But what if you are an introvert, and the thought of attending a live event fills you with dread?

The good news is that networking events have evolved considerably over the years and nowadays are not the stuffy, corporate, and oversalesy events they once were; instead, they come in all shapes and sizes and cater to all types of personalities, interests, and industries.

With this in mind, here are 3 networking tips for introverts to consider.

1. Choose a suitable event

Firstly, you’ll want to be clear about the type of event you want to attend and what your goals are for attending, i.e., what you want to get out of it, such as forming new contacts, learning something new, or building relationships. Not all events will be suitable for you or aligned with your goals, industry, or role. Some may be too far away or outside your budget. So take time to consider what you want to get out of it and also what you can bring to the event. Consider how your knowledge, experience, and talent can help other attendees. When you view an event from a two-way perspective, it becomes less daunting.

If you are worried about going on your own, it’s worth bearing in mind that in this day and age, event organizers and marketers are more conscious of solo attendees, so make an effort to make them feel welcome and part of the event. They may team you up with other solo attendees, sit you with other solo attendees, or suggest sessions that are specifically networking-friendly. Likewise, pre-event, they may send you a curated list of people you might like to connect with based on industry, shared interests, etc., which can help get the conversation started.

At the end of the day, good event organizers want their event to be a success; they want you to go away feeling like you’ve had an enjoyable and productive experience and will be back for more, so they will do everything they can to help make you feel included. If you are not sure if the event is suitable for you, get in touch with the organizer and ask questions beforehand to put your mind at rest.

2. Be prepared

To mitigate the risk of arriving late or not knowing where you’re supposed to be or the timing and location of the session you want to attend, go over the event timetable in advance so you know when and where to be at any specific time during the event. If you are traveling somewhere you’ve never been before, give yourself plenty of time to arrive and allow for contingencies such as late trains, planes, etc., because these things can put you on an immediate back foot and impact your mood (and confidence).

If you know other people who are attending the event, arrange to meet them pre-event for a coffee and catch up, or, if they are in the same area as you, you could arrange to travel to the event together. Attending an event with other familiar faces can be a nice way to ease into it.

It might be that the event is linked to a Facebook or LinkedIn business group or online community where you can network online, both pre-event to warm up and get to know people, and post-event to form part of your follow-up.

Another thing you can do is prepare a short, friendly personal intro to have on hand that introduces who you are and what you do when you meet new people. It can even be something fun or a way just to say ‘I’m new here’. Don’t overthink it; it’s just something to spark a conversation that doesn’t sound scripted or awkward. 

You could even prep a few questions or have interesting topics to talk about. While you don’t want to force a conversation on anyone, it’s good to remember that people attend networking events to connect with others, and while they might not look approachable, it may be that they are feeling awkward too and would love to speak with someone like you. You’ll find that once you start speaking to one person, you’ll gain confidence to speak to more.

3. Consider hosting your own event

This may sound counterintuitive, but if you are an introvert, you’ll know firsthand what it feels like at live events, so you’d be in a great position to help other fellow introverts with an introvert-friendly event. You’ll know what ‘icebreakers’ can be an instant put off for introverts, and the type of event they would prefer.

An event doesn’t have to be a grand affair either; it could be a cozy local meetup or cover something specific, such as a workshop on networking tips for introverts or a co-working session. By hosting your own event, you are transforming something that once could have held you back into something that propels you forward.

And when it comes to managing your event, EventSchedule is the perfect tool for managing calendars, ticket sales, QR check-ins, AI-powered tools, translations, and team collaboration all from one platform. You can also integrate it with Invoice Ninja, a free, leading invoicing software, to offer a wide range of payment options. Check it out here, and try Invoice Ninja for free here.

You’ve got this!

1. Regularly review finances

Freelance finances shouldn’t be something you review once or twice a year when the accountant calls, or you are due to pay a tax bill, but something you regularly need to keep an eye on to retain a positive cash flow.

For example, you may want to run an aged receivables report every month to see what money is owed to you – and how long it has been unpaid – so you can proactively chase any late payers, or you might want to run a customer sales report to ascertain the income received in a prescribed period. Proactively keeping a tab on your incoming and outgoing cash flow will mean you can remain buoyant, pay your bills, and get paid on time.

With Invoice Ninja, a leading free invoicing software, you can easily generate all sorts of useful reports manually, but you can also configure the system to email you reports on a regular schedule. Perfect for keeping on top of your money goals.

Watch our short video to take you through the setup.

Try Invoice Ninja for free here.

2. Review your freelance rates

If you find yourself working flat out but still struggling to make ends meet, you may need to increase your rates. This is especially the case if you’ve been working at the same rate for the same client for some time without an increase. Clients expect you to increase rates periodically, and some freelancers do this more regularly, such as raising their rates for each new client. While you want to remain competitive, you also want to be well remunerated so you can continue producing high-quality work and achieving results for your clientele without burning out.

Being proactive with your pricing and adapting to new ways of how and what to charge will help keep your bank account and cash flow positive and contribute to your growth.

You can also make it easy for clients to pay you by accepting online invoice payments and integrating your account with a payment gateway. Integrating your Invoice Ninja account with a payment gateway allows clients to pay their invoices with just 1-click!

Our popular payment gateways include Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless, and many more. Plus, you can get paid in Bitcoin thanks to our integration with BTCPay Server.

See all our payment gateway integrations here.

3. Market your business

Schedule time to work on your business as well as in it. 

It can be tempting to let marketing take a back seat when you are fully booked, but this can be an easy way to fall into the freelancer feast or famine cycle, where you have plenty of work one minute, and gigs are infrequent the next, which can be a worrying time for freelancers unless you are adequately prepared. This is why you need to always be marketing in some shape or form.

Of course, during slow work periods, there is plenty you can do; we’ve written about some of them in our blog post here. Marketing can take many forms, whether online, such as content marketing and email lists, or through traditional channels, such as print, broadcast, and direct mail. You can also use various methods to market your business locally. 

Schedule time to proactively reach out to potential clients, whether via cold email, online ads, or phone. Whatever avenue you follow, which will be specific to your business and freelance goals, be consistent and show up. 

4. Network

Be proactive about networking with fellow freelancers as well as professionals in your industry. Networking can open up many opportunities and professional collaborations that you might not have considered on your own. It’s also a great way to get your name and brand out there. 

At networking events, you can engage in conversations and connect with others interested in long-term growth and relationship building. Whether this is attending conferences and similar events or networking online, there’s a reason why they say your network is your net worth.

Don’t hold back on hosting your own event either. From exclusive lunch clubs to breakfast brainstorming events to masterclasses. With EventSchedule, you can plan, promote and share event calendars all from one powerful platform. Try EventSchedule for free here.

5. Follow up 

If you haven’t heard back from a potential client, be sure to follow up, especially when it comes to freelance proposals where you’ve already had direct communication with them by way of a discovery call or preliminary discussions. A polite reminder may be just the nudge they need. 

Likewise, any outbound marketing leads, such as cold pitch emails and direct messages via social media, should also be followed up on. Sometimes, a delayed response isn’t a ‘no’ but a ‘not yet’. By not following up, you could be leaving money on the table.

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Finally, an important area to prioritize is your self-care. At the end of the day, the most important asset in your business is you. Don’t let your self-care take a back seat. Take time out for vacations and schedule quality time off to ensure you aren’t burning the midnight oil. Prioritize proper sleep and schedule exercise into your day to ensure you are performing at tip-top condition.

This is especially the case if you’ve never come across accounting terms before, and this is the first time you’ve set up a business.

Here are 12 fundamental accounting terms and what they mean.

1. Asset

An asset is anything of value your business owns, controls, or has a legal claim to; it could be a fixed asset, such as machinery or a resource, such as money in the bank. It can also be something that has economic value in the future. Assets can take many forms, both tangible (e.g., property) and intangible (e.g., copyrights and patents). Accounts receivable (see below) are classed as an asset.

2. Liability

A liability is anything your business owes to creditors in goods, services or money. For example, a business bank loan is a debt and therefore a liability. Accounts payable (see below) are classed as liabilities.

3. Cash flow

Cash flow is an accounting term for the money coming in and going out of your business at any given time. It’s especially important for small businesses and freelancers to have a healthy, positive cash flow so you have enough money to perform your tasks and pay your expenses (and yourself!). Even big companies with healthy profits on their balance sheet can experience difficulties if cash flow is tight. A cash flow statement is a key financial statement that tracks a company’s cash inflows and outflows.

4. Dividend

A dividend is an amount paid to company shareholders out of the company’s distributable profits. A dividend is a distribution of earnings, which is typically paid at regular intervals. The Board of Directors declares the timing and amount of dividends.

5. Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable are the amount of money due to your business for goods or services rendered. When you issue an invoice, this is classified as accounts receivable, i.e., money due to your business. It’s important to ensure your accounts receivable are up to date, as unpaid invoices can negatively impact your cash flow.

6. Accounts payable

Accounts payable is the opposite of accounts receivable and is the money owed to your creditors. It’s the amount your business owes for goods or services received and can include credit notes, subscriptions, unpaid bills, and outstanding debts.

7. Gross profit

Gross profit is the financial gain your business generates. It is calculated by total revenue from goods or services sold minus the direct cost of producing that revenue – the cost of goods sold (COGS), e.g., labor, raw materials, etc.

8. Net profit

Net profit is the financial gain your business generates after accounting for all expenses. So, just as with gross profit, you calculate total revenue and then deduct direct costs, COGS, and then you deduct operating expenses such as tax and interest.

9. Profit and loss statement

The profit and loss statement, also known as an income statement, shows your revenues, gains, expenses and losses over a set period. It’s a key financial statement that shows if your business is making a profit or a loss.

10. Balance sheet

A balance sheet is often referred to as a ‘snapshot’ of a business’s current financial position on a given date, typically year-end. It covers assets and liabilities and, if applicable, any shareholder equity. It’s a key financial statement that provides a high-level view of a company’s financial position.

11. Operating expenses

Operating expenses are the fixed and variable costs of running your day-to-day business. It can include rent, salaries and utilities as well as software, subscriptions and office supplies. It’s a good idea to keep tabs on these to ensure you’re not overpaying, could get a better deal elsewhere, or are subscribing to services you no longer use or need.

12. Return on investment

Return on investment (ROI) is the profit a business generates from a specific investment and is calculated by the profit divided by the original cost. You can then multiply by 100 to give you a percentage. It’s a handy metric for evaluating the profitability of your investment.

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Naturally, as well as being conversant with some of the most basic accounting terms, you’ll also need good tools to run your business and get paid quickly and on time.

Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for all your small business and freelancer needs. Invoice Ninja integrates with some of the world’s most popular payment gateways to facilitate fast online payments. It also includes attractive, professional invoice template designs you can customize with your logo and brand colors.

Check out all our small business-friendly features here and register for free here!

Note: The definitions here act as a guide only. For business accounting, auditing and financial advice, we highly recommend you seek expert professional guidance.

Sometimes, making sure all invoices have been paid on time and keeping tabs on your business’s general financial health can take a back seat. It might seem that as long as there’s money in the bank, all must be well. However, a business bank balance doesn’t tell the whole story; there are other factors to take into account.

With this in mind, here are 3 things you can do to keep on top of cash flow and ensure invoices are paid on time.

1. Understand business financial statements

First, you don’t need to be a professional accountant or bookkeeper to be able to read your business’s financial statements. In addition to receiving professional advice from such experts, a cursory understanding of what each statement covers will help you better assess your business’s financial position and identify areas for improvement.

The Balance Sheet provides a picture of the strength of your business, its assets, liabilities and equity – it’s often the document potential investors and other interested parties will look at first. The Profit and Loss Statement will tell you if your business made a profit or lost money over a set period. The Cash Flow Statement, on the other hand, shows the actual cash coming in and going out of your business.

Understanding your business’s financial statements helps you spot trends. For example, you’ll be able to identify whether your costs and overheads are increasing or if you need to raise prices. Just because you are bringing in money or selling lots of product, doesn’t necessarily mean you are making a profit, because your expenses could be eating into that profit. On the other hand, your business could be making a profit on paper, but you haven’t actually got cash on hand at the bank to pay vendors.

Understanding your financial statements and what they are telling you removes the guesswork so you can take action where needed.

2. Review regularly

It makes sense to review your business financials regularly to keep on top of things and ensure your business is on track. By doing this, you’ll be able to spot potential problems such as invoices not being paid on time, you can make decisions early, avoid ‘surprises’ and, where necessary, adjust your sail (or sales!). Monthly reports help you plan for the short term and prepare for the long term, and avoid preventable problems such as not having enough cash on hand to pay suppliers because you are waiting on a receivable, such as an unpaid invoice that’s been forgotten about

With Invoice Ninja, a leading FREE invoicing software, in addition to its many small business and freelancer-friendly features, you can generate and email reports on a regular schedule.

For example, at the end of the month, you may want to send yourself a sales report or an aged receivables report. While it’s easy to generate a report manually, you can configure the system to email you reports on a regular schedule. Watch our short video here to take you through the setup. Try Invoice Ninja for free here.

There’s nothing to stop you reviewing your financial position more frequently, either, such as weekly or daily. 

3. Follow up

Invoices can be paid late for various reasons, but there are things you can do to mitigate late payment and improve cash flow. Reminding the payee before payment is due and getting confirmation from them that the invoice will be paid on time is one of them.

Depending on the client, picking up the phone and making a call just to confirm payment will be made when due can be effective and a good way to build rapport. However, this could be time-consuming if you have several clients or lots of customers.

With Invoice Ninja, you can receive notifications when a client views and/or pays their invoice or if a client payment fails, keeping you in the loop in real time.

Furthermore, the Invoice Ninja Pro Plan allows you to create custom email reminders based on the invoice date or invoice due date. You can define date parameters to remind your clients before or after invoices are due to ensure you get paid. Set ‘First, Second, Third’ or ‘Endless’ reminders to ensure invoices are not overlooked and you get paid faster.

Knowing you have a reminder system in place to prevent late payment will provide you with peace of mind and help improve cash flow.

To help, here are 15 key elements to include on your client invoices, along with brief descriptions of what they mean and why you should include them.

1. Include the word INVOICE

Clearly mark the document as an invoice near the top or in a prominent position. There should be no ambiguity for the client about what the document is for – i.e., it’s a request for payment from the seller to the buyer. It’s not to be confused with a receipt, credit note, or purchase order. Making it crystal clear from the outset mitigates the risk of late payment.

2. Name and address

This includes your business name and address, as well as the client’s name and address. You should also include contact details, such as a phone number, email address, etc. And ensure it is addressed to the right person and department.

Note that the address you send your invoice to may be under a different project name or business address, or the accounts department may be in a different location, so make sure you check before you send it. If you are emailing the document, again, ensure you are sending it to the right person.

3. Invoice number

An invoice number is a unique identifier and, in some countries, is mandatory. It’s highly recommended that you add an invoice number for tracking and record-keeping, for tax and accounting purposes, and to avoid errors.

4. Payment terms

You should include your payment terms. This can consist of the invoice due date and any conditions. For example, if your payment terms are Net 30, the payment is due 30 days from the invoice date. You can also include early payment incentives, late payment fees, shipping fees or discounts.

5. Late payment

If you have a late payment policy, include it on the invoice. If you are including a late payment fee on the invoice, clearly state it.

With the Invoice Ninja Pro Plan, you can set up invoice late fees that apply automatically when invoices pass their due dates. These can be as a percentage of the invoice or as a flat monetary amount. Find out more here.

6. Discount

If you offer a discount, you should clearly show the discount and rate on the invoice. Again, with Invoice Ninja, you can easily enter a discount amount to apply to the invoice, either as a percentage or a flat monetary amount.

7. Taxes

These can vary depending on jurisdiction. In some countries, value-added tax (VAT) applies, whereas in the US, sales tax depends on the state and the nature of the product. With Invoice Ninja, you can configure tax rates using manual or automatic tax calculations. You can set up total taxes, line-item taxes, and localize for your region. Find out more here.

Where applicable, you should include tax ID numbers.

8. Invoice date and invoice due date

The invoice date and invoice due date can be the same, but in practice, the invoice date is usually the date of issue (when the invoice was created), whereas the due date is the date on which the invoice is due to be paid.

As always, it’s important that it’s absolutely clear exactly when the invoice should be paid.

9. Description

It’s important to provide a clear description of goods or services rendered, and if applicable, the dates and any other information pertinent to the invoice.

For example, in addition to a description, you may need to add a cost centre (or cost code), refer to a purchase order and name the person or department who requested the services or goods. You should also provide a breakdown of costs. For example, if you are a service provider that charges by the hour, then you should state the number of hours worked, the hourly rate and the relevant dates.

10. Unit cost and quantity

The unit cost is the cost per unit of goods or services. For example, one widget might cost $5.00, then you multiply this amount by the quantity sold. So, if you are selling 10 widgets at $5.00 each, that’s a total of $50.00, which will be entered as the amount due for this line item.

11. Line item

The line item on an invoice is a single entry for a specific service or product. So, if you are selling 10 widgets and also an additional product, the additional product will have a separate line item entry.

12. Total amount due

This is the total amount due after applying any discounts, adding any fees or taxes, etc. The total amount due should be clear to avoid errors or misunderstandings. This is not to be confused with the subtotal, which is the sum of line items before you’ve applied any taxes, shipping costs, discounts, etc.

13. Payment method

In addition to the due date and amount, another important detail to include is the method of payment. For example, via a bank transfer, online payment gateway, credit/debit card, check, cash, etc.

If you want your invoice to be paid fast online, you’ll need invoicing software that integrates with a payment gateway. A payment gateway is the tech that allows your clients to pay you securely and swiftly online.

Invoice Ninja integrates with some of the world’s most popular payment gateways to facilitate fast online payments, and you can even get paid in Bitcoin. Check out all our payment gateways here.

14. Your branding

If you have a logo, add this to the top of the invoice to make your invoice look professional and instantly recognizable. Invoice Ninja offers free, attractive, professional invoice template designs you can customize with your logo and brand colors. Check them out here.

15. Notes

Here, you can add additional information relevant to the transaction, such as thanking the client for their business or adding a promotional code for future purchases.

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Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software and offers an incredible range of small business and freelancer-friendly features to help you get paid hassle-free and fast. You can try Invoice Ninja for free at the link here.

However, it’s worth noting that nobody is super-motivated all the time, things sometimes just don’t go as planned, and, like most positive things in life, staying motivated takes effort. In fact, as the quote by the famous American motivational speaker Zig Ziglar goes, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.”

So if you’re feeling unmotivated at the moment, here are 5 useful tips to help you stay motivated and get your freelance mojo back.

1. Uncover the root cause

There are more than a few factors that may contribute to why you might be feeling unmotivated, so it’s worth spending a little time on self-introspection and reflection to find out what is bringing you down. It might not just be one thing, either, but a number of things combined.

For example, it could be anxiety about getting new clients that’s impacting your mood, or you could be experiencing burnout or overwhelm from having too many tasks to do and too little time, or perhaps you’re not getting proper rest, enough exercise, or fuelling your body with the right nutrition.

It could of course be down to other factors, such as a wrong fit client or a money concern, i.e. you aren’t getting paid enough so need to review your prices (always a good motivator) or maybe you are experiencing a delay in payment of your invoices so you need to streamline the invoicing process and put checks and safeguards in place to help you get paid on time. The point is that once you uncover the cause (or causes), you can take the necessary action.

2. Take stock

Now is a good time to review just how far you’ve come since you started your business. Take into account all your client wins and successful projects, and have a read through case studies and client testimonials to see all the people you’ve helped and impacted with your work. What about sales? How much profit have you made? You might be pleasantly surprised when you take a bird’s-eye view of your financial position and review sales regularly. With Invoice Ninja, a leading free invoicing software, you can email reports on a regular schedule.

For example, at the end of the month, you may want to send yourself a sales report or an aged receivables report. While it’s easy to generate reports manually, you can configure the system to email them to you on a regular schedule.

It’s worth remembering that everything you have now is what you once hoped and wished for, so it pays to practice gratitude. You might be chasing things you don’t need and unnecessarily comparing yourself to others who are on a completely different journey from you.

Remind yourself why you started, your purpose, and your why.

3. Reach out to others

Reach out to other freelancers in your network who can help you regain your freelance mojo. Networking with other freelancers who understand what you are going through and provide support, guidance, and inspiration could be just the turbo tonic you need. 

Attending a networking event, an industry conference, or even a small meetup can help enhance relationships with colleagues and build new ones, and can even spark new profitable ideas for products, services, and businesses. It could even lead to collaborations with other freelancers that would give your business (and motivation!) a boost.

There’s nothing to stop you from creating your own events, either. If you need help with that, EventSchedule is the perfect online tool to manage your events with calendars, ticket sales, QR check-ins, AI-powered tools, translations, and team collaboration, all from one platform. Check it out here.

4. Nurture a positive mindset

You can help nurture a positive mindset by reframing perceived negatives as positives, and, where possible, taking action. 

For example, if you have a lot of time-consuming repetitive tasks to do, you can view it as a great opportunity to outsource or automate some of them. Likewise, instead of viewing invoicing as a chore, you can use invoicing software to streamline the process and see it as a major positive, as you get paid fast and on time. 

Another reframe is if there is a slowdown in your business, you can view it as a perfect opportunity to work on your business rather than in it, or to take a well-deserved break. And remember, ‘nature abhors a vacuum’, so your next opportunity is on its way!

5. Invest in yourself

Investing in yourself by enhancing your skills is always a wise move. Whether that’s by learning a new skill that can help enhance your business or having a fun side project or hobby that you can get involved in, you’ll find that doing something you enjoy is immensely satisfying and can give a real positive boost to your mindset, mojo, and motivation. 

Your fun hobby or side project doesn’t have to be related to your business, either. It’s just something you can do to provide some much-needed positive endorphins. When you approach your business from a more holistic mindset, i.e., taking all parts of your life into consideration and seeing how it makes up the whole, you’ll be better able to identify any areas that need improving and, as a result, restore your motivation. That fun hobby might even turn into your main business, or you could decide to pivot.

Whatever avenue you take, remember, as the motivational saying goes, “You didn’t get this far to only come this far!”.

1. Your goals

Before you choose a mentor, you first have to define your goals. Where do you want to be? What do you want to achieve? Where do you see yourself in a year or five years’ time? Unless you know your goals and what you want to achieve, you won’t know if you’ve reached them or not.

Your vision might be a financial one, like making six figures by the end of a specific period, or a status goal, such as becoming the go-to freelancer and expert in your field. It could also be something more intangible but just as rewarding, like increased confidence or improved leadership skills.

Your goals should be specific and measurable: you need to know exactly what you’re aiming for, why you’re aiming for it, and what needs to happen to show that you’ve achieved it.

2. Mentor experience

It’s only logical that the mentor you seek has relevant experience, for example, maybe they’ve already been in your position, and have now moved on, so they know the steps you need to go through to reach your goals. A mentor doesn’t necessarily have to be in the exact same industry as you; it could simply be someone who is a successful entrepreneur who can help you navigate increasing your rates, launching a product, or achieving another business-related goal. A mentor doesn’t need to be massively ahead of you, either; it might be someone who’s one or two steps ahead who can help you with your goals.

In addition to guidance and understanding, a good mentor can also help you with suggesting the right tools for the job. Take invoicing, for example. If you want to get paid fast and on time, it makes sense to use invoicing software that integrates with all the most popular payment gateway providers so you can get paid online at the click of a button. Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for freelancers and small businesses that does just that. It also includes a great range of freelancer and small-business-friendly features to help you get paid fast. Try it for free here.

3. Accept that failure is part of success

While it makes sense that your mentor is someone who has achieved what you aspire to, you should also consider someone who has experienced failure, too. While it might seem counterintuitive, you can learn from their mistakes as to what not to do. There’s a lot to be learned from failure that instant success simply cannot teach you. Most people who fail, even if they fail several times, eventually succeed if they apply determination and persistence. There’s an apt quote about this by former US President Calvin Coolidge:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On” has solved, and will always solve, the problems of the human race.”

So persistence definitely pays off!

4. Mentor qualities

A good mentor always has your best interests at heart, understands where you are right now, is encouraging, and gives you the time of day. You’ll also want to ensure your values align. If, at first glance, the mentor you seek seems critical or unresponsive, or although a good fit on paper, there’s just something about them that doesn’t sit well with you, it’s probably better to trust your gut instincts. Not everyone aligns, and that’s okay, too.

A good mentor will help you focus on what’s working so you can do more of it and help navigate you through challenges.

Another thing to take into account is that every person’s business journey is unique to them, so mentoring is not something that works well with cookie-cutter processes or a one-size-fits-all approach. If the mentor you seek has already mentored others, while this is generally a good sign, you should still check out case studies and testimonials from other mentees to make sure they are the right one for you personally.

On the other hand, it might be that your mentor hasn’t mentored anyone before, but you can clearly see they’ve been successful, and you hit it off. Sometimes, mentors can appear in your life from the most unlikely of paths, so pay attention and take action if and when it happens.

5. Be mentorable

In addition to finding a mentor who has all the qualities, attributes, and experience you seek, it’s worth bearing in mind that the relationship is not a one-way street; you’ll also need to be mentorable. This means taking all their guidance on board. Remember, your mentor is here to help you, not compete with you; they want you to succeed, so before you dig your heels in with a suggestion or course of action you don’t like, step back and consider why they might be suggesting it and why you might be hesitant. Sometimes, doing the uncomfortable thing is where the breakthroughs happen.

Finally, some people designate mentors with whom they have no personal connection whatsoever, but they see them as role models. For example, you might choose someone well-known and, while not directly hiring them, follow their progress for inspiration. Whatever path you choose, investing time in a mentor shows you mean business and are open to growth opportunities. Go you!

1. Short demo videos

Showing people how your product or service works is a great way to market your business and educate your user base and/or clients. For example, for service-based providers, you can guide clients through your onboarding process, whereas for products, helpful how-to videos and walkthroughs are more effective.

At Invoice Ninja, we have tutorials on our YouTube channel that cover our free invoicing software’s features and setups. You can also view short demo videos that guide you through our features here.

Try Invoice Ninja for free here.

2. Behind-the-scenes content

Behind-the-scenes content can showcase the human side of your business, your unique processes, and highlight your origin story and progress to date. 

For example, if you are an artist, you can share the stages you go through from a blank canvas to a finished painting on Instagram. If you are a service provider, you can share the processes you follow to deliver a top-notch service to your clients. You can do this via various formats such as video, an infographic, or a blog post. 

You can then share this content across your social media channels and/or add it to your website.

3. Blog posts for search traffic

SEO-optimized blog posts are a great way to attract search traffic to your website, cultivate your brand’s voice, and position your brand.

Blog posts can answer the questions your ideal audience is searching for online, as well as educate and entertain. You can also share blog posts on your social media channels. Helpful content also builds trust, so visitors will return to your website if they want to know more about a subject.

One of the great benefits of blog posts is that they can continue to attract traffic in the long term. Your blog posts can also include a Call To Action (CTA) to try out your product, sign up for your email newsletter, or contact you directly.

4. Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to discuss topics relevant to your audience or industry, to story tell and even establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

Whether you start a podcast yourself or are a guest on someone else’s, podcasts are a popular and effective way to get your brand out there and have your name recognized. What’s more, audio is more portable, so people can listen to podcasts at their convenience and on the move, for example, while cooking, doing household chores, or driving.

5. Case studies and testimonials

Once you’ve received your glowing testimonial and put together your winning case study, don’t forget to make good use of them.

You can add them to your website and share them on social media – but don’t stop there. You can also add links to them in client correspondence. For example, if you are producing a quote for a new client, linking to a relevant case study and your client testimonials may be the tipping point that makes them hire you over your competitors. Visual evidence is compelling, too; therefore, if you have video reviews or testimonials, use them as well.

6. Short-form videos

Short-form videos are popular on many social media platforms. They are a great way to showcase your personal brand, convey your message quickly, and share valuable tips.

What’s more, you don’t need any fancy or costly equipment; you can simply record something on your smartphone to share. In any event, many social media platforms offer free filters and features to enhance your videos. Short-form videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram can provide an authentic glimpse into your personal brand.

7. Email newsletter

An email newsletter allows you to stay in contact and connected with your audience. For example, if someone lands on your website and wants to hear more from you, you can get them to subscribe to your email newsletter. You can share helpful tips, industry news, your latest blog posts and products and also offer discounts to your email newsletter subscribers.

You can get website visitors to sign up to your email newsletter by adding a CTA to your blog posts, as mentioned earlier, or offering a lead magnet in return for their email address.

A lead magnet is something (usually free) that you offer to your potential clients. It usually comes in e-format, such as an e-book, and can cover all sorts of things, including a how-to guide, toolkit, recipes, templates, and video training. It can be anything that is helpful and relevant to your audience.

You can also include a link to your newsletter in your social media bios and email signature.

Read more about the benefits of email marketing for freelancers and small businesses here.

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Finally, creating content daily can be overwhelming and time-consuming, and working this way doesn’t allow for freelancer vacations or time off. That’s why it’s a good idea to batch-create content in advance, especially if you know you’ll be going on vacation. 

Planning content also means you can plan ahead for seasonal content (for example, holidays and national or global events).

And don’t forget, you can also repurpose content into different formats, so a blog post can become a video, a podcast script can be repurposed and condensed into a blog, and so on.

Even when the potential client is a word-of-mouth referral, it doesn’t mean that it’s a dead cert you’ll get the job. So, what are some freelancer client touchpoints you could enhance to help you be seen as the reliable, safe pair of hands they need?

Here are 4 freelancer client touchpoints to review to help you stand out and win clients.

1. The contact

While a client’s first point of contact with you may have been via social media or landing on your website, the next point, where they actively reach out, should be as positive and smooth as possible. 

You’ve already attracted them to you through your marketing, reputation or word-of-mouth referrals – go you! – So the next steps count. If the next point of contact isn’t efficient or smooth, your potential client might question what the rest of their experience with you will be like. Therefore, make it clear in your communications how to best contact you for your services. 

For example, do you have a website and a contact form they need to complete, or do you prefer potential clients to contact you via a social media channel? How long is your response time? When can they expect to hear back from you? You may even have a pre-contact questionnaire in place that needs to be completed to pre-qualify clients. This avoids both parties spending time going through a process where you aren’t the right fit or you don’t offer the service they are seeking.

You may also want to consider what the process is when you are on vacation or when someone contacts you out of hours. An automated response or workflow could work well here. 

The aim is to inform the potential client about what is happening at each step of the way. This will automatically help build trust.

2. The call

Following the initial inquiry, it’s not unusual to schedule a call with a client as part of a discovery or sales call. Some more introverted freelancers may not look forward to the experience because it can feel a bit like a job interview if not handled well, or a situation where you feel compelled to oversell yourself. 

However, the purpose of the call is to determine if you can assist them, outline your process, and explore whether you are a good fit for each other. It’s a two-way communication – it’s also an excellent opportunity for you to ask questions to better understand their needs.

The call serves as an important bridge between them making their first active contact and further exploring the opportunity of working together. It’s a great time to briefly go through your process and what they can expect from working with you. You could consider producing a visual if you think that might help; a one-page document should be sufficient.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that they might not know the intricacies or nuances of your craft, or if you are technically better than another candidate, but they will know how you make them feel. So, the more you can instill their confidence in you (and your process), the better, as they’ll likely be evaluating your ability to properly manage a project as well.

At the end of the call, establish what happens next. For example, let them know when they can expect to hear from you with your written proposal.

3. The proposal

If you are putting together a written proposal, it’s a good idea to provide a recap of what was discussed on your call so you can clearly demonstrate that you understand their problem and offer your solution. The proposal should be clearly set out and contain no ambiguity about exactly what you are offering, including the deliverables, timescales, and your payment terms and conditions.

Some freelancers offer more than one option. For example, if you are offering three options for the client to choose from, one might be the bare bones of what you offer, with the other two adding consecutively more services or enhancements to the offer, each with different price points. To avoid having to chase potential clients for their decision or them coming back to you months later when your prices may have changed, you could consider adding an expiry date to the proposal. You can also consider including any relevant case studies or client testimonials.

It’s typical for the proposal to include your brand colors and logo; many freelancers make use of proposal software to streamline the process. If you stipulate payment upfront or a deposit, you can include a payment link or send an invoice with the proposal or when it is approved. Making it easy for clients to pay you and having a smooth invoicing process is another positive, which may tip the scales in your favor. The easier it is to deal with you, the more potential clients are likely to view you as a safe pair of hands.

Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software offering an incredible range of small business and freelancer-friendly features to help you get paid hassle-free and fast. We offer multiple payment gateways, allowing your clients to pay their invoices online with 1-click!

Try Invoice Ninja for free at the link here.

4. The follow-up

If you didn’t include an expiry date, or for whatever reason you haven’t heard back from them after a reasonable amount of time or when they said they would respond, send a polite follow-up email or call them. It’s possible they haven’t responded yet because they are waiting for another person’s approval, their workload is high, or for several other reasons. The follow-up may be just the nudge they need.

In any event, if they decide not to pursue working with you at this stage, now is a good time to ask for feedback. The reason might be something that has nothing to do with you, or it could highlight areas that you can enhance going forward. As the saying goes, feedback is the breakfast of champions!

1. Dress for the occasion

Take a leaf out of Steve Jobs’s book and have a work ‘costume’.

Steve Jobs famously wore the same thing every day because it required less mental energy, and meant that he didn’t suffer from decision fatigue. One less thing to make a decision about at the beginning of each day.

Having something specific to wear while working can also put you in the right mindset. It doesn’t have to be a suit and tie either; it can be something like your favorite baseball cap, t-shirt, or lucky blouse. Simply something that you know when you are wearing it, you are focused on work tasks. It might be that you need to wear specific work clothes while working, such as overalls or an apron.

2. Set micro goals

Instead of struggling to achieve big goals all at once or getting overwhelmed with your grand annual plan, break tasks down into achievable micro goals. You can even do this daily, and tick things off your daily to-do list. Knowing you’ve achieved your daily goals and reframing them as wins you celebrate can give you the impetus you need when you’re feeling stuck, as well as a sense of achievement and job satisfaction. What’s more, by breaking down bigger tasks into bite-sized chunks, you soon achieve your big goals but without the overwhelm.

It also helps if you are intentional with each task, however small, so instead of flitting from one task to another or multitasking, you complete the task at hand before moving to another. You could even schedule specific days or times for different tasks.

3. Automate repetitive tasks

It makes sense to automate repetitive tasks that take up your time but are necessary (such as invoicing, for example). It’s worth bearing in mind that not all tasks need to be automated, and some don’t easily lend themselves to it. However, it’s worth considering what tasks you can automate. Sometimes simply thinking about automating a task can help guide you through the entire process and could even highlight processes and systems you can improve or eliminate.

If you’ve got clients that you need to bill regularly (e.g. retainer clients) with Invoice Ninja, you can set invoices to be sent automatically with our recurring invoices feature. You don’t have to lift a finger. Invoice Ninja offers auto-billing via the world’s favorite payment gateways. Discover more of our small business-friendly features here. And try Invoice Ninja for free here.

4. Schedule a weekly check-in

At the end of each week, schedule some time to review what you’ve achieved in that week and plan for the following week. Having a weekly overview of your business can help plan for any future contingencies and better spot any potential areas that need action. As well as ticking off items on your to-do list, now is also a good time to check your bookkeeping for any overdue invoices and upcoming bills. With the Invoice Ninja Pro Plan, as an incentive for clients to pay you on time, you can set up invoice late payment fees that apply automatically when invoices pass their due dates. You can set up late payment fees as a percentage of the invoice or as a flat monetary value. 

Being organized in this way helps you nip problems in the bud, improves cash flow, and provides a significant boost to your productivity. You can view the check-in as a warm-up for the week ahead, so you don’t start off the following week on a back foot.

5. Listen to music

Music can have an extremely positive effect on your workflow, mood and even your ability to concentrate on difficult tasks, depending on the type of music. Alternatively, you could use the length of a song as a timer, and stop and start tasks accordingly.

Obviously, if you’re the type of person who prefers to work in silence, the opposite is true, and so wearing a pair of noise-canceling headphones while you do deep work could be more effective.

6. Exercise

If you are getting bogged down in a task or simply not in the mood, a short bout of exercise or a movement ‘snack’ during the day could provide the pick-me-up you need.

Whether it’s a short walk to get some fresh air or a glass of mineral water, a plank and some press-ups, it could provide a boost to your creativity, too, or the break your subconscious needs to solve a problem. Taking a break is sometimes the best way to regain momentum.

7. Make it enjoyable

Finally, one way to get tasks completed is to make them enjoyable. Consider applying gamification to the task, or pair it with another task that you like to perform, so it becomes a habit.

You could give yourself a small reward on completion, or each time you complete a task, it goes toward a bigger reward. Some people find that breaking tasks into categories and then color-coding their calendar helps. The key is to remove any sense of friction so it becomes less of a chore, something you do habitually, and you get a sense of satisfaction from once it’s completed.

You’ve got this!