Tomorrow I embark on a major trip across the globe and a much needed break from an insanely busy work schedule over the past few weeks.

I’ve got a 21 hour flight ahead of me, and I plan to spend some of that time (in between the 10 movies and 15 minute bursts of sleep) reflecting on my business up to this point and some changes I plan to implement moving forward.  In a way, my business, CasJam Media, will be entering Phase 2:  A period of growth and improvement in the way things operate.  Revamping the business is something I’ve been planning and working on for months, but am now just beginning to take real action.

Looking back on Phase 1

Roughly 20 months ago, I quit my job and embarked on a full-time freelance career in web design.  The first year involved some enormously valuable learning experiences.  There were some exciting ups and some steep downs.  Basically it was everything I thought freelancing would be, but more intense than anticipated.

Here’s what was accomplished:

• Launched roughly 15 client websites built from scratch
• Delivered roughly 30 additional client projects
• Kept a very high rate of returning clients (most clients are with me for longer than 1 year).
• In 2009 I will earn a higher income than I did during the last year of my 9-5 job.
• Referral business now comes in on average twice a month.
• Expanded my skill-set enormously
• Settled on a handful of trusted sub-contractors (and weeded out the duds)
• Established myself as a “blogger”.

Looking ahead to Phase 2

Here are some of the things I’m planning for the coming weeks and months:

Raising the rates

Had to be done.  My hourly maintenance rate has been well below what I’m earning on quoted project fees.  Also, there have been some inconsistencies in the rates that some clients get.  A few clients were never phased into my last round of rate increases (about 6 months ago).

This time, I’m applying the same rate increase to every current and future client. To ease the burden of the jump for my longtime clients, I’m also rolling out a set of prepaid plans, which offer a better value.  Packaged maintenance ‘products’ is something new for my business, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Hiring an assistant

I’m officially expanding beyond the one-man-band and taking on my first full-time employee starting in September.  He’s a virtual assistant actually, and he’ll be helping out with design mockups as well as coding.  This should help to ease my personal workload while continuing to bring in new business.

Utilize my network of contractors

I have developed strong working relationships with a couple very talented contractors and I plan to utilize this “virtual team” even more than I have been.  Particularly on projects that require more advanced PHP programming and theming.

The idea is to free myself up to focus more on the aspects I like most about my job:  project management, marketing, and writing.

Of course, I will remain highly involved in my other specialties: XHTML/CSS coding and WordPress development.

So that gives you an idea of where my head’s at as I’m toeing the line between the first and second phase of my freelance career.

Turning it over to you

How have you approached changes as your business develops over time. Share your experiences or upcoming plans below…