Ignore this advice at your own peril…

It’s no secret that a lot of you identify as a “freelancer.”

That’s cool.  That’s where I started too.

But, you need to shed that identity as soon as possible.  Today, in fact.

Here’s why…

In the early years of my business, I was incredibly proud of my freelance status.  I felt like I was in control of my own destiny.  I was able to showcase my talent and my work.  My work defined me AND I believed that was why my clients hired me instead of anybody else.

This enthusiasm and excitement lasted for a good many years….

That was until I started to feel burnt out.

… I was doing all the work myself

… I loved some clients, and hated others

… I was working more hours than I planned

… I was trapped in a lot of admin to run the business

… Chasing clients for payments

… vacations?  What vacations?

… Never enough cash flow and a sad bank account

It wasn’t that I was working hard.  I was working SUPER hard, but the outward appearance of my business (or my bank account) didn’t reflect it.

Here was the big realization I had… (and sorry, I might offend you, but understand I’m sharing this because I care….)

1. Freelancer is just a clever/fancy word for an employee.  Except you are both the boss AND the employee. Most people start freelancing to escape a job they hate.  That’s why people are attracted to it in the first place. 

2. It doesn’t matter how big or successful your freelance business becomes, it will never be valuable enough for you to sell and retire on.  At best, it provides cashflow.

3. As a result, you will always have to work in your freelance business in order to continue to earn money.  It’s a vicious cycle that is incredibly hard to escape.

Unfortunately, being a freelancer means that you’ll be trapped in feast or famine mode forever.  

This is why you need to start thinking of yourself as an “agency.” This is the first step you need to take in order to start acting like one.  The sooner you start acting like one, the sooner you will make decisions that will help you earn more and create a valuable business.

There isn’t going to be some magical moment where you realize that it’s time to call yourself an agency.  In fact, it will never feel like it’s time.

That’s exactly why you have to do it right now.

It doesn’t matter if you think you’re too small, don’t have your systems in place or anything else.  The choice to be an agency is a decision to hold that state of mind and not an outward facing set of accomplishments.

When you act like an agency here’s what will change…

… you’ll charge more

… you’ll find ways to stop trading your time for money

… you’ll create more leverage in your business

… clients will take you more seriously

… your business will serve you and not the other way around

And, the big one… you’ll be building a true business that is worth something.  And, while that  might be that appealing to you today, you can be it will be the day someone writes you a check to buy your business.

Running an “freelance” business is playing the short game.

Building an “agency” is playing the long game.

The day to adopt this identity is TODAY because if you’re ever going to create a business of value, you need to start thinking like an agency owner and stop thinking like a freelancer.

If you want to know more about how you can start thinking and acting like an agency, I encourage you to apply for a call with our director of coaching. We can explore what your business could look like if you started making decisions from an agency mindset.