002 : CLIENTS, MAGIC, TOOLS

1. Clients, but just the best ones…

Hey Freelance Friend,

Whether you are just starting out or a seasoned pro, we all have something in common:

We are all continuously searching for clients (or ideally having them find us!)

It’s a process which never stops.

What is absolutely vital, and especially so in the beginning, is finding the RIGHT clients. Let me tell you WHY. Then I’ll tell you HOW.

One of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal when finding clients is word of mouth / referrals.

The ‘best’ clients often exist within networks of other similar businesses or individuals. You know, the ones with budgets, who pay on time, and who are not going to waste your time.

If you spend time at the beginning of your Freelance journey taking on the low paying, tight budget, time wasting clients…your future referrals and word of mouth will exist at that level.

You then end up being referred to and doing work in such circles and this becomes your own ‘level’.

I’m sure some seasoned Freelancers out there will attest, that if you can land a project with a great client, it can often open doors to lots of other great clients if you do a great job and gain access to their network.

I cannot tell you how vital it is to do this, and to do it EARLY.

Elevating your ‘level’ from the beginning sets you up for success and since you grow and work with bigger and better clients over time, it’s like starting half way up the ladder, instead of at the first rung.

SO…this is all well and good, but I can already hear your thoughts:

“I’m just starting out though!”

“I need to take on some lesser paying clients to begin with”

“I have bills to pay!”

“I would be lucky to get any project, so I’ll take what I can get!”

This is where the HOW comes in.

You’re probably hoping I have some magical list of amazing clients or a private UpWork equivalent where these amazing clients live…I’m sorry to say… I don’t.

What I DO have though is a plan.

What you need to do (ideally when starting out / before quitting your job but can be applicable any time) is this:

• Save up enough to cover yourself for a period of time you feel comfortable with. Ideally 6 months of rent / bills / expenses.

• Reduce your monthly outgoings / expenses

• Pro Tip: Take your laptop to a low cost of living country for a few months

This financial runway gives you the time, confidence and stability to say no to projects / clients which aren’t the right fit.

You show up in budget negotiations from a position of financial stability, and this shows.

You can make judgement calls on potential projects without the NEED to take them on.

I promise you, waiting 6 weeks for the RIGHT client and using those weeks to work on your own brand, positioning, upskilling etc etc will be far far better for your Freelancing career than taking a low paying client on after 1 or 2 weeks.

EXTRA TIP: Figure out something in your offering which can be sold as a monthly retainer. Concentrate on selling this offering until it matches at least your rent and bills. Use this as a psychological foundation to go out there and find the RIGHT clients.

2. The Magic Daily Ritual

You’ve got to the end of your day Freelancing…

You look at your To-Do list…

Damn…It happened again. You didn’t get everything done.

But it felt like such a busy day, right!

You are always doing so much but you never get that to-do list ticked off.

If you resonate with this, you are probably a lot like me, and a lot like everyone else out there. (I mean which kind of insane person actually finishes their to-do list EVERY DAY)

We joke about this, but there are profound negative psychological effects at play when you continually set yourself targets and do not achieve them.

Least of all just feeling a bit rubbish about yourself and not enjoying your evening, with that underlying feeling of negativity, ruminating over how to be more productive.

But I’m here to fix this for you, here’s how:

- Open Your Notebook (2 fresh pages, left and right)
- Left: To-Do List
- Right: Done List
- Write everything you do in the done list, as you do it

What happens?

You will see how much you REALLY do in a day, and you will be shocked.

You will see that you are actually doing SO MUCH MORE than your to-do list knew about at the start of the day.

You may only tick off 3 of the 5 things on your to-do list.

But you will see you actually did 17 THINGS which are moving the needle in your Freelance business.

That last minute networking call which was amazing… DONE LIST

That course you discovered and signed up for… DONE LIST

The error someone pointed out on your website you fixed…DONE LIST

You see the reality of your work, and you feel so much better about yourself you can then wind down and ACTUALLY ENJOY YOUR EVENING.

Trust me, it will fundamentally change the way you feel about your work days and how much of a productive Freelance hero you really are.

Some of you might now be thinking…but why is this “Magic”?

Well, because instead of DONE LIST some people like to call it their Ta-Da list!

See…told you it was magic.

3. Freelancer Feature

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

BETH RAWLINS

A little known fact about Beth (I’m not sure even she knows) is that she was a HUGE inspiration for me starting out on LinkedIn which, over the last 3 months, led me to starting this very newsletter. So it’s only right she is featured and gets a HUGE SHOUT OUT from a fan turned Freelance friend.

Beth is the founder of Pie Heart Studio who create amazing, lead-generating, websites and of course posts cool and not-crap LinkedIn posts on how to make the most of your own website which, as a fellow web designer, I can attest are extremely good!

Beth kindly wrote in to give you a top tip about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), here it is:

“SEO is talked about a lot, but it often isn't worth putting too much energy into if you're a solo freelancer with a very small website.

Focus instead on driving quality traffic to your website through links in your social media profiles and posts, and listing your website on online business directories, as well as mentioning it to everyone you network with.”

Want to connect with Beth?

Website pieheartstudio.co.uk 

Connect with her on LinkedIn

Next Week

003: FAKERS, HATERS, TAXES

It’s the negativity issue, just the worst possible stuff. Show up to this one with a cup of tea for me to spill the tea.

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