In today's episode, I discuss how you should treat your business like a business. Getting it registered with the Federal Government and securing EIN, State Government, and Local or Municipality Government. I also discuss contracts, business mailing addresses, and other items needed to begin your journey into entrepreneurship.

In today's episode, I will discuss the importance of establishing a morning routine. While this was an important step about 10 years ago for most entrepreneurs, today some business owners disagree with creating an established morning routine. I will discuss this and why I think it is important to have a morning routine.

The sponsor of today's episode is JDS WebDesign...check out their site at www.jdswebdesign.com

Questions and Answer Session, April 15, 2024

In today's episode, Daniel will answer several questions that were recently sent to us. How did he become an entrepreneur? How does he get future or existing clients? And, finally, does he receive a single line of revenue or multi-revenue streams? Thanks again for listening to the Morning Expresso Podcast.

A small conversation on several types of clients, which small business owners, would like to avoid. Most of these types of clients fall into the category of poor communication or process. The client range from "The Unreasonable Client", "The Abusive Client", "The Unjustified Refund Client", "The Entitled Client", and "The False Claim Client"

I dive deep into how a client can become a scope creep. Most clients are not aware of how this can affect a project in terms of when it will be completed and in some case how much more it will cost. I provide some effective strategies and a brief story of how one of my projects became entangle with scope creep. Lessons learned as I navigate the Entrepreneur Life

by Daniel Swain | My Busienss

Finding quality clients can be a difficult task for the beginner. There are many avenues to look for new clients. You can ask your family and friends. You can ask members of your inner circle, faith based and social organization. You can seek out community forums, such as Facebook and Linkedin. You can go to MeetUp and network with some of your local agencies.

You could look for opportunities from job boards, such as upwork and toptal. You could create sales funnel on your website and promote it with Google Ads.

All of these are great ideals. I would recommending doing several of them at first to establish you some clients. I would also recommend some boundaries. How much are you going to charge? How much do you have to spend on advertisement? Create a sales process? If you need to, then I would recommend reaching out to a local agencies owner. Invite him or her for some coffee, ask them about their sales onboarding. Do not copy, but make notes of the process.

Grind. Grind. And grind some more. Put incentives for you to hit several targets monthly or quarterly. Read how to become success. Stay motivated. Work on your craft. Improve your portfolio. Take on a pro-bono project or create some work for your favorite organization. Grind.

Find a mentor. Ask for referrals. Ask for small projects. Do a joint project. Make sure you under promise and over deliver.

Image courtesy of Kate Oseen.

by Daniel Swain | My Business

As a free lance web designer and entrepreneur, I would recommend a couple of professional service providers. I would strongly recommend a certified public accountant (C.P.A). Also I would recommend hiring an contract lawyer. I would also recommend an insurance agent. I will explain in a few minutes, why these are some good partnerships to have.

You will need to register your business as a business entity. There are some pros and cons with being a limited liability corporation or LLC. There are some pros and cons with being a solo entrepreneur. There are some pros and cons with being an Incorporated business. These pros and cons are know by an experience CPA. You can get recommendations from your local chamber of commerce. You can get recommendations from fellow free lancer.

CPA can also assist you with helping you register your organization with local, state and federal government. While there are many resources on line to assist you, if you have a professional who can help you. Just pay the money, develop a relationship and begin your journey on the correct foot.

A contract attorney is needed. Your attorney can assist you with helping to construct your basic contract. Your attorney can review any contract, which you need to sign or execute. Your attorney has answer basic questions, and you will be meet with many questions early in your journey. Attorney can be very expensive. I would recommend sending in a retainer, and when you need your attorney services. Their bill will be deducted from the retainer.

If you presently have an insurance agent, then secure information about business liability insurance. If you have a remote office, then you might need property and liability coverage. It is always a good ideal to talk to a professional to see what is needed. As you grow your business, you might need to provide an insurance binder to a larger client. Do not be surprise that companies investing five figures in your services, might ask for an insurance binder.

Image courtesy of Kelly Sikkema.

by Daniel Swain | My Business