Tag Archives: Self employed tips UK

Self-Employed Gals, What’s The Next Target?

January 15, 2021 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

*Collaborative post.

New year, new projects! 

Even though 2020 has been a tough year for all of us, a lot of self-employed professionals have been able to rise above the challenges and grow their business presence. Perhaps, this has to do with the self-employed/freelancing mindset. When you embark on a career path where you are on your own, you can afford to miss opportunities. Therefore, a lot of self-made solo entrepreneurs have seized the challenges of a post-pandemic world and make them work for their businesses. 

So at the beginning of a new year, it’s worth considering how to leverage the lessons of the pandemic and boost your presence further. Here are 10 ideas to bring your business profile to the top! 

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#1. Expand your business network

We live in a digital economy. People work remotely. They also shop remotely. So why shouldn’t you embrace the remote landscape and leverage it for your business? In a remote environment, you can build partnerships with international suppliers and business partners that will benefit from clients. If you are a tech freelancer, for example, you could send money to China to a local tech partner who can report on the latest gadgets. Are you a fashion and beauty business? Why not build bonds with South Korean to find out more about the 10 steps Korean beauty routine? Growing your business network allows you to diversify your offer. 

#2. Build an international presence

English is a proxy language. But that doesn’t mean that all your customers are fluent in English. Why not spend some time digging through your web analytics? You could find out where international visitors come from. It can be a good idea to create an international presence with Google translate plug-ins. You can even buy a new domain or subdomain to match your overseas target. 

#3. Let others do the menial tasks

We get it; you got there by yourself. But that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from outsourcing and contracting some tasks. Ultimately, delegation can help free up time for more important and pressing matters. Picking the right person for the job isn’t always easy. Take your time to find someone you can trust. There are plenty of freelancers around, so it’s worth checking their qualifications before you make a decision.

#4. Launch your next corporate product/service

Bringing your independent business to the next level needs money. A lot of freelancers begin with small and cost-effective services until they are ready to release an offer that can compete with big players. As a beauty and fashion blogger, for instance, you may want to create your range of products. It’s a brilliant way of reaching out to a new market. But you need investors to make it happen. When the bank isn’t an option, crowdfunding platforms can be a game-changer!

#5. Influence, and influence some more

Why be one of the many small fish when you can become a big fish in the digital pond? Becoming a social media influencer can catapult your business presence from unknown to the top of the list! Social media influencers play a huge role in business marketing strategies as you could build a source of income through your online presence. Growing your online influence can help getting noticed by big brands.

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Unsplash – CC0 Licence 

#6. Diversify your offer

If you’ve had to adapt your business services to the pandemic situation, you are probably aware that people’s needs have changed. Why not run market research to gain a better understanding of your post-pandemic audience. What do people in 2021 expect from the market and how can you make it happen? 

#7. Update your brand image

As they say, new year, new you. If you’ve been working with the same brand image for a long time, you could consider some minor tweaks and improvements to update it. A brand image update is not a rebranding project. Your brand remains recognisable to your customers. But it feels fresher and more dynamic. Brand update ideas include a professionally-taken profile photo, minor changes to the logo and brand guidelines, or even a new web design. 

#8. Start a podcast

We’ve all got a story to tell. Blogging is an effective tool to publish your words. However, the pandemic has created a sense of digital data overload. There’s too much everywhere all the time. People’s attention span has suffered dramatically. So, your heartfelt blog article could get unnoticed because it’s too long. But podcasts, on the other hand, give your words a new voice. And they’re super accessible, so it’s easy for your audience to relax and listen. Podcasts also serve a marketing purpose for small businesses, as they can be cost-effective to produce and release while promoting your expertise to a broad audience. What’s not to like? 

#9. Make a video

No, we don’t mean a filmed selfie that you upload on Instagram. We mean a professional video that shares your story and your business goals. There are plenty of professional video companies that can help you create a short introduction film that packs a lot of engaging content in a short time. Becoming a full-time video blogger – vlogger for short – is time-demanding and requires additional equipment. However, you can refresh your online presence with a short video that engages with web visitors. 

If you’ve got an extra marketing budget, you can also publish your video on advertising platforms, such as distributing it on the Google Display Network and Youtube. It can be helpful to define your target audience beforehand so that you’re only showing the video to the relevant target. 

#10. Get that LinkedIn Premium membership

LinkedIn offers two premium membership packages, for individuals and businesses. With a premium account, your business can expand its network by reaching out to more potential partners and peers. InMail messages are a smart and useful tool to boost your business awareness and find new opportunities. Not sure if that’s the right thing for you? You can try for free for a month. 

What’s your business strategy for 2021? Are you going to grow your social influence, expand your network, or deliver additional services to your customers? Whatever your goals, it’s time to seize the opportunities and make the most of the post-pandemic business environment. Small businesses and freelancers have been quicker to adjust than big brands. Make sure to maximise your chances while you can! 

 

 

What You Do – & Don’t – Need To Be A Successful Freelance Writer

February 17, 2020 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

*Collaborative post.

To be successful as a freelance writer, you need to have a particular set of skills. It’s not all that hard to be successful as a writer: contrary to popular belief! However, you have to have the right skills, the right level of creativity – and it would help if you had a good grasp of the language in which you are hoping to write. When we use the word successful, we don’t necessarily mean in terms of cash; we mean that you can see a steady stream of work based on the fact that people are impressed with you and what you can do.

There are several skills that you need to write as a freelancer, as we mentioned, and it’s so much more than you think. So, we’re going to talk through the skills that you need, as well as the skills that you don’t need, to be a successful writer.

 

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What You Need To Be A Successful Freelance Writer
  • You Need To Be Able To Write

It’s simple, but it’s true. It would help if you had some ability to write clearly, fluently and without too much waffle. Of course, depending on the topic, a little waffle is to be expected! However, it would help if you thought of writing as a craft which you must hone. You can learn to write, but it’s a little more about having a natural talent for it than anything else. You don’t have to aim for perfection with your work; what is perfect writing, anyway?

 

  • A Passion For Writing

While some people turn to content writing as a freelancer, they don’t have much of a passion or a desire to write. Most writers cannot explain to anyone their process. How do you tell someone that you can’t articulate the words you want to write, but that your hands know what to say? It’s because those with a real passion for writing have an instinct for the words which flow through their fingertips. You need this. You don’t have to love every topic in front of you, but you do have to be able to write that topic well. 

 

  • A Space To Work

The beautiful thing about freelancing as a writer is that you can bring your writing anywhere. You can sit in the park with your laptop, lounge on the beach with a tablet and you can even just sit at the dining table at home while you can. Ideally, if you’re going to do this professionally, you’re going to need a space to work. You need to be able to have the best software for your writing, with updated computer equipment. It would help if you also had an excellent smartphone to communicate well with your clients. There are plenty of packages out there, and you can refer a friend and get one month free SMARTY when you do. So, if you know other freelancers out there looking to stay connected, get in touch with them, and you both get something for free. Equipping your space is so necessary, so make sure you have the right writing tools from the start.

 

  • A Willingness To Market Yourself

You may not have much confidence in person, but behind the written word, you’re a powerhouse, and you know what you’re doing. Your professionalism and your confidence shines through the way you wrap your words around a given topic. You are a business, and you are your own selling point. As a writer, you need to be comfortable enough to market yourself, and that takes time to learn how to do that.

 

  • The Ability To Accept A “No”

Now, rejection is supposed to be a bad thing. In the world outside of writing, rejection isn’t exactly positive. However, as a writer, you will get far more rejections than you will accept in the early days of your writing. This isn’t something that should devastate you. Instead, ask for feedback; what was it about your writing that wasn’t right for the job? Learn from the rejection and move on.

 

  • Perseverance

Oh, boy, do you need to know how to keep going! If you are fortunate enough to get a role with a company with regular work coming in, you still have to think on your feet with other positions. As a freelancer, your job is never guaranteed, and it can change day by day. Instead of sitting back and letting workflow to you, stay active and keep your name circulating so that people are aware that you are writing and ready to go!

 

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What You Do Not Need To Be A Successful Freelance Writer

Now that we have discussed all of the things that you need to be successful as a freelancer, there are some things that you don’t need to worry about. Shall we take a look? 

 

  • You Don’t Need To Know It All

So much of writing comes from just, well, writing! You don’t need to know how to build your own website, and you don’t need to know how to write about every single topic in the world. However, you do need to know how to research your work and how to put out a good query letter. You don’t need to build your site when there are so many other professionals out there who would be more than willing to help you to do it! It would help if you trusted that you know more than enough to be successful.

 

  • You Don’t Need Unlimited Support

While it’s a beautiful thing to have, you don’t actually need everyone in your life to agree with you that freelancing is the way to go. People won’t, and that’s okay; you can’t help them with their wrong opinion about how you live your life. Content writers are kings in an online world. So, go out there and prove to everyone that you have nothing to prove. It’s so satisfying!

 

  • You Don’t Need To Fear Rejection

People will tell you no, and that’s something that you have to get over really fast if you want to be a writer. Don’t fear it; let people reject and learn from it – as we mentioned earlier.

 

  • You Don’t Need Hours Of Free Time

Writing is a passion, and you don’t need to wait until the perfect moment to start writing. You don’t have to wait until the kids have grown up and moved out. You only really need time that you want to dedicate to it, and that’s it. You will always find the time to write. 

 

  • You Don’t Need To Be Perfect

Lastly, you do not need perfection. Writers are naturally critical of their work, and you should be confident that the articles that you are putting out are what your client needs. There is no such thing as perfect!

 

Now you know how, what are you going to do about it? Go and chase your freelance dreams!

 

How to sell on eBay UK

August 5, 2019 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 22 Comments

I set up my eBay UK account in 2015 and I have been selling on and off on eBay for many years. Although I took a long break from selling on the platform, I am now back on there and enjoying it all now. It is now a lot easy to list items on there thanks to the smart tools eBay has put in place. I can now easily add photos on the eBay UK app on my phone and list items quickly. This used to take ages years ago so I am pleased to see the company has moved along with the times. It is now a lot easy to sell on eBay.

 

 

Selling on eBay image

 

I currently have about 15 items listed on my eBay account. I sold 2 items the other day and I was happy to see they were wanted by many. My experience with eBay these last couple of weeks has been very motivating. I know I will be selling loads of items on there going forward. At the moment, I am only seeing brand new items. I used to sell pre loved items but I discovered the money I got off the items was not worth the hassle. So going forward it is brand new items only or luxury pre loved items.

Selling on eBay UK can be a full time online business for you if you have an eye for products that will be in high demand and if you understand how the online market works. Here are some tips if you may find useful if you want to sell on eBay –

 

Do your research

Like every other business, a good research is required before you venture into selling on eBay. The first thing to do before starting a home business selling on Ebay is to research products you plan on selling and who is selling it already. This will give you information on pricing and how popular the products you are interested in selling are. A good research will also open your eyes to how to SEO the description and title of the items you plan on selling.

 

Sampling

Once your research is done, the next step is to test the waters in the form of sampling. This is very important so you have an idea of how sales may go before you invest a lot of money in products.

 

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Take great photos

Make sure you take great quality photos that showcase the items from all angles. You have the opportunity to upload up to 12 free pictures so make the most of the allowance. I won’t buy a product if I can’t see it from all angles and if the photos are not bright and clear.

 

Get your pricing right

It is important you get your pricing right.  You don’t want it too high or too low, you want it just right for the product and your time/effort. Also, remember to take into account the eBay and Paypal fees that would be taken off. Many new sellers forget this bit and are shocked to find they are a bit short after selling.

 

Buy it now

I like the buy it now feature, which is why I sell on my items like that. The auction style doesn’t work for me. I have had issues in the past with cheeky buyers so I stopped selling auction style. Plus I don’t like the uncertainty of not knowing what price a product is sold.

 

Do you sell on eBay UK? How are you finding it? Do you have any tried and tested tips to share?

 

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