How Do You Make More Money?
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I have to admit that I’m a little nervous about putting up this post. I think it could be such a great resource, but I’m worried that people will think I’m merely being nosey. Perhaps it’s my own preconceived notions that are causing me to doubt myself, as I was raised to think it was rude to discuss money. On the other hand, I’ve been in the blogosphere long enough now to realize that there are some people who talk about nothing else.
I’m hoping that this post will find sort of a middle ground so that we can all help one another without having to step too far out of our own comfort zones. It was originally written as a guest post for eMoms at Home a few months ago, but since we’ve moved in a different direction with Sparkplugging, it seemed reasonable to bring it back here to Freelance Parent.
There’s really something to be said for poking around the Internet, you know? There’s just so much information out there waiting to be Googled and Yahooed and crammed into our beady little brains. I will admit to being a bit of an information junkie who likes to have as many facts as possible before making a decision.
I don’t believe in astrology, but I am such a Libra . . .
So, it should probably come as no surprise that I was reading eMoms at Home long before I actually had a home business. Technically, I’m still not even a mom, although that situation will remedy itself in about three more weeks. Another blog that I read a whole lot before I was a “problogger” (notice I don’t feel quite adequate enough to capitalize it) was . . . you guessed it . . . Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger. Honestly, I was reading both of these blogs before I really even knew what an RSS feed was (now I’m goofy about checking my feed numbers) or whether or not it was presumptuous to comment on a stranger’s blog (it turns out they really like it when you do that).
I’ve been completely intrigued by ProBlogger’s current previous interview strategy wherein Darren has asked some of his favorite bloggers to simply answer one question. What a brilliant idea! It doesn’t take too much time out of the other people’s lives, and it is just a great question. As someone who loves, loves, loves to pick up these little bits of information all over the internet, his series has been a bit of a smorgasbord for me.
Then I find out that I get to completely hijack Wendy Piersall’s blog for a day. Then I realize that I have a very cool blog of my own with extremely smart, savvy readers. You’re kidding me, right? I have access to all of those amazing people who have their own home-based businesses? How am I going to impart any sort of wisdom to all of them? Why, that just seems silly!
Then it hit me. I can ask you all a question. Everyone likes to talk about their businesses right? And most of us really genuinely love to learn about businesses, too. We want to know what other people are doing, how they’re doing it, how they’d do it differently if they could. All that jazz.
But I mustn’t be greedy. So, I’m learning from the ProBlogger himself and just asking one question. Feel free to leave a response in the comments section, or even write up a post on your own blog and let us know about it.
“What business decision did you make in the last year that resulted in the biggest increase in revenue?”
You can get into the nitty-gritty details (oh please, oh please) or you can just keep it short and simple by saying something like “I decided to start.”
I’m practically swooning in anticipation of learning from this amazing community! My hope is that we can all get a little inspiration and that everyone here gets at least one new suggestion that makes their business rock in the next several months.
Oh, and I should probably answer the question myself, shouldn’t I? I think the biggest boon for the Berry-Brewer Freelance Agency was the fact that it is a partnership. Not only are we able to split up the work when necessary, but we also keep each other motivated in a way that neither of us could do for ourselves. Being accountable to someone else is exactly what we need to make sure we’re sending in those bids and meeting all of our deadlines.
So, hit us with your best ideas. If you’ve been reading for a while but haven’t commented, here’s an opportunity to get involved. (Even if it’s just to say, “Hey, I like the idea that so-and-so posted. I’m gonna’ try it!”)
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Christina Lemmey is the mother of two school-aged girls, a wife, and the owner of 
Great post idea, Lorna! I can definitely learn a thing (or ten) about this topic, so I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for everyone’s comments!
I’ve made several big changes over the last year that have made me more money. In order of what I did…
1) Starting a blog! I started my blog in August 2007 and that has opened a whole new world of possibilities. Along with the blog, I’ve been also READING (and commenting) on many blogs – I have learned So Much about running a small business, marketing and blogging since I became involved (by writing my own and reading other blogs)
2) Networking – Specifically I started reading a marketing book (Get Clients Now by CJ Hayden) – this book has so many ideas for marketing! I’m a web designer, not a sales person, lol, so I needed lots of help here!
3) Hiring a marketing consultant (Naomi of Itty Biz – http://www.ittybiz.com) I can’t even begin to tell you how motivating my consultations with Naomi have been! And she gave me a suggestion that has likely made me the most amount of money… (see #4 below, LOL)
4) Raising my rates! I’ve read many posts recently (here on Sparkplugging as well as several other blogs) about being sure to charge what you are worth, and not under-value yourself, your time and your work. I raised my rates 25% (It had been a LONG time since I had updated my rates). Initially I was afraid I would loose out on potential clients if my rates were too high. But you know what – it’s gotten me more work, and better quality work! People probably associate higher rates with better quality. And assuming you do actually provide good quality, they are happy to pay for such work. The higher rates have weeded out some prospects who would never follow through on inquires – I find that the people who do inquire are more serious about their web sites. And of course, with higher rates, you end up doing less work for the same amount of money (LOL, or the same amount of work for more money). Win-win in my book!
5) Ok, as a web designer, I can’t NOT say this, LOL – re-designing my web site! This is actually probably the biggest thing. I’ve received many more compliments on my current site than on any of my previous versions. Good first impression and all that – at the very least, it helps get your foot in the door as far as potential new clients are concerned.
And I apologize that this comment was so long! [blushing] I’m hoping for other great suggestions, though, so I wanted to share as much as I could, too!
Um… and as if I didn’t write too much to begin with…
6) Confidence! Not being afraid to promote yourself! LOL, like with long comments above
Seriously though – it’s so difficult for most freelancers to think of heavy self-promotion (I’m personally a complete introvert). But changing your mindset makes such a big difference. I think of myself 5 years ago… heck, even 1 year ago. I’ve changed my mindset dramatically – I have more confidence in myself and my talent. I think that comes through and therefore potential customers have more confidence in your abilities as well.
Ok, and NOW I’m done commenting, LOL
Selene M. Bowlbys last blog post..Get Clients Now! The First 28 Days, Week 1
It’s hard to point to any one thing, or several things for that matter that have increased my earnings over the past year.
A few things that have helped that many people neglect are:
(A) Educating Yourself – read, read, and read some more. Don’t pretend that you know it all. Just make sure that you find a trusted source of information. Personally, Problogger.net and Johnchow.com(less so these days) have been incredibly helpful in my journey towards becoming a successful blogger.
(B) Relationships – Building relationships in some form, or better yet, many forms is key. The more people you know and connect with, the more leverage you’ll have. Very few people are successful on the internet without any outside help.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but one that I’ve seen other struggle with.
Cory from Dental Heroess last blog post..Water Picks 101: The Essentials
@Selene – Your long comments kick butt. Your enthusiasm for this idea is exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks for your insights.
@Cory – Great suggestions. Thanks for getting involved!
Darn it! I am late reading the blog and most of the good stuff has been said. : )
You already covered the paramount thing for me. LOVE what you do. I enjoy working from home, not only because it means more time with my kiddos, but I truly LOVE the work too. Designing websites, consulting with small business owners to increase their visibility and set and attain goals is SO MUCH fun.
Second, (again just a reiteration) is definitely building relationships. Follow up, email, call, even if just to say hello. Old fashioned and simple, but so important.
Last, ASK FOR BUSINESS. You would not believe how many sales people don’t actually ask for the sale. It amazes me. Don’t be timid. Go for it! Once you’ve educated them on who you are and what you have to offer…say “let’s get started on this”! What’s the worst that can happen? Hopefully you are selling a product that you believe in and therefore you should feel good about helping people take advantage of whatever you’re selling.
Oh, and that book that was previously mentioned “Get Clients Now” is a GREAT read.
In the past few months, what made a noticeable difference in my income was giving away a free copy of my ebook The Beginners Make Money Cookbook on my site. Not only does it have both free and affiliate links embedded in it, but I also use it as viral marketing to encourage people share it about online too.
The fact that my Why Subscribe? page is highlighted on every page footer helps too.
Barbara
Barbara Lings last blog post..21 Days to a more profitable blog – Day 4! Craft your Why Subscribe? Page and Network
For me, the best decision I made was to leave a steady, low-paying job and take a wild leap into the world of higher rates. To my surprise, it worked and I actually earn enough to not only pay the bills, but to start building our bathroom!
Mine I guess was giving my ALL to getting the About.com position, as it has sent me more business than I can handle. I think b/c of Google. I get so many random emails and that’s the only thing I can think of, as I can tell they haven’t been on my company site yet.
I agree with Cory’s comment on educating yourself. For me, I’ve bought many books (make that too many) that are full of great information about how to earn an income online. My biggest problem has been implementing what I learn.
I’ve taken some bigs steps in this direction lately and it has really started to pay off. Simply following through with a good plan has been paramount to my success.
Lorna,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my post. I most definitely took the exercise seriously. I want to keep working from home and I have to justify that it’s a plan that can and is working (no pun intended).
Debs last blog post..Mid year review, pt 1
Hi Lorna, I have to thank you again for this post. The process has started influencing so many things and the most significant has been rethinking my photography. I took a photography course at university (one tough course let me tell you) because I wanted to be able to illustrate my own writing. Now I find myself looking around for ways to exploit the photography to buy time for building a more profitable writing line.
Business decision? Well keeping my eyes open on the market, and networking. I make it a point to check indeed.com at least once daily, see if there is an opportunity that could offer me more $, better work environment, and other perks. Frankly I understand that loyalty and seniority are things of the past… but now I know I wont be shaking in my boots, when that dreaded news of trimming the fat hits my place of work.