Scale your business to grow and do more of what you love.
You started your freelance copywriting business because you love to write. But as you get more clients, you’re spending more time on paperwork and less time actually creating.
Of course, you’re thrilled that your business is growing. But you want to be able to earn more money and spend more time doing the work that gets you excited – the writing itself. If this sounds like you, it may be a sign that it’s time to scale your business.
What Does It Mean to Scale Your Business?
Scaling your business simply means growing it further than where it is currently. But working longer and longer hours isn’t sustainable with the lifestyle you desire. You want to expand your business without it needing to take up more of your time.
Let’s say you’re already working 30 hours a week. You’re not able to take on more clients, because you don’t have more hours to thoughtfully spend on work. But without booking more projects, you can’t increase your monthly income, either.
To be able to grow and earn more money, you need to free up time so you can focus on higher paying work.
You may be ready to scale your business if you’re feeling limited in your…
- Time: Your schedule is fully booked, so you’re turning clients away. You’re doing a lot of work that you don’t love – like admin work, email responses, or onboarding.
- Goals: You’re not able to reach your next-level business goals without support. For me, the maximum I could make completely on my own was around $24,000 a month.
First off, let me say congratulations!
Needing to scale your business means that your business is thriving, which is a huge accomplishment. I’m also going to give you permission to not scale your business in the “traditional” way if you don’t want to.
So many entrepreneurs say the ultimate goal of scaling is to increase your cash flow. But scaling could also mean freeing up your time to spend fewer hours working – and that’s completely okay, too.
My ultimate goal is to help you save time by scaling your business, so you can have more control over your time and life. Whether you use that extra time to increase your earnings or enjoy where you currently are is up to you!
Why You Need to Offload Tasks to Scale Your Business
Do you know what it feels like to be in your “zone of genius”? Your creativity is flowing, you feel energized and excited. If you’re a copywriter, the writing itself is likely when you’re in the flow.
Offloading tasks that you don’t love to do allows you to spend more time in your zone of genius. And the more time you spend in your zone, the more you enjoy your days and improve your craft – which ultimately leads to scaling your business and feeling more fulfilled.
To know which tasks you should offload, first write down a list of which activities you DO love in your business – and which you DON’T.
- DO. These are the tasks that you feel motivated and excited to start. When you work on them, it almost doesn’t even feel like you’re working and you lose track of time. Maybe it’s planning your own content, or writing for your favorite client.
- DON’T. Tackling these tasks that you don’t love to do might feel like a huge chore. Time moves by slowly, you distract yourself, and you procrastinate getting them done. This may include admin work like creating invoices or emailing clients.
Once you have this list, the next step is to decide how to offload the tasks you don’t love, to have more time to spend on the ones you do.
How to Automate and Delegate Tasks
The primary ways to offload your tasks are to delegate them to someone else or to automate them using project management software.
- Delegate. This means that you hire someone outside of your business to take certain tasks off your plate.
If you’re anything like I was, you might think you’re the only one who can do the tasks the way you want them done. Every time you consider hiring help, you convince yourself it’d be easier to get it done yourself.
Yes, it does take some extra time to train someone on how you like things done. But taking that little added time is 1000% worth it in the long run.
Examples of outside hires include…
- Virtual Assistant/Business Manager. Train someone to help with any of the tasks that you don’t enjoy. They can draft emails to clients for you, send out onboarding and follow-ups, and more.
My business manager has become such a vital part of my business. Now, I trust her for ideas, feedback, and even advice about my business. - Copywriter. You can hire another writer to help you with researching, outlining, and even writing copy. A relationship with another writer comes in handy if something unexpected comes up – like an emergency or family illness.
If you enjoy hiring and managing other writers, you may want to explore an agency model. In this model, you oversee strategy, client communications, and project management – while the writers underneath you execute some or all the copywriting work.
It can be hard to trust someone else with your business tasks at first, and I totally get it. But there are people out there who LOVE doing the tasks you hate. Delegating those tasks saves you time, and lets you empower someone else to use their expertise.
- Automate. This is when your software automatically accomplishes tasks that you’d otherwise have to do manually. Many project management tools allow you to automate your business processes. This makes it quicker and easier to manage client processes like onboarding.
Examples of business automation include using…
- Templates. Instead of creating a new document each time you have a new client, use a template that’s easy to copy. For example, I have a proposal template that I duplicate each time I pursue a new project. With templates, you can personalize a new document, but you don’t have to start from scratch each time.
- Workflows. When you set up a workflow, your business processes will trigger automatically. For example, you can set up a new client workflow. When you book a new client, it could automatically send them a welcome email, contract, and onboarding email.
A few automation tools I recommend include:
- Dubsado – project management, templates, workflows.
- And.Co – contracts.
- Gusto – payroll system for paying your freelance hires.
- Freshbooks – invoicing and accounting.
- Dragon – dictation software that helps me write much faster.
Setting up automated processes and workflows takes some extra time in the beginning, but they’ll quickly save you countless hours on tasks you don’t love.
If you’re hesitant to invest in a project management software or outside hire, try to reposition your mindset. This is an investment in your business and your ability to earn more money.
One tip that helps me is reminding myself how much money I could make in the time the tool or freelancer would save me. For example, if working with a copyeditor saves you 5 hours per week – remind yourself how much money you can make in that amount of time.
Grow and Scale Your Copywriting Business
Many copywriting courses teach you the skills of copy but don’t explain how to navigate building a copywriting business. But it’s vital to have a solid foundation that can support you as you grow and scale your business.
Write Your Way to Freedom is unlike any other copywriting course. Not only do you learn expert copy skills, but it also teaches you how to build a solid, lucrative copywriting business from the beginning. You learn how to manage your business like a pro and set yourself up for success.
To learn more about Write Your Way to Freedom, sign up for my free online copywriting masterclass: How to Build a Lucrative Freelance Copywriting Career.
When you join WYWTF, you also get access to a community of online business owners who are defining success on our own terms – and scaling our businesses in ethical ways. It truly is a nurturing community where you’ll find the support you need to start and scale your business.
I can’t wait to see you in there. 😉
Want to Watch Instead?
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