A Tale of Scale

How I make multiple 6-figures and work on less than 15% of the websites we create.

To scale or not to scale?

When I started my freelance business, I wanted it to be a part-time gig where I made part-time money to supplement my music dreams.  I mean, I was going to be a rockstar … playing drums and touring the world! (Turns out, most touring musicians do not make 6-figures, let alone $50k)

My plan worked.

While I was working my last 8-5 job (15 years ago) I built my web design freelance business to about $1,500-$2,000 per month.  Basically I was building 1-2 sites per month. It was great side-gig money!

My full-time job was one I even fought for! My buddy was moving to Austin and he put my name in for his job. It was a web designer position at a non-profit whose mission was to plant trees. They paid well, had great benefits, and promoted a great cause!

But, I was in a cubicle (blah), had a dress code (double blah), and I had friends out on the road living their music dreams.

One month into the job I realized a hard truth … I could not let my dreams die.

I doubled my efforts in my freelance web design business. You can see the schedule I used here.

Three months later my big break came.

I was asked to join a touring band called VOTA. I was so excited! I remember meeting with the singer to talk expectations and pay. Since I had graphic design experience, I would be making $25 more per show to occasionally help with graphic design needs (posters, CD artwowrk, etc). My total pay per show? $150.

Yes, $150 per show.

Like I mentioned above, touring musicians do not make much. Even today, guys on the biggest tours can make as little as $250 per show.

On average, the band would play about 10-20 shows per month.  $1,500 – $3,000 per month.

It only worked because I had grown my web design side-gig to $1,500-$2,000 per month.

That’s me on the left … emo hair and all.

You’d think this would be the end of the story. 

I’m on the road, touring, playing music professionally … all while still growing my web design business. Life is good!

But then I realized there’s probably a time limit on this rock-and-roll dream. What am I going to do when I’m 50 and have a family?

Then what happens to any solid freelancer starts to happen to me … word spreads … inquiries increase … I raise my prices … inquiries still increase.

I have a choice. Turn people away … or scale.

Solo freelancing and touring … life was good!

Time to scale.

A few ways to scale…

I used this method off-and-on for a few years while I was a solo freelancer. After trying a handful of developers and several designers, I ended up finding a couple subcontractors I would use frequently and could rely on.

Pros
– Usually cheaper than an employee
– No long-term overhead
– You can scale up or down as needed based on workload
– Can be specialists

Cons
– Availabilty isn’t reliable
– Their prices can fluctuate especially as they get better
– They’re juggling your work with their own clients
– Hard to keep them accountable to deadlines
– Reliable subcontractors can be hard to find and pricey

Jake, his wife Haley, and I at our co-working space.

Eventually I needed more permanent help. I convinced my bandmate, Jake, to dive into web design. After Jake took Break Into Web, we worked together as two freelancers working on the same projects. I would handle onboarding, billing, and oversee design. Jake would handle content implementation, getting the site approved, and hosting.

It worked well for a couple years. Eventually his wife came and worked with us.

However, without anything legally binding you together, your separate businesses could outgrow the other and break the working relationship.

Pros
– Usually cheaper than an employee
– No long-term overhead
– Availability is more reliable as you’re both committed to the same clients

Cons
– The growth of your own business could break the working relationship
– Clients can be confused on exactly who they’re working with
– Splitting the payment can be tricky to figure out

Jake leading our team meeting.

Eventually Jake and I got to the point where I needed to hire him (or else he was going to build his own freelance business), or we partner up and eventually hire employees.

We partnered up and now have a team of 6 people.

Pros
– You have a team working on projects
– You can scale up or down as needed based on workload
– Availability is not an issue
– You can budget costs much better as your costs are fixed
– You can appear more professional to clients which can translate into higher budgets
– Eventually you’ve built a business that can run without you, making it sellable

Cons
– Overhead … you now have a monthly “nut” to cover
– Turnover … employees will leave and you’ll need to replace them
– Firing … you may need to fire someone from time to time
– Stress … you’re providing a way of living for people and that can weigh on you “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”

It’s up to you.

The best of both worlds.