On Monday, I was part of a fantastic conversation about what it’s like to be solopreneur / freelancer in the tech space today. Along with my fellow panelists, Shirley Wu and Nicole Mark, we discussed a variety of topics around what it’s like to start your own business, find clients, scope projects and handle the dreaded Imposter Syndrome.
Prior to the conversation, we asked the attendees for questions and received so many responses! We didn’t have time to answer them all in the 90-min convo, so I thought I would jot down my answers on some of my favorites here.
Questions I Answer in this blog:
What does the contract process look like with a brand new client?
How have you honed in on accurately estimating project time and effort?
Can you share learnings on due diligence before accepting a project?
How difficult is it to find your work process with a client?
What was one fear you had before starting your biz that turned out unfounded?
What advice would you give to your former self before going out on your own?
If you are thinking of starting your own biz or have a biz and want to grow it, check out my coaching services. I’d love to support you!
1. How did you get started and get your name out there?
Having a website, business cards, networking actively, and joining local business groups are essential steps. Sharing your passion with everyone and utilizing online platforms contribute to building visibility. Don’t be shy to tell everyone and anyone what you are up to - you never know where a lead may come from.
2. How do you find clients and projects?
I've found all my projects through networking and promoting my business on LinkedIn and in my community through word of mouth. Networking on platforms like Instagram and informing close connections, like family and friends, also helps in generating unexpected leads. Personalized communication, like emails or LinkedIn messages, requesting a Zoom call for in-depth discussions on my business was crucial to honing my pitch and getting the word out there at the very beginning that I am open to work.
3. Do you do any paid advertising to get clients?
I haven't tried paid advertising yet, but considering Instagram targeting small businesses as a potential avenue. Will report back if I try this out!
4. What kind of business structure do you use, and why?
“Regardless of your business structure, be prepared to set aside around 30% of revenue for taxes!”
As a dual business owner, I have an S-corp and an LLC. My consulting practice is a C-Corp with S-Corp tax filing status, while my pet-sitting business is a single member LLC. Being an S-Corp offers more long term tax benefits, but having the underlying business be a C-Corp overcomplicates things a bit. I wish I hadn’t made it so complicated for myself right out of the gates and just gone with an LLC for my consulting practice as well, but live and learn, right?? Regardless of your business structure, be prepared to set aside around 30% of revenue for taxes!
If you are unsure how to establish your business and want to learn more about your options, I highly recommend checking out collective.com - the all in one solution for self-employed entrepreneurs. I do not use them currenlty, but I find their blog and resources extremely helpful in understanding all the jargon and nuances of business structures. I also have had two separate calls with them to understand their service model and I have had very positive experiences in those conversations.
5. What should I think about before starting a business?
You have to have a strong WHY - because when the going gets tough, which it will, it’s your WHY that is going to give the grit and confidence to keep going. For me, my WHY is that I wanted more independence and autonomy in my work, and I also felt a strong calling to bring more joy and ease to people’s lives through process design.
A few other thought starters:
What services do I want to provide and is there a market for it?
What is my ‘stand-out’ quality that makes working with me unique?
How and where will I promote myself?
A few non-business things:
Do I have a good support system around me to support me through this experience?
What are the things that scare me the most and what are some ways I can ease those areas (hiring a coach, taking a class, reaching out to a friend from school who knows about accounting, etc.)
6. What does the contract process look like with a brand new client?
Contract negotiation can take 2-3 months. Once at that stage, writing, reviewing, and negotiating contracts, followed by signature for signing, is the norm. A comprehensive contract includes standard clauses and a project-specific addendum.
My contract includes standard language around services provided, payment terms, ownership of the work created, standard non disclosure and confidentiality, indemnification clause and a clause that clearly outlines my role as an Independent Contract (not an employee which is a big deal in CA).
Following all the legal jargon I have an addendum with the Statement of Work that is specific to the project at hand and not written in Legalese. This has sections for deliverables, project process and workplan, meetings and communication, timeframe, dependencies for success and my fee for the project.
7. How have you honed in on accurately estimating project time and effort?
Experience and practice play a crucial role in estimating projects. Adding a buffer of 50% to initial estimates is a practical approach when you’re starting out. Problems are always going to arise so it’s nice to have a buffer built in. As you get more projects, use time tracking apps (I like Toggl) and analyze projects afterward to see if you were close to your original estimate. This helps me in continuous improvement to get my estimates more accurate over time.
8. Can you share learnings on due diligence before accepting a project?
Talk to multiple project team members and insist on a face-to-face (or Zoom) meeting with the client. Trust your intuition; if something feels off from the start, it likely is. Declining a mismatched project politely, with suggestions, can leave a positive impression for future opportunities.
“Their data wasn’t ready for visualization and they couldn’t articulate clearly what they wanted. Those were both really big red flags for me.”
Early on in my business, I had a call with someone looking for ‘data visualization,’ but when I got on the phone with them what they really needed was an experienced data engineer. Their data wasn’t ready for visualization and they couldn’t articulate clearly what they wanted. Those were both really big red flags for me.
Since this was right after I started out, people may think I should have been grateful to take any job that came across my desk, but honestly that is exactly WHY I started my own business - so I could say ‘no’ and not have to take every job that was presented to me.
So, after meeting with them, I listened to my body and my gut which said ‘oh hell no’ and I wrote them a very polite email declining the project and offering, in helpful detail: “Here are the first 4 things I would do if I were taking the project and here is a consultancy I can recommend that can help you.”
I probably didn’t have to do that extra step of outlining next steps for them, but I wanted to show that I was paying attention to their problem and also add some value for them after our conversation.
Also, I followed up with them a bit later to ask how the project went and was told ‘the direction of the ask completely shifted,” so I like to believe that my conversation with them helped them to hone their ask to be closer to what they really needed and ultimately find the right consultant. I would have been doing both of us a disservice by taking on the project at the beginning.
9. How difficult is it to find your work process with a client?
I define my work process from the get go. My projects are mostly project-based/deliverable focused - so I outline a week by week plan of what I’ll do when, granted we usually stray a time or two, but this at least gives us a solid foundation to start.
I also have clauses in my contract about communication standards, my SLA for emails, recurring status meetings, and dependencies for success - so the client knows up front their participation is essential for a positive outcome.
My work is always extremely collaborative. I am not the type of consultant to get an assignment, disappear for 3 weeks, and come back with a finished project. I firmly believe in user-centered development, whether it’s for a dashboard or a process, so I am actively engaging with my client in email/slack and weekly status meetings that we schedule during our kick-off call together.
10. What was one fear you had before starting your biz that turned out unfounded?
The fear of being told "No" by potential clients. Overcoming this fear involved pushing boundaries, getting used to rejection, and viewing it as a sign of effort. I was trying. I was putting myself out there and hearing ‘No’ wasn’t always the end of the conversation, but an opening to ask more questions. “Go for the no!” is a real thing in business and I am continuing to learn how to see ‘No’ as an opportunity.
11. How do you overcome imposter syndrome as an entrepreneur?
Building a support system, hiring a business coach, reading relevant literature, and practicing meditation and yoga are key strategies that worked for me.
I hired a business coach who was instrumental in holding my vision for me when I started to lose sight of why I wanted to do this in the first place. We met 3x a month for the first 6 months of my business and I wouldn’t have been as successful or felt as confident as I did without her support.
I also read the book Playing Big by Tara Mohr during the start of my business and I absolutely loved what she had to say to women entrepreneurs. She talks a lot about the Inner Critic and how it’s our Inner Critics who are feeding our imposter syndrome…but the good news is that we don’t always have to listen to the Inner Critic. That’s just one voice. We also have an Inner Mentor. So for me, when my Inner Critic gets really loud and says, ‘You can’t do this. You’re not good enough,” I pause, gently turn down the volume on this narrative and then ask, “What would my Inner Mentor say about this?” And 100% of the time, she has something way better to say that is based on my inner knowing and truth: that I CAN do this. And I have evidence that says so.
Q: What advice would you give to your former self before going out on your own?
Save more money, maximize your 401k employer match while you’re an FTE, and build an emergency fund. Having at least 3 months of average monthly spending saved up is essential - and if you can manage more then do it. I didn’t get my first client payment until about 4 months into leaving my FT job - so my back up savings was extremely important. It’s most likely going to take time before you are making what you were making before in a salaried position.
Also, my other advice is that you need to know what you are spending each month so you can know what you need to bring in. As a solopreneur you are going to have to get very up close and personal with all your finances - it’s going to be uncomfy - but it’s extremely necessary you know where every dollar is going so that you can make strategic decisions of where to modify your spending during slow months. I canceled my house cleaners, stopped getting regular acupuncture, abided by a strict restaurant/eating out budget (no more fancy coffees multiple times a week), and cut back on any shopping that wasn’t absolutely essential (like clothes, new makeup, etc.)
Watch the full conversation:
Loved what you read here and want to know more? Have any questions I didn’t answer? Reach out and let’s chat!