can’t believe it’s already been six months since launching Spruce Rd. in January! Seriously, time flies. i believed it’d be fun to share my reflections from these past six months, and be clear in what worked and didn’t work for my business. I announce concerning the teachings learned from my 1st month of freelancing, if you would like to visualize that out as well!
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What worked

Attracting ideal clients

One of the main reasons I launched my own business was to work with clients that were a better fit with my vision. I desired to work one-on-one with clients, who valued the design process, and wanted quality design. I didn’t want my portfolio to be passively influenced by the projects that came my way, so instead I opted for tailoring my blog content and portfolio to my niche market. I am still working on defining this audience right now, but I would say they love good design, are passionate about their small business, and are eager to get noticed online!
I can’t tell you how great it felt to finally work with a client who fit this profile to a T. I am SO thankful for these wonderful clients, and the joy of being involved in launching their business, and bringing it to that next level.

Community

I have been blown away by friendships I have formed online through my business. It really has been one of the best benefits of going out on my own, and was entirely unexpected. It was amazing that the first time I talked to another fellow designer on the phone, I left feeling energized and as if we were long-time friends. Since launching Spruce Rd., I can say I have truly gained friendships that have pushed me both creatively and in my business. I would bet that behind most successful entrepreneurs, there is a team of supporters + cheerleaders that propel them forward. I can say that has definitely been true for my business, and I am forever grateful for it.

Blogging

Prior to going full time with Spruce Rd., I knew that prioritizing my blog was necessary to get my name out there. The blog has brought in the most traffic to my site, most of which has come from Pinterest. If I didn’t have a blog, it would be challenging to build my business online. If you don’t enjoy blogging, definitely don’t pursue it. It consumes a lot of time + energy, so it is important that it aligns with your vision and is something you enjoy. If I didn’t have a blog from the beginning, I would have pursued guest blogging, webinars, or other social media to put myself out there. I am thankful that my blog has brought me clients, and even facilitated collaborations with fellow designers!

Book keeping

On a seemingly boring note, I have not been stressed about bookkeeping! I know this is a hangup for many freelancers, and I decided early on that I would not let it deter me from pursuing my business. I hired an accountant from the get go, invested in an online bookkeeping system (Quick books), that makes my accountant’s life easy, and made sure I kept it updated every week.

Packaged Services

After payment multiple hours per week replying to inquiries with a custom proposal, I finally took the leap and commenced providing prepacked services. Most of the inquiries were looking for similar services, thus I created three tiers of branding packages. I even denote them on-line, that has saved American state lots of time! I no longer waste a potential client’s time in reaching bent American state for a quote, and instead they’re going to instantly browse my prices and see if we’ve got a bent to square measure the proper work. I in addition spent associate excessive quantity of your time at intervals the initial couple months, emailing back and forth with potential shoppers, entirely to go looking out out they weren’t positive what they were looking for. Posting my prepacked services on-line has eliminated the e-mail chains.

Block out time for office hours

Since my husband is in graduate school, his schedule is inconsistent between varied category times, and hours of learning. thanks to this, I even have guilt-free opted for a loose schedule. I worked-out middle day, worked some hours, took a possibility, worked into the night, etc. I had some structure to the day, however no specific set hours. currently that he’s nearing the top of college and encompasses a 9-5 field work schedule, i spotted i want to stay to a schedule. i believe a want for a routine is innate in every people, and that i am realizing that additional and additional.