003 : FAKERS, HATERS, TAXES

1. FAKERS

Hey Freelance Friend,

Do you ever find yourself scrolling LinkedIn feeling like an absolute failure.

Lucy, 22, just left uni, is now making 6 figures (£100,000 for anyone who just says the number instead of using “figures” as if its shorter, it’s literally the same amount of characters to type…go on…count them…)

John, 26, founded an agency making £1.65m in MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)

Crystal, age unknown, has been on LinkedIn for 3 months and has 42,000 followers and the secret to growth.

What’s their secret?

You dive into their profile, hoping to find their secret sauce.

You look for clues.

Which Uni did they go to?

Where have they worked?

Do they have any certifications?

Maybe a reference after interning at Apple?

Nothing out of the ordinary, except they have become incredibly successful, incredibly fast.

You go on with your day with a nagging underlying feeling of being a Freelancing failure, that you are missing something.

I’m here to tell you it isn’t you, it’s definitely them.

I’ll give you an example.

Someone I was seeing from time to time in my feed was always going on about how many followers she had and all the amazing opportunities that were coming.

Her posts were generic, a selfie, a copy and paste post about “what I’ve learned from x months posting on LinkedIn”

Nothing special there.

I often wondered what the secret was for her growth.

Then it happened. I was checking out a website for some AI software that promises to SUPERCHARGE your LinkedIn engagement and following.

This software PUTS YOUR LINKEDIN ON AUTOPILOT

This sounds terrible, I thought.

That’s when I went looking for social proof, some recommendations, some references, surely nobodies actually using this….and then I saw it.

Her profile pic from LinkedIn…front and centre…with her quote “This software is a life saver, I didn’t want to spend countless hours on LinkedIn that could better be used elsewhere, and within a few months on here, my following has skyrocketed”

A faker.

Posting about her top tips for growing on LinkedIn…you know…that waterfall style of lists with everything from “use a photo” to “be authentic”.

The real reason was a subscription to a LinkedIn automation software.

You felt bad for nothing.

The others? Well they can say what they want to, look…I’ll do it right now:

I launched my newsletter 2 weeks ago and I’m now making 7 figures a month (£1,000,000)

Or here’s another one which probably makes you feel bad:

“I’m booked out until November, but I have ONE LAST SPOT for a web design client, DM me to secure it before it goes!”

I am absolutely not booked out…at all…nobody ever is (and if you are, my next newsletter is for you because there is no such thing as “full” and if you are turning away projects due to this, you need to fix that, fast)

Why would anyone want to overstate their income or capacity?

• It makes them look successful

• It gives a sense of scarcity (marketings most successful tactic)

• It feeds the narrative they need to sell their course

• It makes you feel like they have some kind of secret, which you can find out during their power hour / newsletter / strategy session

It’s the often mooted tactic of fake it until you make it…because if people do start buying their courses due to said faking, they probably will end up making a lot of money, but not for anything useful, and you definitely shouldn’t be the one lining their pockets.

So, next time you are feeling a bit down in the comparison trap, just remember:

• You are doing well

• The average UK salary is £35k (before tax)

• Most people are faking it

• Outrageous success stories (real ones) are the exception, not the rule

2. HATERS

This is a last minute change of content, does not relate directly to Freelancing, normal service to resume next week.

I thought long and hard about re-writing this section, and after reading, you will probably understand why I made this last minute change.

Today is the 80th anniversary of D-Day, this month is also Pride month.

(Oh god where is he going with this haha…I know I know, just hear me out)

Even on LinkedIn, from which 99% of you discovered this newsletter, I unfortunately see instances of discrimination.

EVEN ON LINKEDIN

Probably the last social media you would expect it to show up, but there it is.

Which, if we even needed an indicator, would suggest it is absolutely rife everywhere else.

In the workplace, on other social media channels, in the street, in governments, everywhere.

I made the decision some time ago to call out any instances I saw.

It started out with those creepy guys who comment “sexy” or “beautiful girl” on peoples posts.

In the last week it was a blatant show of gender discrimination.

I wasn’t sure if calling it out was the best thing to do, and I’m sure you have all felt this way too:

• You think better just ignore it, to not cause a fuss

• Maybe you misjudged it? Maybe it's your own interpretation that’s wrong?

• You don’t want to risk your own reputation and suffer negative consequences (like the unsubscribes I will maybe get after writing this section)

It’s a wild parallel, but one that serves as a way to illustrate a point, and that is D-Day 80 years ago.

You all know the back story, so I won’t get into it.

But what I do want to highlight is that hundreds of thousands of men sailed across the channel facing near certain death, bullets and bombs in order to put an end to the most heinous wave of discrimination the world had ever seen.

They did it afraid, terrified, with the knowledge that they sacrificed everything to go there and do what needed to be done.

Yet there I was the other day thinking “what if I get a negative response when challenging this person on LinkedIn” - ridiculous

What I want to do is give people license to do something about the discrimination they see in the world, releasing a bit of the apprehension we all feel.

Not everyone will have the confidence to publicly challenge such situations, and that’s okay, so here are some things you can do instead (On LinkedIn, since we’re all LinkedIn friends here):

• Report the comment / post (three dots on the right, you’ll see it)

• Send the person being discriminated against or subject to online abuse a DM of support, they probably feel crap, you can make them feel less crap

• Bring it up in a group or message to others, see what they think, and see whether you would like to challenge it together, rather than as an individual (going in with back up basically)

We can all do a little bit here and there, the corporations will be doing their performative best this month, but we can all be better for each other.

I’m a firm believer in the power of collective action, especially as Freelancers. Together we can make things better for each other and have one another’s back out there.

3. Freelancer Feature

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

REBECCA MACLEHOSE

I’m pleased to have the incredible Rebecca as our Freelancer Feature this week. Having come from a corporate background working with some huge brands, she set out on her own, into the world, to live the Freelance dream.

Rebecca is a brand strategist and marketing consultant. She helps small businesses and brands figure out where to play and how to win by building thoughtful strategy and actionable marketing plans.

She kindly wrote the following for all of us from her experiences so far as a Freelancer:

Want to connect with Rebecca?

Next Week

004: FEAST, FAMINE, FRIENDS

You know the drill, you’re a freelancer and things are up and down. The things you do when you are UP may be even more important than what you do when you are DOWN. Tune in to act like Covid lockdowns and FLATTEN THE CURVE.

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