I Went from Freelancer to Entrepreneur 9 Years Ago and Just Realized It
Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement. I realized it pretty early on. But I feel like I've just started behaving like an entrepreneur recently even though my role changed nearly a decade ago.In 2009 we joined forces with Britta Foster, our Marketing Strategy Director. Prior to that it was just Christy (my Wife and our Art Director) and me. And prior to Christy it was just me. So what's the difference now besides my title? I think it's the people.We're 17 people strong right now. 17 people. When it was just me or even when it was just Christy and me, everything was completely different. The addition of additional people changed the whole dynamic. That seems obvious. But I'm not talking about in an obvious way. I'm talking primarily about the approach, the motivation, and the pricing.The approach comes down to process, process, process. I write about process a lot. And that's because it's the world I live in right now and the world I've lived in since 2009 without really knowing it. When I added people, the process became essential. How could I replicate the success I had as a freelancer? Not just the quality of the design work and creative, but the user experience, to steal a phrase from web design. I can't be involved in every interaction with a client anymore, but in order to put my name on it, I need for the client to feel like their project is our top priority from beginning to end, just like in my freelance days. The only way to replicate that experience is with a solid process for the team to use.My motivation had to change in a number of ways. But the toughest is my desire to become buddies with all of my clients. I've made some close friends through the years by working with them, but inevitably there comes a time when they ask for you to give them a buddy deal or prioritize their work over everyone else, and the way things are structured now, my favors are the whole team's favors. I have had to learn to be the heavy and be okay with saying "No, my team doesn't have bandwidth right now." And if it's my buddy I'm saying this to I need to realize that in this case it's just business.Perhaps the most annoying change for my son is my new obsession with creative entrepreneur podcasts. When we get in the car and my latest podcast is blaring he looks at me as though I've suddenly aged 20 years and lost any bit of cool I had left. But my career never took me through a traditional agency, so I have a lot of learning to do. The number one subject is pricing and how to price based on the value of my team. My team is incredible and essential to keeping clients happy. In order to keep them under my roof, I need to run a profitable business. As a freelancer I could do whatever I wanted for whatever I wanted. But not now. Pricing is for them, not for me.I have moments when I dream of going back to working freelance out of my home. But they're short lived. I walk into our office and hear the music playing, the team buzzing, and I know there's client work being knocked out of the park. I immediately realize I wouldn't change a thing. Entrepreneur isn't my favorite title, but I've never really liked my middle name either, so I guess I am what I am.