Freelancing can be a great way to make money, but it isn’t often sustainable for a long time. If you want to continue making money from your freelance trade, then you will need to somehow turn it into a business. Some of the things that you need to do if you want to transform your freelance work into a business are broadening your client base, offering more services, and making a name for yourself in your niche as an expert.

This article will offer six effective ways to turn your freelance job into a business:

Form an LLC

There are a lot of advantages to forming an LLC, especially for freelance entrepreneurs who want to start their own businesses. One of the main benefits is tax write offs. There are many platforms available that can help you to form an LLC. One of the most popular is ZenBusiness, a platform that offers free accounting consultation, an annual report service, an operating agreement template, and Google Ads credit, all of which can be very useful. Forming an LLC also allows you to limit your personal liability, avoid double taxation, reduce administrative work and paperwork, and give you more flexibility over sharing your profits.

Change Your Attitude

One of the most important things to do if you want to become a business owner, and not just a freelancer, is to change your attitude. If you view your work as temporary and don’t care about longevity, you will never transform freelancing into a permanent gig.

Changing your attitude can be difficult to do, but it’s absolutely necessary. This is especially true if you only deal with a few select clients. Freelancers tend to falsely believe that their work is secure, but this is rarely the case. Get yourself out of the mental state that you are in and look toward the future. Branch out, meet new clients, and constantly work at becoming better. Don’t settle for what you currently have, when you can have much more.

Network With Clients

It’s imperative that you get out and network with potential clients. Where you find these clients depends entirely upon your niche. If you are a writer then contacting magazines, newspapers, and online journals is a good start. Don’t immediately offer your services, but instead work on building relationships with people in the industry. Networking with people and building relationships will help you to get more clients and will help you to transform your freelance work into something permanent.

When you are networking, try to bond over something that you both have in common. This could be an interest in a specific subject or previous work experience. The people that you network with will probably hire you later on if you make a good impression.

Market Yourself Online

In addition to networking, you need to market yourself online. There are many ways one can market oneself, from social media to SEO. Most experts recommend hiring a marketing team to do this for you. If you are a solo freelancer, however, hiring a whole marketing team might not be practical.

If you are going to market yourself alone, then start by creating an online portfolio. You do this by creating a website in your name, then upload information about yourself, as well as your previous work to it. A portfolio is very important. Without a portfolio, many potential clients will not deal with you. A portfolio gives you an opportunity to showcase your experience, your talent, and your abilities.

Cold Contact Clients

Cold contacting prospective clients is also a good way to take your freelance work to the next level. If you are a freelance photographer, then you could send emails to magazines and publications, as well as blogs and social media pages. When you are cold contacting potential clients, make sure to include the link to your portfolio, as well as a brief explanation about yourself. If you do not get responses, it is perfectly reasonable to send follow-up emails or messages. What you mustn’t do however is nag potential clients and bother them, because this will lead to them blocking you.

Use Freelancer Platforms

In order for you to become a business, you need to acquire as many clients as possible. You can do this by using freelancer platforms. There are myriad platforms available online where you can meet clients and offer them your services. You can also use websites like Reddit, where there are subforums dedicated to hiring freelancers.

Becoming a successful freelancer and transforming your work into a full-time business is possible. It will take a lot of time, dedication, and effort, however. If you think that you have what it takes, then what are you waiting for?