Online entrepreneur Yaro Starak has again wowed the struggling freelancer in me with his article entitled Are Freelancers Really Business Owners?
He gave emphasis on the difference between being a self-employed, which many freelancers become, and being a true business owner. A freelancer is prone to getting more stressed because he has to wear all the hats in order to earn as much as he used to working for one company. To make the most out of freelancing or to realize expectations such as more freedom and turning it into a profitable business that won’t burn you out, here are Yaro’s bits of advice:
- Think about what you are good at and how much time you currently spend on these activities
- Determine what tasks are stopping you from doing what you are good at and make a list of the “impeding†activities
- Find ways to outsource, eliminate or employ someone to handle the tasks or ways minimize the amount of time you devote to the impeding activities
- Realize the activities that create the most value for you and increase the time spent on these activities (learn about the 80/20 rule)
- Determine what your true motivations are when it comes to income, labor and lifestyle – are your current activities congruent with meeting these goals?
- Create systems – documentation, flow charts, mind maps and videos – so any person can perform routine tasks
- Let the experts do the jobs that require expertise – if you are not an accountant, a web programmer, a graphics designer, a writer, an “insert expert here†then don’t try to become one, hire one instead!
- Don’t be afraid to say no to projects you can’t do or are not well matched to what you are good at
- Get a mentor and seek consultation if you can’t move past a certain roadblock
- And if all else fails in the end, going back to a job is not something to be ashamed of if you find freelancing is not your cup of tea – there is nothing wrong with experimenting in life
Outsourcing tasks is one freelancing matter that I’d like to highlight because not too many freelancers (moi included 
) know how to get around it. I’ve learned that it is wise to outsource tasks that don’t make you money. But the hard part is training people to master those tasks, which perfectionists (which many successful freelancers are), might not be able to breeze through. Â
What tasks are you having a hard time to outsource but you know you really have to outsource to grow your business?