Every month we run through a series of questions to help you run your freelance business like a bigger business—“self-coaching” your way to better results and a better life. 

Hey!

SOPs are a freelancer’s best friend…but too few of us make good use of them. That’s why this month, we’re taking a look at “standard operating procedures” and how to apply them to our freelance businesses. 

#1 Why SOPs can change your business  

SOPs are simply documents that outline how you perform a process or task. Before we get into the details, let’s talk about why they’re so powerful for freelancers. 

Freelancing involves wearing many, many different hats. You can start your day onboarding a new client, then move on to production work, and 15 minutes after that you’re figuring out how you’re handling taxes. That can be a drain on anyone’s brain…especially when things get stressful or work gets busy. 

SOPs help take some  of the mental burden off and reduce risk of mistakes and process inconsistencies. They’ll probably sound like more work at first, but in the long run, they’ll save you an amazing amount of effort and can even reduce risk in your business. (They’re even a skill you can eventually sell as a service.)

SOPs take the pressure off you to remember how to do everything—freeing your mind up for higher value tasks. Having things written out means that you’re being consistent and are able to reflect and refine processes as you grow as a freelancer. 

SOPs are a tool every freelancer should apply, and next week, we’ll get into more details of what they are. 

Want some help exploring what SOPs could do for you? Stop by the BlackFreelance Mastermind Discord.