The Small Business Trap
Confessions of a Freelance Content Provider
Between us, Mark and Linda have owned a number of small businesses. As writers and editors, the businesses we start never get very big… yet we always strive for excellence and always work hard at marketing our services. Despite that, we continually fall into the trap of losing that balance between working like crazy and looking for work like crazy.
Image courtesy of bplanet / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Some call it “the feast or famine cycle.” We’re not sure if that’s the best moniker for this syndrome, though. Maybe it should be “damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” If we’re working like crazy, that means we’re earning money, but we aren’t looking for future work. If we are looking for work like crazy, that means we aren’t earning any money. As a result, we try to find a balance, but we never can. We tend to approach our marketing efforts in a disorganized and disjointed way.
Marketing Sure Helps
We tell clients in person and in our blog that they must maintain their marketing to get consistent, effective results. While we’re pretty good about adding fresh content to our website — it is after all what we do best — we’re slackers when it comes to consistent marketing beyond the site. Part of the problem may be a certain amount of laziness, but one of the biggest hurdles is forcing ourselves to do those unpleasant tasks — like sales and cold calling. It’s hard work, even when we know the person we’re talking to can benefit from the services we provide.
At the same time, as Linda says, “it’s difficult to make myself look for work when I have plenty on my desk.” Both Linda and Mark freelance to other clients outside Ray Access. It’s a small but growing business that doesn’t yet provide enough income for both of us to survive on, so we can’t afford to ignore other ready streams of income in order to step up our marketing efforts. “Why spend money,” Linda asks, “when I can stay at my keyboard and make money?”
Identifying the Trap
And there’s the trap. We’ve experienced it in every business we’ve ever owned. We’ve heard countless similar tales from fellow entrepreneurs. It happened when Linda was reconditioning yachts on the Chesapeake Bay and when she headed a freelance writing business. It happened when Mark was trying to ramp up a video production company and when he ran his own editing business.
As Linda so aptly put it: “I’ll be so enamored with a single lucrative contract that I ignore the marketing end of the business. I’ll do the jobs I actually contract for and enjoy the most, while telling myself — life is good, why not? And then — bam! — the single biggest client decides to move out of town or close up shop. And I’m left in the dust. A contractor without a contract.”
This blog post falls outside of our usual informational topics — talking about the importance of putting great copy on your website — to give you a glimpse of the darker side of small business. You may already know all about it if you run a small company. If you don’t, let this serve as a warning.
Is open confession good for the soul? I don’t know and can’t think about it because I’ve got some writing to do. What keeps you up at night?
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.