001 : WELCOME, HEROES, WALKIES

1. Heroes have teams too

Hey Freelance Friend,

You are an absolute hero. If you didn’t know that already, I’m here to tell you.

But others have told you already haven’t they, you’re just too humble to have even registered it.

Things people have probably told you:

“Wow I wish I could work from there” (Insert beach destination)

“I could never do that!”

“Wow that sounds tough, I wish I could do that but…”

“You are so lucky!”

It sounds very much to me like you are doing something most people can’t, that is super tough and that they WISH they could do.

You had a dream. You wanted to be free. You wanted to make your own hours.

You didn’t want to rot in an office in Scunthorpe hoping your boss will let you use your “free time credits” to go somewhere nice but being told no.

You had doubts.

You knew it would be difficult.

You almost gave up.

BUT YOU DID IT, YOU ARE DOING IT.

For this, you are all absolute heroes.

BUT

You are still doing it…alone. That’s how you started, that’s how you got your initial success and that’s how you like it. But is it the best way?

Think of all the heroes you know from movies, books, your life and ask yourself, do they do everything alone?

Iron Man? - Avengers.

Usain Bolt? Solo 100m Sprinter - Huge team of coaches / physios / trainers.

Serena Williams? Solo tennis player - Sister, coaches, fitness trainers…

You get the point.

All your heroes have people supporting them whether directly or indirectly.

You need your team too. That’s how you grow.

Now, I want you to:

• Get out there and network.

• Make strategic partnerships.

• Outsource aspects of your work.

• Support others and get their support in return.

It makes everything so much better, I promise.

2. Walkie Talkies

The biggest hack I discovered recently:

• Free Vitamin D

• Exercise

• 30 min - 1 hour more in your day

• Better posture

• Improved mental health

• Enhanced Focus

• Endorphin Boost

The hack is simple.

Take your meetings outside!

Indoor “Coffee Chats” are for winter

Walk and Talk meetings are for summer.

Plug your headphones in, open the notes app on your phone and get outside for that 30 min meeting.

If you usually schedule in 30mins - 1 hour or just sporadic times throughout the day to move and get outside. You can get that done at the same time as your meeting, giving you that time back to dedicate to other pursuits!

Want to take it a step further?

Make a list of everything you ABSOLUTELY MUST do at a computer.

Then make a list of everything you can do outside / with pen and paper / with just your phone (Like LinkedIn engagement for example)

Then get outside and do those things.

My favourites?

• Planning out my day writing in my diary outside with my morning coffee

• Morning posting and engagement from bed with my phone as I slowly wake up (It would usually be Instagram anyway…lets be honest)

• Taking my laptop outdoors for anything that doesn’t need WiFi

3. Freelancer Feature

Each week I will be featuring one of you lovely subscribers. This week it’s the one and only:

Merve Goulding

Merve is a Systems Designer and Notion Consultant

She is my absolute hero. I had been struggling to get my notion workspace organised and actually use it for FOUR YEARS. I kept going back to it, trying to make it work, getting frustrated and leaving it.

Merve listened to me, collated the info, and built the most incredible Notion workspace which actually works. I now use it every day!

Merve’s mission is to help solopreneurs and small businesses with their systems, helping them get organised, save time and love Mondays again.

Here’s Merve’s biggest tip for fellow Freelancers:

“Find your crowd as soon as possible.

Find your crowd and build good relationships. You don't need dozens. A handful of good companions will be more than enough.

Here are a few actions that helped me to find my crowd online:

• Join communities related to your profession

• Join freelance communities

• Be active on at least one social media platform (LinkedIn for me) 

• Be helpful, kind, and supportive

• Share what you know with others

• Ask for help when you need it

PS. Big thanks to Kane for leading the Freelance Exchange community, creating space for collaboration opportunities, and bringing us together every week. If I could keep one meet-up in my calendar, I would keep our Friday coffee breaks.”

Want to connect with Merve?

Website karakedi.co.uk 

Connect with her on LinkedIn 

Next Week

002: CLIENTS, MAGIC, TOOLS

How to find the best clients, a daily ritual that’s basically magic and the best tools for upping your Freelance game.

With you next Thursday at 11:00am (UK TIME)