’t have to either.
FOLLOW-THROUGH AND FOLLOW-UP ARE NECESSARY
When I first started my business, networking was incredibly important. I had to in order to make connections with business owners and to spread the word about what I was offering. Once my network was built, I focused on my target clients and the services that I wanted to offer to them and used LinkedIn as a tool to network and find my clients. Over the years I’ve seen many deals fall through as a result of someone not following through with a prospective client. I’ve done it myself and, when I realized what I was doing, I developed a system to follow up with leads. If you have a large list, you may need to consider a CRM, but if you’re a smaller business, a spreadsheet or Airtable might work fine for you. The important part is to have a system in place to follow up with the leads you find while networking or online.
COLLECT ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
Now that you have business because you networked where your target clients spend time and you’ve followed up with leads to close the deal, it’s time to talk money. Don’t undervalue yourself. Make it a priority to get paid upfront if it makes sense in your industry to do so. Many service providers like myself offer a project-based fee that is paid upfront and/or inconsistent installments. Some points that have been helpful for me to consider as I collect payment are:
Create clear payment terms.
No exceptions, as tempting as it might be.
Follow up on non-payments.
In other words, do not work for free. You wouldn’t go to the grocery store and ask to pay for your groceries later, so why would you do that to yourself? You shouldn’t.
As a business owner, it can be easy to get stuck in your ways of being busy but not productive or forget to follow through whether about contracts or payments, but those are the activities that will make or break your business. Be aware of your habits and protocols and you will see your business increase.
For more than a decade, Anne McAuley Lopez has been a professional writer focused on small and medium-sized businesses. In September 2020, she launched Agency Content Writer which is focused on creating content for digital marketing agency clients. Specialties include writing for financial services, real estate, home services, travel, and legal service clients. She was recently featured in Trendsetters, Elephant Journal, and Thrive Global. A graduate of the University of Connecticut with a BA in Economics, she found a love of words from an early age, and made her passion a business. She recently launched a book writing project which will be a guide for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) patients and their families. Anne can be reached at anne@agencycontentwriter.com, her website Agency Content Writer, and LinkedIn.