013: SHIPPING, SHOOTING, SELLING

Hey Freelance Friend,

Welcome to episode 13 of FreelancerOS, let’s dive right in.

1. SHIPPING

Shipping…no not that thing you pay for to get your package.

We’re talking about getting things out the door.

That thing you want to show the world? Make it and ship it.

That service you are ‘launching soon’ but are still perfecting…ship it.

Shipping stuff means getting it out of your brain and out into the world as fast as possible.

Perfectionism is just procrastination masquerading as quality control.

Let’s look at two scenarios playing out over 1 year:

Scenario 1: The shipper

The shipper has an idea for a new service.

They develop an MVP (minimum viable product) and ships out to the world.

The website wasn’t perfect, the service also wasn’t a 10/10.

They got some pretty harsh criticism / feedback and went back and made some changes.

They launch version 2.

Things go a bit better.

Now they have people using the service, these people ask for new features or other useful offerings.

The service grows.

By 6 months this thing is rolling.

They have some money to invest into a professional website and some marketing help.

By the end of the year this service is fully functioning sustainable and profitable.

Scenario 2: The perfectionist

The perfectionist has an idea for a new service.

They go into planning mode.

A month passes by.

Competitor analysis makes them think too many people are offering this service, they feel like the market is saturated.

Month 3, still working on the website…without knowing exactly what will be included and what prices to charge, it’s hard to complete.

More planning, research, ideating.

It has to be perfect if they are going to beat their competitors and provide a great service.

6 month mark arrives, the service hasn’t been launched.

Month 8 they finally put a landing page up, get their first client and start.

By the end of the year they have some clients, some feedback to work on but it’s out there and they are moving now.

While its plausible that the version of the service the perfectionist launched in month 8 is better than the one launched in month 2 by the shipper due to all that extra research & analysis, but the shippers service is in far better shape even by month 4 than the perfectionists is by year end.

Why?

Because action and iteration based on real life experience always beats theory.

A lot of people think they have a world changing idea. Or a genius business offering.

But if you don’t ship it and get real world feedback from your actual ideal customers…you are wasting time.

The most successful series entrepreneurs are the ones which dont fear a loss. They probably had 6-7 failed or not majorly successful ventures before they landed their big one.

But they gained extremely valuable experience and skills along the way.

Perfectionism comes from an idea that you need your thing to be perfect to launch it, and that will give you the best chance of success.

If we park our own ego for a second, we should be more concerned with shipping our idea out into the real world, and letting the people would actually buy it or use it let us know if its good or not.

All this to say:

• Don’t be afraid to get your idea out there

• Park your ego, embrace that fear, and expect to ‘fail’ or receive feedback and criticism (this is jet fuel to your business)

One thing I always say to people is “if you are scared to do something you want to do, it’s usually the biggest single indicator that you should definitely do that thing.”

This is no different.

Ship like Royal Mail / DHL / Correos / UPS

2. SHOOTING

Shoot your shot.

Fear and limiting beliefs stop us from achieving the things we are capable of.

Fear of rejection is one of the biggest limiting factors in our lives.

That dream client? Reach out to them.

That collab with a bigger creator you admire? Reach out.

That thing you want to do but don’t feel 100% ready? Do it.

Like a muscle, it takes training to build up the habit and confidence to do this though.

Exposure therapy to being rejected.

One strange thing I do often is at the gym, I take the paper roll after wiping down equipment and I take a shot at the bin from far away.

Sometimes I get it, but I often miss.

People often laugh.

Then I have to go and pick it up and put it in the bin like a loser.

The people that laugh are the ones that think it’s embarrassing to shoot your shot and miss.

But there is a small % of people who would look and think “at least he took the shot”

Those are two very distinct groups of people.

You know if push came to shove, you would do the thing you are scared to do.

It just depends on the situation.

If you had no job would you go around asking businesses to hire you?

Yes absolutely, and you would expect to be rejected by 99% of them.

As a Freelancer would you go around asking businesses to hire you?

“No, that would be damaging to my brand, going around being rejected by all those clients I want to work with… I’m not ready. I will reach out when I’m more established…“ but that never happens, you never feel quite ready.

Our brain applies logic to everything we do or don’t do in order to evaluate its risk, weighing up the pros and cons.

Usually they are based on pretty primitive factors.

Would you go up to a stranger in the street and ask them for some food?

No, of course not, from an evolutionary standpoint that would reduce your standing in your tribe / group. How embarrassing.

If you were starving and had no means to get food, would you ask them?

Of course you would, your brain would put potential death above being embarrassed.

What the point of these examples?

Well, so that you can take control and make better decisions for yourself with a deeper understanding of why your brain stops you doing things you want to do.

Would you reach out to your dream client to hire you?

A) They say yes and you get paid loads, develop your portfolio, have a great time, maybe get hired again by them.

B) They don’t answer or they say no.

Is it worth it? You get to make that decision.

So go out there and shoot your shot, you are starving after all.

3. SELLING

Selling isn’t for everyone.

Maybe you aren’t the person for the job.

A lot of freelancers are great at what they do.

Maybe when you quit your job you had some contacts and they hired you.

Then they referred you to other clients.

Word of mouth and referrals got you a decent income.

But other than that, you don’t really have a robust sales process other than posting on LinkedIn.

Maybe you ran some ads once upon a time but they didn’t generate many leads.

You made a website but you rarely get any visitors, or leads.

Does this sound like you?

This is an extremely common scenario for creative freelancers.

The problem?

You aren’t a sales & marketing professional.

“Okay so…I need to learn it somehow…maybe I do a course or hire a coach?”

NO

You didn’t get into this to sit and do sales & marketing.

Would you apply to a job that stated “70% graphic design, 20% sales & marketing, 10% admin”

Probably not.

So why do it to yourself?

The best way to growth is to find someone who is a pro at what they do, and hire them.

Work 100% on what you do best, build your portfolio, do cool stuff, get better at your thing.

Decide for yourself which scenario appeals to you more:

Work 100% on your skill
Spend 10% of your income on a sales pro
Spend 10% of your income on a VA pro (Admin etc)
Spend X% of your income on other areas

OR

Work 60% on your skill
Work 15% as a sales person (amateur skill level)
Work 15% on your admin (amateur)

Why 15% and not 10%?

Because it will take you longer than it takes a professional.

Not to mention that you will do it worse.

I can hear the thoughts bubbling to the surface right now.

“that’s fine but I can’t afford to go and hire people”

I’d argue that you can’t afford not to in the long term.

Test it out:

• Save up some money over the next couple of months

• Hire someone as a test month

• See how it goes

bonus: totally tax deductible too.

Freelancing doesn’t mean doing everything yourself.

It means you are getting paid for a service you are great at.

Next Week

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