You can code, edit video or write. You have registered as self-employed (in France, usually as a micro-enterprise), or you are seriously thinking about it. Then one question stops you. What exactly are you selling?
Finding what to sell when you go self-employed means choosing three things: a person, a problem they already have, and the result you deliver. Your skill comes after, as the way to get there.
So let's see how to go from "I know how to do this" to a written, priced offer, even if you have never had a client.
Why doesn't "I build websites" sell?
Because it is a skill, and nobody buys a skill. People buy a solved problem.
Think of a plumber. You don't call him because he can solder copper. You call him because something is dripping under the sink and you want it to stop before tonight.
Your future client thinks the same way. They want more bookings, or less time spent on their quotations. The word "developer" doesn't tell them you can help.
When I started out and people asked what I did, I said "I build websites". They said "oh, nice", and we talked about something else 🥲
With AI tools, plenty of people now make a decent website or visual themselves. All the more reason to sell a result: the tool doesn't know which problem is worth solving for your client.
Should you start from your skill or from your client?
From your client. It feels backwards, because your skill is the one thing you are sure of.
But a skill can serve a thousand different people, and you can't talk to a thousand people. Pick a group of people you already know, through a former job, a sector, a club or your neighbourhood.
To find it, ask yourself three questions:
- Who have I worked closely enough with to know what their days look like;
- Which problem keeps coming back for them, the one they complain about without being asked;
- What do they already pay, in money or in hours, to get rid of it.
Take Camille. She was a medical secretary for six years, then she learnt to build websites. She knows physiotherapists well.
Their patients call during sessions, and nobody picks up. Physiotherapists lose appointments, and they know it. Camille has found her problem.
This choice doesn't bind you for life. You can widen it later, once your first jobs have shown you what sells.
How do you turn a skill into an offer?
An offer is a sentence your client understands without you in the room. It says who you work for, what they get, how long it takes and what it costs.
The sentence to fill in: "I help [who] to [get what], in [how long], for [what price]."
For Camille, that gives "I set up online booking for physiotherapists, in two weeks, for €900". A physiotherapist who reads that knows straight away whether it is for them.
Here is the same change for three trades. The prices are made up for the example.
| What people say at first | The written offer |
|---|---|
| "I build websites" | A website with online booking for physiotherapists, live in two weeks, €900 |
| "I edit videos" | Four short videos a month for estate agents, made from their filmed viewings, €600 a month |
| "I write copy" | The home page and the pricing page of a personal trainer, rewritten in a week, €450 |
The more precise the offer, the easier it is to turn down, and that is good news. A "no, not for me" teaches you something. An "I'll call you back" teaches you nothing.
How much should you charge for a first offer?
Quote a price for the result, not an hourly rate. Your client wants to know what their solved problem costs, and a running meter worries them.
To set that price, count the days the job will really take, including calls and corrections. Multiply by what a day has to bring in.
That day rate can be worked out. Our How much to charge calculator starts from what you want to keep each month and gives it to you, with French contributions and holidays included.
Camille counts three days of work. At €300 a day, her offer is worth €900.
A billed day pays for more than that day. It also pays your social contributions, your holidays and the days spent looking for clients, which nobody pays you for.
Nothing to show yet? Offer the first job for less, and say so clearly, in exchange for a written review. The normal price appears on the quotation, and so does the discount.
To write it without forgetting anything, our compliant quotation template adds the wording French rules require for you.
How do you know whether anyone wants it?
By showing your offer to five people in your target group before you build anything. You need neither a website nor a logo for that.
Start with questions about what the person already does:
- "How do you handle this at the moment?";
- "How much time or money does it take you?";
- "What have you already tried to fix it?".
Then you show your sentence, price included, and you stop talking. (That is the hardest part!)
Your friends and family will tell you it is a great idea, out of kindness. A compliment is not an order. The only reliable signal is a practical question, such as "when could you start?".
In France, you don't need a SIRET number to have these conversations. You will need one to send your first invoice.
What if nobody says yes?
It happens, even with a good idea. Change one thing at a time, otherwise you won't know which one was in the way:
- the person, when the problem exists but for other people than the ones you aimed at;
- the problem, when they have it but it doesn't bother them enough to pay;
- the price or the format, when they want it but not in this form.
A written offer guarantees no client. It gives you something precise to propose, then to correct, in place of waiting for people to guess what you do.
Take a sheet of paper and fill in the sentence for one person you know. Then send it to them this week 😉
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to register your business before knowing what to sell?
No. You can test your offer without being registered, because talking to possible clients requires no legal status.
In France, the SIRET number becomes necessary when you send your first invoice.
Should you specialise from the start when you go self-employed?
Yes, for a first offer. Aim at one type of client and one problem, ideally in a field you already know.
This choice doesn't bind you for life. You can widen it once your first jobs have shown you what sells.
How much should you charge for your first job?
Quote a price for the result, worked out from the days of work. Three days at €300 a day give an offer at €900.
With nothing to show yet, you can offer the first job for less in exchange for a written review, keeping the normal price on the quotation.
How do you know whether your offer idea is any good?
Show it, price included, to five people in your target group before you build anything.
A compliment proves nothing. The reliable signal is a practical question, for example "when could you start?".