I used to be a freelancer before I started my legal firm.

I feel like this is a path a lot of us take.

We start off as a freelancer, get the necessary experience, and then scale up.

But the transition from running solo to running a whole team is not easy.

There's a lot at stake.

This was the case for one of our clients recently.

Now this person has the skill of creating landing pages, and he has been doing it for a while.

But as they were growing their business, and looking to manage a team, they had to fix some past issues.

The issues were a lot but I will pinpoint the 3 most common ones that a lot of you might be facing too.

(1) He never really got a formal agreement for his clients.

He worked on informal agreements, that led to payment delays or missed payments from clients.

And this created cash flow issues for him, making it difficult to manage multiple projects and plan for growth.

(2) His project work was never clearly defined.

Because of this, his clients frequently requested additional changes or features without understanding the impact on timelines and costs.

And this led to scope creep, extended project timelines, and just overall ruined client-freelancer relationships.

(3) He had no system in place to manage client expectations.

And without formal processes, clients had unrealistic expectations about deliverables and project timelines.

This resulted in frustration and disputes, affecting the freelancer’s reputation and potential for scaling.

All these issues always prevented him from scaling.

He knew he had to fix these issues before he could properly manage a team.

To smoothen everything out, we just focused on 3 points.

(1) Structured Payment Schedules:

Our first step was to develop formal contracts with clear payment terms.

For this, we specified initial deposits, milestone payments, and final payments.

This ensured a steady cash flow for our client.

And also enabled him to plan better for project management and financials.

(2) Detailed Project Scope and Change Requests:

We also had to clearly define the scope of work in contracts.

For this, we focused on outlining services and his deliverables, which was quite straightforward.

We also added a change request process, detailing how additional requests would be handled.

But most importantly, how they would affect timelines and costs.

(3) Clear Communication and Milestones:

In the end, we established project milestones and timelines in contracts, to help his clients understand what to expect and when.

We also advised him to provide regular status updates.

And have communication protocols to keep clients informed and aligned throughout the project.

Now if you do these 3 things, you can make sure:

(1) You have a clear payment schedule, that way you can plan better for the future to scale

(2) Your clients know exactly what they are getting, and how they can request for more. All the while helping you charge more for extra work

(3) You always keep the client in the loop, and that way, they won't bombard you with questions

Just 3 changes and you are set.

Now I am sure you are also planning on scaling.

You are also planning on growing.

And if you are ready to make that change from freelancer to agency, then I am ready to help you out.

I can review your existing contract and fix all your existing problems, while also guiding you on what you can expect from bigger and better clients.

If it sounds good, here's my Calendly link:

https://calendly.com/mtlegalteam/discovery-call-with-mtlegal-team

See you soon.

-- Akhil Mishra