4 Strategic, Freelance Lessons Learned in Business School
Credit: Vancouver Film School on Flickr
It surprises most people when they find out that I am double majoring in Graphic Design and Marketing. They understand it is a great pairing, and that they can go hand in hand, but when they hear “marketing” they think my course is tailored to just marketing. It isn’t.
Being a business student, I had to take courses in all the other concentrations my university offered, such as accounting, management, and finance. While some of my fellow business students feel that learning about these subjects may not pertain to them and the field they plan to go into, I feel different. I have learned quite a few things in my business classes that I also use in my freelancing. What are some of those lessons?
Freelance Business Lesson 1: Do Not Compete on Price Alone
OK I admit, this did come from a marketing class, however, it doesn’t always apply to just marketing activities. The lesson here is to not compete on price, period. Why? Because any business or freelancer can easily drop their prices, which will cause you to lose your competitive advantage overnight.
The lesson here is to not compete on price, period.
While there are many avenues you can compete on OTHER than price (i.e. product, quality of service, marketing strategy, customer service, etc.), it must be said that finding a sustainable competitive advantage to compete on that cannot be easily copied is key. I wrote about finding a sustainable competitive advantage as a student, but it could easily work for anyone pursuing freelance business, student or not.
I’ve noticed several freelancing books mention a similar topic of finding a niche market and catering to them. That is a good business lesson, but when you cater to them follow the sage advice, don’t do so on price alone.
Freelance Business Lesson 2: Have a Strategic Course of Action for Your Freelance Business
Strategic versus tactic. Long-term versus short-term. What does that mean for your freelance business? It means you need to think more long term (strategically) and less short-term (tactically). There isn’t really a hard, fast rule about this, but the more you can look into the future and plan for it, the better your freelancing will be. Much like looking at the road ahead, rather than the pavement directly in front of your car when driving. Looking down the entire stretch of road gives you more time to react and avoid obstacles.
Looking out as far as you can see is thinking strategically (or long-term). You will often have more time to see when a wreck in your freelance business is about to occur, and can react more effectively and with more precision than if you were only thinking tactically. Well, freelancers may often see that a year from now is considered long-term while anything less than a year is short-term. However you define long-term and short-term, don’t forget to plan not only for the short-term, but think and plan ahead for the long-term as well. This is a basic business lesson to take to heart.
Freelance Business Lesson 3: Presentation is Everything
In business school, almost every single class requires you to give a presentation of some sort toward the end of the semester. Oftentimes, you are required to give more than just one in the same class. In every class I had to do a presentation for, the presentation grade was always one of the highest weights. And it makes sense to do so.
If you can give a presentation cleanly, professionally, and confidently, then that will weigh much more heavily than what you are saying. This can translate well into freelance business presentations and pitches to freelance clients. If you act the part, even if you don’t have a strong presentation, then it could pay dividends in the end. This business lesson isn’t an excuse to under-prepare though.
Freelance Business Lesson 4: Knowing How a Business Runs Pays Dividends
This is something I have noticed about starting freelancers—they don’t know much about how a business runs. In business school, we are taught just about everything in business: from how the accounting department works, how products get distributed, how plans are made, etc. While the details aren’t necessarily something a freelancer would need to know, understanding the broader picture is important. Having a basic understanding of how a type of business operates is key.
Having a basic understanding of how a type of business operates is key.
For instance, when discussing with a prospect about a project, it is often very important to find out their role in the company, the size of their company, how long their company has been in business, etc. These are small details that can serve you well. If you are talking to a prospect who owns the company, then you are speaking to the heart and soul of the business. However, if you are talking to the marketing director of the company, chances are they are more focused on meeting goals and budgets from the higher-ups. Owners of companies will want to focus on different aspects of the project, than someone down the food chain who has been put in charge.
Learning how different businesses typically run can not only help you mold your presentation to the client, but can also help you deliver better customer service, show the client that you are on their level and understand their position, and can overall end with a better project.
Putting these Freelance Business Lessons to Use
While these are just a handful of the freelance business lessons I have learned from business school that have translated well into freelancing, I am sure I have left some out. The moral of the story is that it isn’t only great that you know everything about your field, but it is also just as good to have broader knowledge about the business world as well. Now it’s time to put these freelance business lessons to work for you.
Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Vancouver Film School
Back in high school/college, I remember many people (myself included) whining about the subjective nature of presentations. As an engineer it goes against my grain, I suppose. Now I couldn’t agree more with point #3.
Presentation is everything (regardless of if it is a “presentation” in the literal sense or just how you present yourself). The hard reality of life is that people base a huge disproportionate amount of their decisions on subjective assessments about how they “feel” about something. Being calm and confident, in my humble opinion, is the most important skill any entrepreneur or business owner can have (aside from being competent
I completely agree. You are presenting yourself even when you least expect it. One thing I failed to say was that even if you are not giving a formal presentation, even meetings with clients and networking are forms of “presentations” that freelancers need to keep their eye on. You don’t want to tell someone whom you are networking with something you wouldn’t want your clients to know.
Rely more on strategy, less on tactics. Sage advice, Amber! Thanks a lot.
You must be able to know how things work so you can plan around that..this gives you a better understanding of the profits to be made..
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
That took me back.
I’m a freelance graphic designer with an HBComm double-major (Marketing & General Management) and one thing I’ve found in the graphic design field, especially for me who specializes in strategic design such as logos (identity, branding) is that a lot of the talk around branding often seems to loosely, but not completely, touch on the textbook marketing strategy. Usually there are some pieces missing, some pieces added that are unique to the graphic design field, and some pieces that the same piece with different names. So the formal education I’ve gotten has certainly been beneficial.
Finance, accounting, and even a little H.R. are also good things to know about as a freelancer.
I couldn’t agree with you more! I also do branding and identity design primarily and you have no idea how much my marketing classes has helped me understand all that goes into the business side of logos and branding. And with the formal education aspect of it–it is always better to obtain a formal education than to try to piece it together on your own.
Excellent post, Amber. I think every freelancer can benefit from a stronger understanding of business and marketing. For that matter, most small business owners in general don’t know as much as they should about the subjects. Thanks for the insights!
Running our business like a business is the best possible advice. I remember and article form Mini-lab Magazine, a trade mag for the 1-hr photo industry, the explored the top two reasons for business failure. Surprisingly competition and revenue were nowhere near the top of the list. Numbers one and two where “Poor Cash-flow Management” and “Under Capitalization” receptively.
For freelances who’s products are their skill and creativity I doubt these capital and cash-flow are likely moot due to low overhead, however I still believe the point is valid, what can trip you up is not necessarily what you might first expect.
There is no downside to running a business as a business.
I highly recommend taking some business classes. I am slowly picking things up as I go, but as a result my progression and growth of my business is at a snails pace. There’s just some things I wish I knew before I started. Back to school again!
Absolutely! I even wrote about that aspect here: http://studentsthatfreelance.com/blog/learning/why-it-wouldnt-hurt-to-take-a-few-business-classes-in-school/
People also offer me bewildered comments when they find out that I’m dual pursuing Graphic Design and Web Development degrees. They compliment one another, so to me it just makes sense.
Thanks for tips, good for read, very useful.
thanks for the tips. We can gain our knowledge in business schools whether it’s college or etc…
Excellent advice.
I’m hoping that one day “Freelancing” will be part of high school studies. It’s a crime that compulsory, public education does not provide students with such basic survival tools.