Author Archives: Kim Clark

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Talking Your Way into the Sale

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Selling is an inescapable part of life and plays a significant role in your personal and professional sectors. Selling is a foundational life skill and your mastery of it can be a game-changer. When you’d like to get your hands on something that you value, it’s often necessary to sell a decision-maker and persuade him/her to agree that you deserve what you want—the acceptance of your proposal, approval of your promotion, or maybe just agreeing to have Italian food for dinner tonight instead of Mexican. But if the decision-maker declines to give you the green-light, you are left with two choices:

1.) Give up and walk away, perhaps to wait for a favorable outcome that might emerge in the future.

2.) Develop a strategy that might persuade the decision-maker to approve your request. Presenting the right information to the right person can open doors.

Because you are a savvy Freelancer, I am confident that you will not accept no for an answer. Your DNA tells you to climb through a window when the door shuts in your face. Achieving success usually requires a strategy, a road map and a script designed to overcome obstacles and objections. Those of you whose livelihood involves boots-on-the-ground selling must devise a proactive sales strategy, one that is finely attuned to the prospect’s needs, goals, competitive landscape, anticipated objections and budget availability.

In this era of economic uncertainty, prospects are inclined to scrutinize every dollar spent. Selling is more than ever an uphill climb that entails a delicate balance of relationship-building, negotiation and communication skills. Here are five steps you can take to help you persuade prospective clients to spend money when budgets are tight:

1. Stakeholder perspective

Because the most successful sales pitch is personalized and addresses the unique needs and concerns of those who will hear and discuss it, ask your prospect if you might schedule a 10 minute conversation with one or more of the project stakeholders in advance of submitting a proposal and/or having a meeting. At the very least, ask your prospect to supply background info that provides context.

You would be wise to learn, for example, what the stakeholders hope will be the expected impact on the prospect’s organization when the chosen solution is implemented? You would also be wise to ask how the stakeholders define success and, on the other hand, find out what worries them?

Your purpose is to get an indication of the perhaps unexpressed expectations that stakeholders have for the project. Once you figure out what’s going on behind the scenes , you’ll incorporate that information into your written proposal and talking points for the meeting.

2. Articulate benefits

Again, what do the stakeholders really want to see happen when the chosen solution is implemented? Is your solution expected to improve the company’s competitive position, create excellent PR and significantly enhance brand awareness and reputation? Or is your solution expected to position the company for growth or expansion?

Your proposal and sales pitch should clearly describe your solution, detail how it will achieve the prospect’s goal or resolve the problem and how it will also satisfy stakeholder expectations and concerns. Provide examples of tangible and intangible benefits that your solution will deliver and what the results will mean in terms of ROI.

The idea is to make it as easy as possible for your prospect, the stakeholders and the final decision-maker to agree that your solution is the ideal choice. When spending money is an issue, focusing your proposal and sales pitch talking points on the value your solution delivers and the return on investment derived is the best strategy.

3. “Now is the ideal time”

When persuading others to take action, it is wise to create a sense of urgency. The background info that you learn in pre-meeting talks with stakeholders and your prospect will help you to communicate the cost of lost opportunity if the stakeholders and decision-maker fail to step up and approve the necessary funding for the project. Remind the stakeholders that enabling the project to move forward with your proposed solution will not only ensure that the problem will be resolved or the goal achieved, but the organization will reap substantial benefits as well.

Consider how you can persuasively describe how delaying a decision or under-funding a credible solution will be more costly in the long term. How can you demonstrate to your prospect and the stakeholders that they can’t afford to not take advantage of your solution?

4. Anticipate objections

Again, your off-the-record talk with the prospect, along with conversations you have with stakeholders before you submit a proposal and/or sit down for a meeting, will likely give you insights into any objections that lurk. In fact, you should directly ask if anyone opposes the project and what causes that hesitation.

You can take on matters that concern the naysayers in your proposal and in your talking points for the meeting, but it’s wise to be prepared for anyone who is not convinced by initial attempts to quell objections. I recommend the “feel, felt, found” technique, which shows empathy as you present a rebuttal:

  • I understand how you could feel that the solution proposed might not be entirely effective for this aspect of the problem/ goal.
  • Others have also felt that the solution proposed might not perform well in such challenging circumstances.
  • However, those who were initially reluctant, once they became aware of the documented efficacy of this solution, gained the confidence to move forward and found that the desired outcome was achieved.

5. Propose a logical next step

Once the objections have been settled and removed or, if there were none, once the benefits have been accepted by the stakeholders as likely to occur, move to conclude your meeting with a suggestion of next steps. Honestly, you want to get out of the room before someone gets the bright idea to raise a red herring issue that undoes your deal. Your purpose is to help the decision-maker and stakeholders see themselves successfully implementing your solution.

Ti that end, you might confirm the project timetable and ask when your proposed solution will be implemented (and note that your organization can adhere to the prospect’s preferred schedule). You might also ask if, since the stakeholders agree that your solution will be effective, s/he who has the authority to sign the contract would like to do so now, or on a date in the near future? Preparing a hard copy contract for your (we hope!) soon-to-be client to review and sign is another way to politely and firmly steer the decision-maker and stakeholders toward confirming that they’ll choose you.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo (1933-2021) and American actress Jean Seberg (1938-1979) in Breathless (France, 1960). Directed by Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022)

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90 Day Business Tune-Up

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Memorial Day Weekend is over and summer is here—-yay! The fourth quarter, which has the most revenue potential for most Freelance and other business entities, will arrive at the close of this short, sweet season and whether it brings you a feast or something less than, you’d better be ready. There’s a lot to prepare for this year.

Inflation has been eating your profits for at least two years. The shakeup that followed the recent collapse of three big banks still lingers and talk of recession refuses to subside. So maybe it’s time to take some defensive action to insulate your enterprise against the turbulence? Ya think?

Then again, you may have reason to feel optimistic. Are you one who anticipates a potentially robust fourth quarter? That happy thought may inspire you to consider scaling your operation, maybe hiring one or more part-time or even full-time employees, to ensure that your organization will seamlessly meet the increased demand for your products and services.

In either scenario, you’ll have some planning to do and it makes sense to start the process now and guess what? You can make a few smart moves that will give your business a summertime tune-up that will start showing the results you want in just 90 days! Analyzing key performance index metrics, numbers that reveal what’s really going on in your business, is Step One. You’ll want to verify the customers who bring you the most business, the average dollar amount of invoices, the average length of your sales cycle and the average number of days it takes to collect receivables, for example. That and other KPIs will help you decide what should be done to capitalize on your advantages, minimize potential obstacles and give some wiggle room when it’s needed.

SWOT Analysis

Objectively evaluating your business on a monthly or at least quarterly basis is always time well spent, regardless of the economic conditions you face. Since the 1970s, the SWOT Analysis has enabled business owners and leaders to account for the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that a business should focus on and manage. FYI, there are many free online tools that make it faster and easier to conduct a credible SWOT Analysis, ensuring that you evaluate all aspects of your business and help you consider goals and next steps.

Taking a peek at two or three major competitors can also unearth useful information and may even help you recognize previously undiscovered opportunities to pursue or other potential advantages to explore. Look for what can help your business stand out, including product or service add-ons and upgrades, customer loyalty rewards and customer experience and after-sale support.

Once the SWOT has been completed, identify what can be implemented in the short-term and develop strategies that include action plans and a timetable to keep you on schedule and drive results. Other areas that may benefit from scrutiny and are known to produce tangible results quickly are below.

Cash-flow

Insufficient cash-flow makes it difficult to manage your accounts payable and other fixed expenses and can result in late fees. Two strategies that you can institute immediately are known to improve your business cash-flow— 1.) speed up collection of accounts receivable, usually by timely invoicing and 2.) control spending.

Re: invoicing, time tracking software often has invoicing capability and it’s a timesaver for B2B service providers. Alternatively, you can develop the practice of creating a draft invoice when you send a contract to customers. The services you provide will be described and will be the basis of your invoices. Mostly, you’ll only need to add the time spent on the tasks.

Coaxing customers to pay on time may also mean that you need to broaden your company’s payment systems. Accepting two or three payment formats (e.g., mobile and online in addition to checks) could shorten the average number of days it takes to collect outstanding receivables. In addition to meeting customer expectations and helping to increase sales conversion, digital payments also mean money is deposited to your account within 48 hours.

Re: spending, examine your budget and look for what can be reduced or eliminated. For example, have you been a user of premium services and if so, are the upgrades meaningful? Also, you might consider renegotiating your contracts with suppliers, asking for a lower credit card interest rate if you always pay on time and reduce any discretionary spending.

Finally, money saved allows you to build a nice cash reserve, oh happy day! That means you’ll face the most favorable conditions should you look to obtain a line of credit that provides additional cash reserve. With a line of credit, you can draw from it on an as-needed basis but only have to repay what you actually borrowed.

Pricing

We all know that prices are rising and this gives you “permission” to raise yours—-maybe by 10% -20%? Your customers probably won’t complain, unless they are especially price sensitive. Consumers don’t stop purchasing when prices increase—-they simply adapt to what’s within their budget.

Consider designing a premium and a budget version of your services and add two new price points to the mix. Consumer behavior surveys have demonstrated that shoppers of B2B and B2C products and services appreciate the options of multiple price points. It’s highly unlikely that the majority of your buyers will gravitate to the lower price and in fact, if you design your premium services to reflect what buyers value most, a majority will probably choose to pay the higher price in order to obtain what’s important to them.

Customer experience and retention

If business slows down, it’s imperative that you step up your customer retention activities. Keeping a customer is always less expensive than acquiring a new one, so do whatever possible to persuade customers to keep doing business with you.

Prioritize customer satisfaction. Along with providing high-quality products and services, attentive customer service and beneficial after-sale support will result in significant improvement in customer satisfaction. Furthermore, everything from a website that navigates intuitively, to quick follow-up on questions asked on social media will positively impact the customer experience and the good reviews, repeat business and referrals that every business needs.

Get free advice

I’m honored that you read my blog (thank you!) but there are other sources you can explore and they’ll have information and advice well beyond what I offer. Small Business Development Centers and SCORE, both affiliated with the Small Business Association, offer free technical assistance and resources to owners of businesses of every size and what you learn can make a real difference. .https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-locations/headquarters-offices/office-small-business-development-centers

Your local chamber of commerce or neighborhood business association will charge a (reasonable) annual dues plus a per event ticket price, but you’ll get a good ROI. There will be at least a few events that justify the money invested and you’ll get to meet fellow business owners and Freelancer peers. You might event meet your next client.

Finally, remember that the professionals you hire to provide business support services—your banker, accountant, bookkeeper, HR or IT specialist— also have expertise in addition to the specific service that convinced you to work with them. I’m sure that within their spectrum of expertise, they’ll be delighted to share valuable insights and maybe even help you to recognize new opportunities.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Kelley Wholesale Florist at The New England Flower Exchange in Chelsea, MA.

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Getting Serious About Social Media

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What criteria guide your approach to social media? With few exceptions, your marketing strategy can’t be called comprehensive unless at least one social media platform is in the mix. It’s a highly effective tool and not only that— using social media doesn’t cost money (it does require time) and it has the power to amplify your traditional marketing tactics by re-posting text, audio and image content onto your chosen platforms. But like all marketing initiatives, social media requires thought and planning. To make success possible you must develop a credible strategy, starting with choosing (maybe three or four?) objectives you’d like to achieve.

Along with your objectives, you’ll also want to be mindful that certain audiences have an affinity for certain platforms and certain platforms are more suitable for some types of products or services and not so much for others. Moreover, it makes sense to assess the amount of time you can reasonably expect to devote to your social media updates, because fresh and relevant content are key. It will be much more favorable to establish a presence on one or two platforms and make it all pop with engaging and timely content instead of wading into multiple platforms on which you post only sporadically.

Once you launch your campaign, it’s advisable to continually monitor your performance analytics and watch for feedback. Be certain to respond quickly to customer service needs or comments and second, you want to measure visitor response to your content. Both metrics can inform your content topics, plus encourage customer engagement and feelings of loyalty. Focus your efforts where they’ll reap the greatest return on investment (ROI).

Finally, social media audiences on every platform are viewing content creators with increasing skepticism. Content consumers now demand authenticity from the influencers and brands they follow. Be genuine in your approach to social media (and all) marketing so that you’ll earn the trust, respect, loyalty—and business!— of your target audience. Below are common drivers of B2B social media objectives:

  • Website traffic
  • Brand awareness
  • Lead generation
  • PR mentions

Strategy

Devise an overall strategy that keeps your social media presence on-message and active. Establish your brand on platforms whose audience demographics and content style best showcases the products or services you promote. Every few months, you might want to color outside the lines, maybe with a fun collaboration with a complementary (and never competing) brand, a contest, or a (non-controversial) social or health awareness initiative that can stimulate positive customer engagement and even expand your audience.

Brand identity

A strong brand identity provides a consistent, dependable and ultimately reassuring experience for your social media audience. By establishing a recognizable brand identity, (you and) your business will be positioned to cultivate a loyal following that remains engaged across your selected platforms. Your unique brand voice, image style and relatable, consistent messaging across all social media platforms will enhance your authenticity and build the respect and trust of your audience.

Relevant content

Focus on creating meaningful and high quality content that resonates with your target audience. Authentic and relevant content helps the audience feel connected to your brand, encouraging engagement and promoting brand loyalty. 

Personal communication

Facilitating direct communication between you/ the brand and your target audience is the great advantage of social media. The communication is personal and unfiltered, allowing you to learn a great deal about how those who do business with you feel about doing business with you. Social media helps you learn fast about what works and what doesn’t, giving you the luxury of responding personally and quickly and making a timely course correction if necessary.

Focus On Your Audience/ Build A Community

Social media isn’t just a method that lets you speak to your audience in a monologue that promotes your business. It’s about building a community. When you introduce practices that enable a community—meaningful content, regular updates, responding to questions, complaints and compliments and keeping it authentic (real) you will over time build and sustain an engaged audience that’s truly interested in your brand (and you).

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Jean Arthur in Easy Living, written by Preston Sturges. Paramount Pictures (1937)

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Survey Results: The B2B Content Your Customers Want

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Netline, a lead generation company headquartered in Campbell, CA whose client list includes software giant Cisco Systems and other enterprise companies, has published its seventh annual landmark survey that investigates the link between B2B marketing content and the intent to make a purchase. Based on data collected from 38,000 B2B professionals during 2022 and published in March 2023, the survey (again) confirms that those who purchase B2B products and services rely on marketing content to provide information that will successfully guide them through the buyer’s journey.

The survey authors noted that in the seven years since Netline has published the report, they’ve learned that “content consumption is directly correlated with future investment. [It] is directly driving investments within the next 12 months. The more your audience consumes, the more likely they are to be closing in on a purchase decision.” Furthermore, it was suggested that B2B businesses “take a look at their downloads” to discover which content has been viewed and analyze the impact that specific content has on purchasing.

Professionals in the following fields were the top 10 viewers of B2B content in 2022:

  • Information Technology
  • C-suite execs
  • Human Resources
  • Business (general)
  • Engineering
  • Education
  • Finance/Accounting
  • Marketing
  • Sales
  • Medical/ Health

Size matters

C-Suite execs at small and mid-sized businesses, that is, organizations with 100 or fewer employees, consumed 96% more marketing content in 2022 as compared to 2021. Conversely, C-Suite execs at companies employing 100 -1,000 and 1,000+ saw declines in content marketing readership of -23.5% and -56.7%, respectively. The question was not specifically asked, but survey administrators theorize that because inflation and economic instability can impact small businesses earlier and more severely than national and multinational companies, leaders and owners of smaller entities are taking action to improve the ROI of major purchasing decisions as a way to shield their organization from adverse financial conditions. Making good use of relevant marketing content seems to be part of their strategy.

The top 10 most popular B2B content topics in 2022:

  • Information Technology
  • Marketing
  • Human Resources
  • Finance
  • Operations
  • Management
  • Sales
  • Manufacturing
  • Healthcare & Medical
  • Engineering

B2B content consumption predicts buying decisions

The confidence that B2B buyers place in marketing content has influenced its popularity and likely fueled the 18.8% year-over-year surge in readership that occurred in 2022. Some formats are considered more impactful than others by decision-makers and are therefore more closely linked to the buying decision. For example, readership of white papers is correlated with an upcoming B2B purchase. Readers of white papers consider the format to be the content marketing version of scientific studies. By contrast, e-books are less rigorous and more utilitarian, designed to present actionable information about products and services as transparently as possible.

C-suite executives are 20.7% more likely to request white papers than the overall population of B2B professionals and white paper consumption increased 21% in 2022. White papers are usually regarded a bottom-of-funnel resource and closely related to the purchasing decision, while e-books are closer to the top-of-funnel and considered a more utilitarian format that has many uses, from a perk awarded in exchange for obtaining a prospect’s email address (list building) to an example of thought leadership.

Registering for a webinar is another clear indicator of a prospect’s intent to purchase. Also, as you’d probably guess, discussing your product or service with C-Suite execs, Senior or Executive VPs, or the company owner predicts a purchase decision within 3 months.

  • Pre-recorded (on-demand) webinars 50% more likely to buy within 6 months than consumers of other content
  • Live webinars 25.4 % more likely to buy within 3 months than consumers of other content
  • E-books 10.4% more likely to buy within 3 months than consumers of other content
  • Software trials, best practices guides, executive briefs and how-to guides also associated with a purchase within 3 months

No one knows what the economic picture will look like at the end of 2023. Despite the uncertainty, the survey demonstrates that there are still plenty of B2B professionals who will be looking to pay for a solution that best suits their needs. When Freelancers and other business owners create and post content marketing information, in particular formats that signal an imminent buying decision, they’ll be in a much more favorable position to engage with the right prospects at the right times.

A welcome bright spot revealed by the survey is that 33.4% of survey respondents planned to make a B2B purchase decisions within the next 12 months, representing a year-over-year increase of 8.8%. In other words, statistically speaking, there is money to be made this year. While several worrisome factors cloud the economic predictions for 2023, and the survey data was collected in 2022, a cautiously optimistic view of the survey response appears to be reasonable.

Not so much

On a final note, newsletters remain a viable content marketing format. While not in the top 10 of most popular content marketing resources, survey respondents increased their subscriptions to newsletters by an eye-popping 307.2% year- over-year in 2022. Other top-of-funnel resources that are not closely linked to an immediate purchase are:

  • Courses
  • Tips and tricks
  • Reports
  • Guides
  • Checklists
  • Trend reports
  • Cheat sheets

Here’s the link to the full report: https://img.netline.com/images/netline/assets/2023-Content-Consumption-Demand-Report-NetLine-Final.pdf

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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A Buyer Persona is Your Best Customer Intel

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Because you understand that good outcomes derive from good decisions and good decisions flow from good information, I wonder if you’ve thought of tapping the customer data you already have and using it to create a most useful document known as a Buyer Persona? You’re likely familiar with the term, but do you know why they’re useful, how and why a Buyer Persona helps your business?

In short, a Buyer Persona is the ultimate customer profile. It describes a company’s ideal customers and the motivations that bring those customers to your door. The Buyer Persona confirms the business solutions your customers and prospects seek, the goals they want to achieve and problems they want to solve or avoid when they contact your company. Smart marketers recognize that a Buyer Persona increases the effectiveness of their marketing strategies, improves the ability to develop and nurture brand loyalty and can positively impact sales revenue.

The simple and elegant logic behind the Buyer Persona is that it’s much easier to promote and sell your products and services and build a favorable brand when there’s a handy reference point to remind you of who the customer is and what s/he wants to achieve when doing business with you. Utilizing your in-house data to create a Buyer Persona is an act of resourcefulness. You create the profile by recycling and recombining data you already own to produce a new resource that you can use. A Buyer Persona is the delicious meal you can make from what’s already in the fridge.

Who Buys From You?

The better you know target customers, the easier it becomes to reach them. To market and sell effectively, it’s best to learn as much as possible about your prospects and structure marketing campaigns that directly speak to them. Collecting customer information and then distilling it to formulate a Buyer Persona will be useful in numerous ways, from the marketing strategies you devise to the marketing channels you choose, the content you create, the blog or newsletter topics you publish, the case studies you write, to the products and services your company offers.

The profile should contain information that reinforces the understanding of your ideal customer’s priorities, pain points and buying patterns. Another benefit is that the Buyer Persona keeps you focused on addressing customer priorities instead of your own. The Buyer Persona for your typical customer will include his/her job title, education level, age range, industry, desired outcomes for using your category of products and/or services, goals, fears, budget range and potential for repeat business.

Also include in the profile experiences that stood out when performing project work, insights you’ve learned when negotiating a sale, info from customer invoices and other data that adds to the understanding of your ideal customer. Other helpful details are the job title of the usual decision-maker for the sale, the end user of the product or service, the average length of the sales cycle and the busy and slow seasons.

For many companies, the sales process remains the same regardless of the customer’s industry. The industries are different, but they approach finding and evaluating B2B vendors in the same way. Keep in mind the buying style of your customers as you compile and organize the information to include in the Buyer Persona. It may, or may not, make sense to to align with job titles, rather than industries, when addressing your marketing approach and sales process.

Most frequent goals or problems

You want a clear understanding of the motivations of prospective customers when they find your website and accept your call-to-action to, for example, read your blog, listen to a webinar replay, or read a case study. When you’ve documented the usual customer pain points, goals and/or motivations, you can address them. Create a Buyer Persona that will guide your website messages, marketing content, upselling offers and after-sales support. The idea is to consistently showcase your company’s expertise in providing the solutions that target customers need, always demonstrating how your product or service can solve problems.

Top level priorities

The easiest way to guarantee a sale is when your prospect is shopping for a solution that’s needed to reach a time-sensitive goal or resolve a big problem. However, there will be members of your target audience that have a problem, but are not necessarily ready to pay for the solution. As you collect data for the Buyer Persona, it’s useful to consider the prospect’s organizational imperatives and the decision-maker’s take on circumstances that would make him/ her willing, or unwilling, to allocate the resources necessary to do business.

The subtle art of qualifying prospects, e.g., recognizing window shoppers from serious buyers or learning what may worry your prospect about moving forward with your product or service, might be addressed with a list of three or four questions that can be asked when a prospect requests a consultation to obtain more information about your solutions.

Cultivating a powerful ally who is an end-user of the product or service and/or developing a relationship with the decision- maker can also move a sale along but ultimately, timing, urgency and budget are the best enablers of a sale and they are factors beyond your control.

Most common objections

Are there concerns that make prospective buyers think your solutions are not the best fit for their problem or goal? Customers may become reluctant to buy as a result of discouraging feedback from a colleague or the memory of a negative experience with a similar solution.

Diplomatically move to uncover the source of that hesitation, which may be based on a misunderstanding of some sort. Way back in the 20th century, I learned the Feel, Felt, Found method of handling objections and found it to be effective.

  • “I understand how you feel.”
  • “There have been others who’ve felt that way also.”
  • “Let me share with you what those who’ve had good luck with this solution have found”.

From there, address how your product or service will deliver the desired solution and ensure that the goal will be achieved and problem solved.

Discover trusted information channels

When they expect to make an important purchase, from which information channels do the members of your target market get recommendations? There may be numerous channels consulted and it’s a given that you cannot have impact or a presence in all of them. Instead, establish a presence in those media outlets where you’ll get visibility and credibility at an affordable price.

Knowing the social media platforms that are trusted and utilized by your target market when they investigate your category of products or services is essential. Also essential is to SEO optimize your company website to ensure it contains popular search terms that help your company appear in searches. Your website is the primary source of information about your products and services. Make sure that you post and call attention to inbound marketing reources— e-books, case studies, white papers, blog archive, newsletter archive and earned articles in which you and the company have been featured.

 Identify their buying process

Also known as the buyer’s journey, in the Buyer Persona you can detail the steps that prospects take to evaluate product or service options as they decide what will be the best fit for their needs. So that you will maximize the power of your inbound marketing resources, that is, the case studies, links to a webinar in which you appeared and other relevant information, investigate which resources that prospective buyers require at every step of the evaluation process.

For example, newsletter and blog posts may be persuasive at the midpoint of the journey but a case study or an especially persuasive customer testimonial may be most helpful in the final stage of decision-making. To correctly identify your target customers and reach them with compelling messages and content, know the reasons why they choose your solution, the perceived barriers to purchase and how your solution will improve their lives.

 Craft Your Message

Once you can see in your mind’s eye your ideal target customer and therefore know who you’re talking to, you can align and personalize your company’s brand voice and marketing messages with that vision. Your marketing campaigns will feature content that feels authentic and will resonate. When you know who your Buyer Persona and understand your customer’s goals, organizational imperatives, priorities, worries, itrusted nformation channels and buying process, you can develop sales and marketing strategies tailored to just those people who you know are an excellent fit for your company.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Il viturno (The Vitruvian Man). Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci circa 1490.

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More than Noise: PR Takes Your Brand to the Top

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There are several ingredients in a recipe that results in the creation of a successful business and a good reputation is surely one of them. Reputation, more commonly known as the brand these days, is also comprised of several ingredients and a savvy public relations strategy is one way you can influence the perception of your entity’s brand reputation.

A well-conceived and executed public relations campaign has long been recognized as one of the most powerful strategies available for building a successful brand reputation. The goal of PR is to shape and manage a brand’s reputation and credibility by employing selected media outlets to reach target audiences and cultivate a favorable impression of the brand. Because the perception of a company’s brand influences the degree of success that it achieves, a favorable brand reputation will help position a company to grow and prosper.

Launch a PR campaign for yourself and/or your company by contacting selected media outlets and sending information about an activity in which you (and by extension the company) will participate, or another story line that may interest the outlet’s readers, viewers, or listeners. In a written document known as a press, or news, release, include the basic facts of your story, a brief bio of yourself and your company and a professional-looking photo of yourself. In a day or two, follow-up with the recipient of the press release to gauge the interest level in the story and the possibility of its inclusion in a future issue or broadcast.

An effective PR strategy

By using a strategy of targeted messaging campaigns designed for print media, digital outlets including webinars, videos, or podcasts, speaking engagements and other personal appearances, plus the interaction encouraged by social media engagement, companies and individuals have numerous options for enhancing the perception of their brand within the target audience. Effective and consistently orchestrated PR campaigns create conditions for brand awareness and loyalty to take root over time.

To structure an effective PR campaign specific objectives, messages that resonate and media outlets that are trusted by the target audience and appropriate for your campaign messages and objectives, are critical factors. Knowing target audience motivations for using your company’s products or services provides the campaign talking points. You can tailor PR messages around themes that align the brand narrative with important concerns of the audience. Make sure that your PR messages are clear, concise and consistent across all media outlets used.

A persuasive brand narrative

An important feature in a successful PR campaign is developing a brand narrative that engages your target audience while also differentiating your company (and you) from competitors. To be persuasive, the brand narrative must be perceived as authentic. Drafting a persuasive brand narrative requires that you first identify and define the core values, vision and mission of your organization and second, that you understand what target audience members expect to achieve or solve when they use your company’s products or services. Showcasing the unique qualities and value proposition that distinguish the company, individual, or product from competitors is also integral to developing a persuasive brand narrative.

Again, the brand narrative must feel authentic to the target audience. Authenticity in PR messages enables the development of lasting relationships by building trust through communications that reflect the individual’s or organization’s values. A consistently communicated brand narrative can eventually come to embody the brand reputation. In that way, effective PR becomes the secret sauce that enhances your company’s reputation and renown in a noise-filled, hyper-competitive business landscape.

What is newsworthy?

Regardless of the size of your business, obtaining (positive) media attention is possible and highly recommended. Editors, publishers and hosts choose the stories or guests they’ll spotlight based on who and what can be expected to generate an audience. The best way to determine newsworthiness is to consider the media outlet’s audience and what might be of interest to them. Will your story or information grab their attention? Below are typical factors that impact editorial decisions.

Impact. A story or person that appeals to many readers, viewers, or listeners and is therefore expected to attract a sizeable audience or many clicks is considered impactful. Estimate the impact that your story will have on the media outlet’s audience.

Human interest. Connecting with the audience emotionally is an effective way to bring attention to a story. A story or guest that is relatable has the power to attract a good audience.

Relevance. How important will your story be to the audience? In your press release and in the first sentence of your talk or article, can you share one or two surprising, if not shocking, facts that will grab audience attention?

Prominence. If prominent people or organizations do business with you and your company, media gatekeepers may assume that their audience wants to learn how you captured the attention of VIPs and that could lead them to include your story.

Timeliness. Your information or story will be more readily accepted if the action will either take place in the near future, or happened recently.

Scale PR for small business

The best PR can’t be bought (without a generous budget), but affordable and effective PR strategies and tactics can be designed to fit within most budgets. Social media has found a place in PR because the medium allows brands to interact directly with the target audience, encouraging an immediacy and relatability that audiences find authentic and conducive to building sustainable brand loyalty.

Be advised that incorporating social media into your PR campaigns is most effective when you follow regular posting schedules designed to keep fans and followers engaged and informed with meaningful content. Your postings may include updates on a talk you’ll give, a webinar you’ll host or participate in, best practices updates for your products or services, your most recent blog or newsletter post, or your thoughts or experiences about trends in your industry.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Ron Galella. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and celebrity photographer Ron Galella on Madison Avenue in New York City (1971).

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Navigating Difficult Business Conditions

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As business conditions in the US and the world continue to deteriorate, it becomes increasingly important for business owners to devise and implement strategies to shield their entity as much as possible from the economic fallout. When the going gets tough, the smart start planning. In general, encouraging sales revenue and figuring out which expenses can be trimmed are primary ingredients of your business survival recipe. There are other actions you are also advised to consider.

Review financials

Reviewing and interpreting your financial data enables you to make wise decisions that will protect your company. To understand which protective strategies may be sensible and possible for your entity, the planning process begins by first consulting your financial data. Refer to the overview of the big three financial statements in the April 18 post. Trust the story the data tells you and plan accordingly.

The Cash–flow Statement shows the ebb and flow of money through your business and allows you to predict when the most cash will be available and when cash will be at a low point. The tidal flow of money is critical to surviving a business slowdown. The Income (Profit & Loss) Statement reveals which products, services and other activities are most lucrative and you’ll want that information, too, as you construct the plan. On the Balance Sheet, you’ll find company assets, liabilities and outstanding debts or loans. Now you can determine where the business stands financially and how the possibility of decreased revenue could affect you. Your survival plan will start to take shape.

Study the previous 24-36 months of business performance history and use that information to project 24-36 months into a future that will be colored by a degree of turbulence. Each month, monitor relevant KPI (key performance indicator) values that reflect income and expenses, including:

  • top line revenues (gross sales)
  • accounts receivable (outstanding invoices)
  • accounts payable (bills owed by the business)
  • payroll (W2 and 1099NEC)
  • rent
  • utilities
  • software subscriptions
  • taxes

It is imperative that you’ll be able to cover accounts payable obligations and payroll for employees and/or Freelance outsourced help. You do that by doing whatever possible to ensure that accounts receivable are paid on schedule. Invoice on time and include a line that states payment is due upon its receipt. In reality, an invoice that is 45 or fewer days old isn’t past due. However it’s always in your interest, particularly when business is slow, to collect receivables quickly, to promote the timely payment of what’s payable.

Create action plan

Planning for an expected economic slowdown is how to prepare your business for survival. Don’t wait until you’re underwater. To power difficult a difficult business climate, business owners are advised to take a view from 30,000 feet look at the operation. See the suggestions below for tried-and-true recommendations that could help you save the day. If you have the money, it’s also a very smart idea to create an emergency fund and purchase business interruption insurance, to cushion the blow if disaster strikes. Who could have predicted either the events of September 11, 2001, or the arrival of the coronavirus and the subsequent months-long shutdown?

Trim operating expenses

Trimming operating expenses is an obvious and effective way to soften the impact of a sluggish economy. Examine your budget and reduce or eliminate paying for what you don’t need. Also, pick up the phone and attempt to negotiate lower credit card and/ or loan interest payments, cell phone rate and more favorable vendor contract terms (if your payment record is good). Marketing automation and other software as a service subscriptions might also be lowered by a modest amount each month.

Business travel, maintaining membership in certain business or professional organizations and attending certain conferences and trade shows may be expenses that you should continue, if possible, if the ROI is good. Don’t bite your nose off to spite your face. If you can cut even $50/ month your accounts payable tab, it’s a victory.

 Prioritize customer retention

It’s been convincingly demonstrated that it costs 5x more of your valuable time and money to bring in a new client than it does to retain the client you already have. Your relationship with existing clients will be an important asset during turbulent times. Keep them coming back by not only offering the products and services that deliver the solutions they need, but also by providing the customer experience they value.

Invite feedback, sometimes by finding opportunities where conversation with your clients can take place or by sending out a quick survey, maybe with your next invoice, so that you can learn how clients feel about doing business with your organization. Client feedback may alert you to problems that need your attention, information that is crucial. Inviting feedback also demonstrates that customer satisfaction is a priority at your company and it further enhances the customer experience.

Focus on best-sellers

In an economic downturn, promoting your best-selling products and services is a prudent strategy for both attracting new clients and maintaining current clients. Let the top line revenue on your P&L be your guide. Furthermore, support your top line by ramping up your customer retention strategy (or create one). Next, evaluate and optimize the customer experience your company provides as well, including after-sale support. Make the most of every touch point.

Revamp leadgen marketing

Don’t let tough economic times diminish your brand’s success. Instead, reassess your marketing strategies to stay ahead of the competition. If you’re working with a tighter budget, narrow marketing focus to enhance customer loyalty and encourage retention. Energize social media presence and digital marketing solutions to increase your brand’s visibility. Keep your finger on the pulse of the latest trends in marketing to tap into what’s capturing the attention of your target audience.

If you or a friend are adept at shooting and editing visually-engaging short videos, revitalize your marketing on YouTube (if your A/V skills are good), TikTok, or Instagram. They key is getting creative in your marketing messages to stand apart from competitors. By all means necessary, during the adverse economic conditions (and also when things improve), stay visible, watch your financials, be agile, look viable stay relevant and be cautiously optimistic.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image © Susan Doyle (pictured), founder and owner of Go Paddle in County Wexford, Ireland is an avid kayaker, coach, outdoor educator and a paddling ambassador for Canoeing Ireland through the Bridge the Gap program.

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Staying Alive: KPIs Make the Difference

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You’ll recall the overview of the 5 stages of growth that businesses of every type or size experience, if they survive, as discussed in the April 11 post. Today we’ll explore how three standard financial statements can help business owners maintain the health of their venture and position it to survive long enough to pass through the growth stages and grow as intended. Actionable data—Key Performance Indicators— are waiting for you in those financial statements and the numbers will show you how to best manage your entity.

Math might not be your strength but little by little, you can learn to recognize and interpret the numbers and allow your KPIs to do their job and function as guard rails that will make you an astute decision-maker. Running a business is all about making informed decisions that help your business operate efficiently and grow successfully. Just as your primary care physician monitors numeric values associated with certain of your bodily functions—-vital signs, your personal KPIs—-you do the same for your business.

Because 70% of businesses will fail after 10 years and you don’t want it to happen to you, let that scary thought motivate you to keep both hands on the wheel and manage your business wisely. There are many factors to evaluate, including your client list and the sales of your products and/ or services, but today’s focus is the financial management that your monthly or quarterly bookkeeping statements allow you to do. BTW, those statements also make preparing your quarterly and annual tax forms are more efficient and less stressful process.

Basic 3 financial statements

  • Income (P & L) statement. The income statement, also known as the profit & loss statement, is also known as the profit-and-loss statement. It sums up the money you collected from operations plus any other gains, as well as the money spent over a specific period of time. The basic formula is: Net Income = (Total Revenue + Gains) – (Total Expenses + Losses). You want your net income to be positive.
  • Cash-flow statement. The cash flow statement shows whether your business can pay its bills. This will give you a sense of where your business’ cash will come from and where it will be spent. Here you can also see customers that may “slow pay” to decide if they are putting your cash position in jeopardy.
  • Balance sheet. Your balance sheet summarizes your company’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity (or investment in the business), providing a snapshot of the financial health of the business at a point in time.

Trend analysis

Looking for trends can help you determine which products or services to promote, keep in stock, or stop selling altogether. Certain of your products or services may sell more frequently during some seasons and less frequently during other times of the year. Special promotions, perhaps advertised by way of email marketing and social media, is just one smart decision that examining sales trends can lead you to make. Another smart decision you might make is to initiate a demand pricing strategy and increase the prices of popular products or services during the time of year that they sell the most.

Get an unfiltered look at what clients prefer to buy on the top line of your P&L, Gross Sales Revenue. While many obsess over the bottom line, because it shows the total revenue earned (or lost) for the month, quarter, or year, the top line should not be ignored. When the top line shows healthy sales, it’s obvious that you’re doing something right. After that, it’s a matter of controlling expenses. Keep an eye on the trends in top line sales data, it is instructive.

Analyze and interpret

Also monitor your expenses, fixed and variable. Fixed (operating) expenses include office rent, W2 payroll wages and utilities. Variable expenses are often sales related, such as marketing and professional development. Increasing expenses may mean that you’ll have to alter some other part of your business (for instance, increasing prices when expenses grow). If certain clients are making late payments , potentially causing you to make late payments to your creditors, consider requiring late or slow payers to make a deposit of at 25% or so on the project you’ll do and/ or increase your project fee for late paying clients.

As you become more proficient in your understanding of financial data and interpretation, you can also calculate and follow certain financial ratios that can provide guidance. On your Balance Sheet you can calculate Net Working Capital, which is your current assets less your current liabilities. This is the amount of money you can use to operate the business day-to-day and invest in growth.

The Current Ratio equals current assets divided by current liabilities. In general, a ratio of one (1) or less indicates that there is not enough available capital to pay your expenses, which is a real problem. If your Debt-to-Equity Ratio (total liabilities divided by total assets) is greater than one (1), it is understood that the business is carrying too much debt—literally at a dollar to dollar ratio. Credit card debt and perhaps also other borrowing as a means to grow your business or pay expenses is bound to cause lending institutions to see your company as a credit risk. Direct your resources to paying down debt.

Bookkeeping software

If you have few transactions in a typical month, you may prefer to record client financial activity in Excel and send invoices in PDF format. If you have several client bills/ month you may prefer to install bookkeeping software. Freelancers and small business owners tend to work with small business specific, cloud, industry specific, or open source software.

Bookkeeping/ accounting software usually fulfills several functions in addition to generating the basic financial statements on a monthly or quarterly basis. You’ll also receive a collection of services that may also include invoicing, inventory management, payroll, financial reports and customer relations management features such as tracking client interactions, sales history and maintaining contact info. To compare features and monthly costs of several software services, click https://www.business.org/finance/accounting/best-bookkeeping-software/

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: This photo is from an album Elstner Hilton compiled in Japan between 1914 and 1918.

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The 5 Stages of Small Business Growth

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The question that everyone who’s ever launched a business has wanted an answer to is, what is the formula, the recipe, that when followed will result in a sustainably profitable enterprise? Furthermore, how does a business owner avoid the landmines that can tank the enterprise?

In 1983 Neil Churchill (1927-2010), former Professor Emeritus of of entrepreneurship at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France and visiting professor at the Anderson School at UCLA and Virginia Lewis, a senior research associate at the Caruth Institute of Southern Methodist University, conducted an intriguing study that examined and (indirectly) answered the question. Specifically, Churchill and Lewis examined small businesses and, despite the obvious differences that distinguish every business and every entrepreneur or solopreneur who goes into business—B2B, B2C, products, services, business model, target markets, level of owner’s expertise, experience and funding— identified patterns of success and problems that typically occur in small businesses. Unfortunately, the two were not able to write the recipe for a secret sauce, but they did identify and categorize growth stages and difficulties that can arise in those growth stages, information that is actionable and highly valuable.

You might say that Churchill and Lewis created a map that can help you find the path to success for your business idea and also help you side-step common pitfalls. I’m happy to share a few take-aways from the study and provide the link to the original research. https://site-453261.mozfiles.com/files/453261/Harvard_Business_Review_-_The_5_Stages_Of_Small_Business_Growth.pdf

While every business venture is an unique entity, with some having potential for enormous profitability and (most) others that only sputter along, hobbled by obstacles that frequently include some combination of insufficient funding, an unrealistic business model, or a limited number of customers who are inclined to purchase its products and services, there are foundational similarities throughout the spectrum of possible outcomes. In a study of a range of business types ,one that documents which actions or circumstances encourage positive results and which lead to unfortunate outcomes, patterns become visible.

First, the research showed that all businesses evolve through identifiable stages in their life cycle. Second, it was discovered that certain successes, challenges and decisions that must be made are typically associated with the different life cycle growth stages. When business owners know what to expect throughout the business life cycle, they can prepare themselves and the company to maximize what is likely to go well, if only by skillfully navigating through what is likely to cause problems.

In other words, a company’s development stage determines the leadership and managerial skill and pivotal decisions that promote success and avoid problems. The type of business that you’re operating will influence which factors will eventually appear. An awareness of the development stage of the business, as well as the most logical future plans for that stage, enables business owners and managers to make informed choices and prepare themselves and the company for the inevitable challenges. Below are typical circumstances that pertain to business owners and the entity as the business life cycle adapts over time.

The four factors that relate to the business owner:

  1. Owner’s goals for himself /herself and for the business.
  2. Owner’s operational abilities in doing important jobs such as marketing, inventing, selling, producing and managing distribution.
  3. Owner’s managerial ability and willingness to delegate responsibility and to manage the activities of others.
  4. Owner’s strategic abilities for looking beyond the present and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the company with his or her goals.

The four factors that relate to the business:

  1. Financial resources, including cash on hand and borrowing power.
  2. Personnel resources, financial prowess, quality of strategic relationships and other human capital, particularly at the management and staff levels.
  3. Systems resources, in terms of the degree of sophistication of both information and planning and control systems.
  4. Business resources, including customer relations, market share, supplier relations, manufacturing and distribution processes, technology and reputation, all of which give the company a position in its industry and market.

Stage I: Existence

Basic survival is the objective in the earliest stage of the company. The primary goals of the owner(s) are acquiring customers, delivering the product or service in a way that satisfies customers and providing pleasant and efficient customer service.

Other key objectives of the owner(s) are:

  • Doing what is necessary to make the entity become a viable business.
  • Successfully expanding beyond one or two important customers to a much broader customer base.
  • Having sufficient capital available to finance the considerable cash demands of the start-up phase.

At this fledgling stage, the owner does everything and if there are employees, the owner directly supervises them. Systems and formal planning are minimal to nonexistent. The company strategy is to survive. The owner is the business, s/he performs all important functions. Many early stage entities never gain sufficient customer base nor product/service demand to become viable. If that is the case, the owner is forced to close the business when the money runs out. Companies that are lucky enough to survive Stage I will graduate to Stage II entities.

Stage II: Survival.

Businesses that survive to enter Stage II can be considered viable. They’ve attracted enough customers to generate the necessary sales revenue and customers are satisfied with the products and/or services offered. The most likely problem that surfaces in the transition from Stage I to Stage II is the balance between revenues and expenses. The owners’ primary objectives are:

  • In the short run, generate enough cash to break even and cover the repair, renewal, or replacement of subscription software or other services and capital assets /equipment as they wear out or expire.
  • At a minimum, generate enough cash-flow to stay in business and finance growth to a size that is sufficiently large, given our industry and market niche, to earn an economic return on our assets and labor. In other words, can you make enough money to make staying in business make sense?

Additionally, the Stage II company may have a small number of employees, often supervised by a sales manager or a general foreman. Alternatively (or simultaneously), there may be outsourcing of certain functions—bookkeeping, accounting, HR. payroll, IT network management, for example. The business owner(s) remains in charge of major decisions and the foreman or sales manager may have limited decision-making authority. Survival of the business remains the overwhelming goal.

While in the Survival Stage, the enterprise may grow in size and profitability and graduate to Stage III. Or, as many companies do, it may remain in Stage II for some time, earning modest profits on invested time and capital. Such businesses may eventually close when the owner gives up or retires. “Mom and pop” stores are in this category, as are manufacturing businesses that cannot attract a buyer for their product or process sold as they hoped. Some of these marginal businesses have developed enough economic viability to eventually be sold, usually at a slight loss. Or the entity may fail completely.

Stage III: Success.

The decision facing owners at this stage is whether to leverage the company’s achievements and strategize to grow, or maintain the stable and profitable success that has been attained. Business is good and to handle more complex functions, the first professional staff members will be hired, often a controller in the office or a production manager, perhaps administrative or sales employees may be hired as well. Basic financial, marketing and production systems are in place. Planning in the form of operational budgets supports vital business strategies and action plans. The owner and, to a lesser extent, the company managers, are advised to monitor the performance of business strategies to maintain desired profit margin.

The question becomes, will the owner(s) decide to promote growth and pursue the attainment of a substage III-G company, or will the owner(s) completely or partially step away from intensive involvement in the company and transition to substage III-D company?

Substage III: Disengagement

In the Success-Disengagement substage, the company has attained economic viability, has a sufficient customer base and product-market penetration to reasonably ensure financial success and earning average to above-average profits. The company can remain at this stage almost indefinitely, as long as a catastrophic external event (like a pandemic shutdown of business?) doesn’t erode its customer base, or ineffective management and poor decision-making doesn’t diminish its competitive abilities.

When disengagement is the choice, it is often driven by a wish to start a new enterprise, or simply to (finally) participate in hobbies and other outside interests while maintaining the business as is. If the company can continue to navigate the inevitable business environment changes, the owner can either continue in substage III-D, sell the entity at a profit, or at some point elect to once again pursue a growth trajectory. For franchise holders, this last option would require the purchase of additional franchises locations.

Substage III: Growth

In the Success-Growth substage, the owner consolidates the company and utilizes its resources to stimulate accelerated growth, typically using accumulated business cash and borrowing the amount needed to finance growth. Maintaining optimal business profitability is key, so that it will not deplete cash (the lender will be looking). Having on board talented and dedicated company managers to meet the needs of the growing business is another must-do. This second task requires hiring managers with an eye to the company’s future rather than its current condition.

The right business systems should be in place to provide the operational needs that a larger entity will require as growth proceeds. Proper budgeting and the development and execution of strategic planning is critical. The owner(s) are intensely involved in all aspects of the company’s affairs, in contrast to the disengagement stage.

If the growth plan is successful, the III-G company proceeds to Stage IV Take-off. If the III-G company is unsuccessful, the missteps might be detected in time to make a smooth landing in substage III-D. If not, a return to Stage II Survival may be possible, in lieu of bankruptcy or a distress sale.

Stage IV: Take-off

In this stage the key problems are how to grow rapidly and how to finance that growth. The most important questions, then, are in the following areas:

Delegation. Can the owner(s) delegate responsibility to the appropriate staff or Freelance outside experts to improve the managerial effectiveness of a fast-growing and increasingly complex enterprise? Further, will the action be true delegation with controls on performance and a willingness to see mistakes made, or will it be abdication, as is so often the case?

Cash. Will there be enough to satisfy the great demands growth brings (often requiring a willingness on the owner’s part to tolerate a high debt-equity ratio) and a cash-flow that is not eroded by inadequate expense controls or ill-advised investments brought about by owner impatience?.

This is a pivotal period in a company’s life. If the owner rises to the challenges of a growing company, both financially and managerially, it can become a big business. If not, it can usually be sold—at a profit—provided the owner recognizes his or her limitations soon enough. Too often, those who bring the business to the Success Stage are unsuccessful in Stage IV, either because they try to grow too fast and run out of cash (the owner falls victim to the omnipotence syndrome), or are unable to delegate effectively enough to make the company work (the omniscience syndrome).

Stage V: Maturity The most important responsibilities the owner has at Stage V is to first, preserve and encourage the continuation of the substage III-G growth and second, to retain the advantages of small size, meaning a nimble response to the economic landscape and maintaining the owners’ entrepreneurial spirit.

The organization must install a management team and operational processes that will eliminate the inefficiencies that growth can produce and simultaneously professionalize the company operations by use of tools such as budgeting, strategic planning, staff training and standard cost management systems—and do this without inhibiting its entrepreneurial qualities.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Abdul and Aisha Tedros, owners of Oasis Coffee & Tea Shop in Phoenix, AZ, ranked #11 on the Yelp Top 100 coffee shops list in the U.S.and Canada.

Administrative , , 2 Comments

Survey: Freelancing in America 2023

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Freelance Forward, the annual survey conducted by Upwork, the largest Freelancing marketplace in the world, was released in December 2022. The survey of 3,000 American workers age 18 and above was conducted online September 21, 2022 – October 7, 2022. The survey demographics consisted of 1,164 Freelancers and 1,836 of the traditionally employed. Results of the landmark annual survey of Freelance workers continues to demonstrate the pronounced impact the cohort has on the American and global economies.

Year-over-year the number of Freelancers grows nationally (and internationally). According to the Upwork survey, there are 60 million part-time and full-time Freelancers in the country, comprising 39% of the U.S. labor force and in 2022, we contributed $1.35+ trillion to the U.S. economy. It is predicted that by 2027, Freelancers will comprise at least 51% of the American workforce.

In 2022, 51% of Freelancers, nearly 31 million, provided knowledge economy services, including., computer programming, software development, social media marketing, graphic arts, website development, IT, finance and business consulting. 23% of Freelancers hold a bachelor’s degree and 26% have earned a postgraduate degree.

The high tech and fintech sectors employ the largest number of Freelancers and they are also the highest earners. On average, men in those sectors earn up to four times more than their female counterparts.

68% of Freelancers have more than one employer or contract project (think more than one client). The diversified income streams make you are less vulnerable to the whims and fortunes of a single employer, unlike those who hold a traditional job. Freelancing, at least for some, is less risky than W2 employment. As was documented in the Upwork survey, most Freelancers see more opportunities available in the post-pandemic economy, with 76% concluding that they have more contracts available today than were available before the coronavirus shutdown.

The perceived increase in opportunities to work probably explains why Freelancers have a positive outlook regarding their income potential and contract opportunities. 77% of Freelancers feel optimistic about their anticipated 2023 earnings and 80% are optimistic about this year’s contract assignment opportunities. Moreover, 61% said that they make as much as or more money than they would if working for a traditional employer. 43% of Freelancers have increased their hourly rates or project fees over the last year, in response to increased demand or economic conditions.

Freelancers pivotal for small business

You may be happy to know that Freelancers are a great resource for small businesses. We provide on demand, only when needed, cost-effective expertise and assistance that helps small business owners to operate more efficiently and maximize revenue and profitability.

Survey results verify that small business owners and leaders are pleased with their experiences working with Freelance professionals and many plan to continue or increase their hiring of Freelancers in the future. In fact, 48% of U.S. businesses of every size hired at least one Freelancer in 2018.

  • 70% of SMBs in the U.S. have worked with freelancers at least once
  • 81% of these companies plan to hire freelancers again
  • 83% agree that freelancers have greatly helped their business

Major Global Freelancing Platforms

Below see a list of popular Freelancing platforms that are a conduit for your hard work, expertise and resourcefulness, wherever a good internet signal exists. Check out the full report https://www.upwork.com/research/freelance-forward-2022 .

  • Flexiple
  • Upwork
  • Turing.com
  • Freelancer.com
  • PeoplePerHour
  • SimplyHired
  • Toptal
  • TaskRabbit
  • 99Designs
  • Fiverr
  • LinkedIn
  • Designhill

Thanks for reading and Happy Easter,

Kim