Yes, Freelancers Can Enjoy the Benefits of Business Intelligence Too
Stop relying on gut instinct, because it’s holding you back.
As a freelance writer and data scientist, I recently had a conversation with my friend Stephen, another freelance writer, about our most profitable services.
To my surprise, it was a bit of a one-sided conversation, since he had no idea which of his services was making him the most money.
I couldn’t help but share my own experience with him. I told him that I knew exactly how much money each of my services earned and that I was able to optimize my own business based on my calculations. I dropped low-paying services and focused on the ones that were working for me, allowing me to earn more and work less. And let me tell you, it was a game-changer for me. Not only did I increase my income, but I also had more time to spend on things I truly enjoy, like baking and going on long runs.
He responded by saying that was only possible because I had a data science background and could crunch the numbers. But that’s not the case!
Plenty of tools exist to help freelancers and small businesses gain better insights into their earnings, regardless of their background or technical skills.
BI is for every freelancer — yes, even you
One of the main misconceptions among freelancers and small business owners like me is that we just don’t have the resources to invest in sophisticated business intelligence (BI) style reporting capabilities. But in my opinion, many freelancers and small businesses are just using that as an excuse to live in the dark ages and rely on gut instinct.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. With the rise of technology, there are now more tools available than ever before to help freelancers and small businesses gain valuable insights into their earnings and optimize their operations. And they’re affordable. You don’t need a 7-figure annual revenue to invest in data and knowledge.
What kind of tools should you invest in?
Let’s have a look at three categories of BI tools I’d recommend you invest in: overall BI, email analysis, and time tracking.
1. Grab a generalist BI tool.
You want a tool that’s going to give you a wealth of information about your business, including which service generates the most income, which staff member has the least amount of no-shows, and lifetime client value. With this kind of intel, you can make informed decisions about which services to focus on, which staff members to invest in (if you’re at that stage), and which clients to prioritize.
One great example of this kind of BI tool is vcita, which offers Reports with insights into your financials, such as revenue, expenses, and profit margin. This tool works well because you can use it with the data that matters which is already in your system, like appointment bookings, billings, email, and SMS marketing. Plus it’s powered by Google’s Looker BI platform. Normally that platform is only relevant if you can connect your data sources to it effectively, but vcita does that all for you.
I think of tools like vcita as a FitBit for your business’s financial health. You get all the key stats, and it offers ways to improve. This is crucial for making informed business decisions.
2. Analyze your emails.
If you’re a freelancer or a small business, you need an email analysis tool that can provide insights into campaign conversion and A/B test headlines.
Email marketing is an important part of any business, and a tool like Convertkit allows you to understand how your campaigns are performing, which can help you make data-driven decisions about how to improve your email marketing strategy.
Convertkit also has built-in automation features that can help you save time and increase efficiency. I use ConvertKit to create email funnels, and then I use the analysis tools to optimize and improve my open rates and conversion rates.
3. Track your time.
Time tracking is another important aspect of BI for freelancers and small businesses. Clockify is a time-tracking tool that can track time spent on projects and clients, and you can even add the dollar amount to see the financial impact of that time.
For example, I found that I was spending the most amount of time on my most annoying — and least well-paying! — client. I hadn’t caught that at first because the original assignments don’t take long. But the client always had multiple rounds of time-consuming edits, plus meetings. With this knowledge, I was able to drop them guilt-free.
This kind of knowledge can help you understand how much time and money you are spending on each project and client, which can help you make informed decisions about which projects and clients to prioritize — and which it’s time to fire.
How small businesses and freelancers can get started with BI
Getting started with BI as a freelancer or small business owner is easy.
The first step is to identify your needs and the type of business you run. In an ideal world, how would your business operate? What areas would be streamlined? Which would stop being a headache for you? For example, when I took this step, I wanted to have an automated invoicing system and figure out which of my clients paid me the most.
Next, try out multiple tools to see how they gel with your business’s needs. If you’re tech-savvy, you can even try doing it yourself using programming languages like Python or R. I used R at first, but migrated over to built-for-purpose BI platforms when I realized I was spending more time debugging than analyzing.
When it comes to BI, it’s not about having a specific background or being an expert in data science. It’s about using the right tools and having the right mindset.
By taking a data-driven approach to your business, you can gain valuable insights into your earnings and optimize your operations for success.
