matt delong - freelancer to business owner

Welcome

Transition from freelancer to business owner.Matt DeLong, CEO - CoreCommerce

Transition from freelancer to business

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Freelancer Biz Owner

Income based on...

Your efforts only

Your teams efforts

On vacation... Income stops Income continues

You own.. A Job A System and people work for you

Freelancer -vs- Biz Owner


owner.CASHFLOW Quadrant


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STEP1: Ask yourself -Why switch?

Make more money?

Have more free time?

Build something of value?


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My reason for switching?


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I HATED peanut butter & jelly!!


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I HATED Ramen Noodles


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STEP 2: Have a game plan!..but...Be Realistic

..and..Think it Through


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My game plan?1) Hire a sales rep

2) Assume $0 in sales

during 3 month training

3) Put the rest on VISA


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How did I feel afterpulling the triggeron this decision?


owner.Can't I just get angels or venture capital (VC)?


owner.Can't I just get angels or venture capital (VC)? $2-$10m in revenues (at least)

Demonstrated proof of concept

Viable business w/ paying customers


owner.When should I hire?

When you have more biz than you can handle.

When you don't have enough biz.

$100k / staff / revenues rule of thumb for tech services


owner.Hiring a contractor -vs- employee

Contractor Employee Test drive a new position Need temporary help Control their own hours Cheaper – short term More expensive – long term

Better for long term Provide vacation time, insurance & other benefits You control their hours IRS regulated definition, 32+ hr contractor is an employee More expensive – short term Cheaper – long term


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STEP 3: Be Flexible

What happens if you have a hardtime selling your services?

Things change – and so should you!


owner.How flexible do we have to be?

Best client having financial problems – can't pay bills.

First programmer hired was a disaster!!

Merchant account shut down afterjust 2 months...because of stolencredit cards being used..we weredead in the water.

No one wanted to buy our stuff! (custom programming)


owner.STEP 4: Take a vacation.. you are going to need it!Nothing extravagant—you can't afford it yet

You are going to need avacation at this point.

Reflect on what you'velearned so far...


owner.STEP 5: Apply trial and error

Best client has financial problems – solution?

Discussion Questions...




Programmer disaster – FIRED HIM –didn't need to think about that one.





Programmer disaster – FIRED HIM –didn't need to think about that one.

Merchant account issue - solution?



owner.TIP: Payment Terms - $18k

Typical Terms Consider Using Also Consider

50/50 50/25/25 Monthly payments(For projects spanning 3months+)

$9k / $9k $9k / $4.5k / $4.5k $6k / $6k / $6k

What do you do if client doesn't have $9k available to start a project?


owner.STEP 6: Give it time – adjust as you go3 mo. training assumption, insteadit took 6 months.

Struggled for 3-6 months longer thanwe thought

Took 2 years before we started building momentum.


owner.STEP 7: Pay attention and measure what's importantWhat KPIs do we use?

* Customer Satisfaction - 93%

* Revenues - $$

* Project Turnaround Times - 90%

* NET INCOME - $$

* Other KPIs – each dept has 5-6


owner.STEP 8: Focus on sales and marketing

Sales and cash flow are the life bloodof every small business.

Marketing turns your hobby into a real business with an ongoing streamof customers.


owner.STEP 9: Learn from your mistakes

What is the most expensive mistake youcan make?


owner.STEP 9: Learn from your mistakes

What is the most expensive mistake youcan make?

The one you never learn from


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Always make new

mistakes!


owner.STEP 10: Learn to make good decisions.

More money=more options=more decisions

The more money your company makes, thebetter your decision making needs to be.


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Think through the advantages and disadvantages of any decision.

No disadvantages! – c'mon, find them!

Follow through on your decision, don't secondguess yourself – will drive you nuts.



Why do lottery winners usuallyblow their money?


owner.STEP 11: Learn to Execute

Execution is the discipline of gettingthings done.

Get good at your routine

Schedule everything & follow through

Hard / soft deadlines w/ accountability

Document your processes


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1. Ask yourself – Why switch?2. Have a game plan!3. Be Flexible4. Take a vacation5. Apply trial & error6. Give it time – adjust as you go7. Pay attention – use KPIs8. Focus on sales & marketing9. Learn from your mistakes10. Learn to make good decisions11. Learn to Execute

Recap.....

Questions?corecommerce.com

matt delong - freelancer to business owner

Business

business owner

small business

real business

freelancer vs

customers transition

welcome transition

expensive long term

financial problems solution