Part 2: How to Set Up and Price Your Resume Writing Business

If you read Part 1: How to Become a Resume Writer? Start With the Foundation, you have a niche in mind, a foundational resource, and a clear reason for wanting to do this work. Now let's talk about the business side: licensing, contracts, getting paid, pricing, and the free-work question every resume writer eventually faces.

This is the part that makes the difference between a hobby and a business. It is not the most exciting part, but getting it right protects you, your clients, and your income.

Check Your Local Requirements

Please do not take this as legal advice, because every city, county, and state is different. Check with your own to find out what licensing and registration you need before you launch. In my city, for example, I was allowed to operate for up to six months before a business license was required. Yours may be completely different, so do your homework first.

Here are a few things to look into:

• Whether your city or county requires a business license, and when
• Whether you need to register a business name
• How you want to structure your business, and whether to talk to an accountant or attorney about it
• What your state requires for reporting and paying taxes on your income

A quick call to your city or county office, or a visit to their website, can save you a lot of stress later.

Do Not Skip the Service Agreement

If you take one thing from this post, let it be this: you need a service agreement before you take a single client. It protects you and it sets clear expectations for the person hiring you. It should cover:

• The terms of service. What you will deliver and what you will not. If you write resumes but not cover letters, say so. If LinkedIn optimization is a separate service, say so.
• Payment terms. Is payment due up front? Are fees non-refundable? I know writers who delivered the document first and the client disappeared without paying. Do not let that be you.
• Your revision policy. How many revisions are included? I offer up to two. I also check in with my clients afterward to see how their job search is going and whether I can offer guidance, because sometimes you can tell people exactly what to do and they still do not do it.
• What you need from the client. You cannot write a strong resume without honest, timely information. Spell out that you need their current resume, their target roles, and their availability for the intake call.
• No guarantee of employment. You can improve someone's resume, but hiring decisions belong to employers. Say clearly that you do not guarantee interviews or job offers.

A service agreement does not have to be complicated. Because I am not an attorney, I would suggest having a lawyer review yours, or using a reputable template as a starting point (check out Rocket Lawyer) and adjusting it for your services.

Get Paid the Right Way

Set up a simple, professional way to collect payment, such as invoices through an online payment platform. Decide before you start whether you will collect payment in full up front or take a deposit. Then follow your own policy every time. The moment you start making exceptions, you invite problems. You can use PayPal business or Squareup business for payments, invoicing, and service agreements. 

Connect With Other Resume Writers

You do not have to build this alone. BeAResumeWriter.com has great resources for you and your clients. They do charge a membership fee, so look into it and decide whether it makes sense as you are getting started. Being around other people in this industry will help you learn faster, avoid common mistakes, and stay encouraged.

Build Your Skill Before You Raise Your Prices

You will hear resume writers say to charge premium prices from day one. I take a different approach: build your skill first.

When I started, I charged $75. That was low compared to what others were charging, but I did not feel confident that my work justified $200, $300, or $700. I wanted every document to look clean and polished, not like the work of a beginner. Someone is trusting you with their hard-earned money, and that calls for respect and honesty. If your work is not yet at the level of your price, it is okay to start lower and work your way up.

I have also seen the opposite: a writer charging $700 for a document that was not yet at that level. Do not let your price get ahead of your skill. Let them grow together.

Then Price by Value

Once your skill is there, price by the value you deliver, not by how long the document took you. Here are two examples.

A cybersecurity professional had a resume written elsewhere for $700. I edited it, placed it on a clean template (templates are a topic for a later post), and charged him $199. He landed a VP role. Now consider a resume that costs a few hundred dollars against a salary increase of $50,000 a year, or against the move from unemployed to employed. The math is not close. Results vary, of course, but the principle holds: the investment can pay itself back many times over.

I also had a young woman reach out who was not getting responses to her applications. Her experience was entry-level, and I told her a resume edit would be $99. She felt it was too much. But that resume would be working for her in every application she sent. Part of your job is to educate clients respectfully so they understand what they are actually buying.

You may not know your value yet, because you have not had enough clients to see the results. That is normal. Pray about it, get guidance, and adjust as you grow. A good rule is to raise your prices as your results, your confidence, and your demand grow.

What About the Client Who Wants It Free?

It will happen. Family, friends, and strangers will ask for your expertise for free, and you have to decide how you will handle it.

There are times I help one client a month at no charge because they truly cannot afford it. But I am also feeding my family, and I have to be wise about it. Your time and skill have value. People would not walk into Walmart or Target and expect to leave with something for free, because that would be stealing. I pray about it and ask the Lord who He wants me to help and who needs to invest something.

A few ways to keep this healthy:

• Set a limit. Decide how many "giving back" projects you will take, such as one a month, and stick to it.
• Choose on purpose. Say yes because you want to, not because you feel guilty.
• Keep your boundaries. Free does not mean unlimited revisions or unlimited access to you.

Decide your approach ahead of time so you are not making it up in the moment.

Your Part 2 Checklist

1. Check your city, county, and state requirements for licensing and registration.
2. Write your service agreement with terms, payment terms, a revision policy, and a no-guarantee statement.
3. Set up your payment process and follow it every time.
4. Consider joining a community like BeAResumeWriter.com if the membership fits your budget.
5. Set your starting price based on your current skill, and plan to raise it.
6. Decide your free-work policy before someone asks.

What's Next

In Part 3, I will walk you through my intake process, the tools worth paying for (and the ones that are not), how to think about AI, and the mistakes I made early on. 

Also, don't forget to download 10 ways to land resume writing clients

Talk soon,

TaNiya

Helping professionals clarify their value, strengthen their positioning, and move with strategy in their job search

10 Ways to Land Resume Clients

Website: www.taniyaclayton.com | https://beacons.ai/tclayton

Email: careerservices@taniyaclayton.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taniyaclayton