For Nick Disabato, freelance consulting in not a temporary between-jobs solution, it is his life. Listen to how he created a successful independent consulting business, Draft, with just him and an assistant while making decisions along the way that have improved his work-life balance, his mental health, and his overall happiness.
Nick loves his job, but he knows that he has to maintain boundaries between work and life to keep from being overwhelmed by work, so he is very careful about setting expectations about off-hours and vacation time so he can take time off and keep his clients happy. To do this, he has also been very careful about who he accepts as clients and has set up a careful application process to only work with the clients he knows will be best for him and allow him to provide the most value to. But Nick also knows that he doesn't want to be stressed out and selling all the time. He lets loose on his mailing list and writes about what ever he feels like, sometimes business related, sometimes about sandwiches! He gets to have fun, and also gets leads and an audience to sell his ideas to, such as his new Kickstarter book.
http://www.freelancetransformation.com/episode55
Recurring clients give your business greater stability and sustainability. They are gold. Tommy Joiner explains how he and his partner built up a content marketing business Gingerbread Marketing, based on recurrent clients, selling monthly packages.
Tommy tried converting his last business, based on email marketing, into using a recurrent strategy by offering retainers rather than one-off projects, but it didn't stick. His clients didn't get value from the monthly packages. When he set up his current company, he and his partner decided that recurring revenue was important to them so they chose to specialize in something that is inherently recurrent, blog posts. Check out what decisions he made to create a successful business.
Trying to get the attention of a large agencies and consistently have agencies as recurring clients is difficult at the best of times. Nate McGuire, cofounder of Code My Views, has figured out the unique challenges that agencies face to specially cater to them, creating a successful technical firm.
In today's episode, Nate tells us how he and his partner built up a business targeting agencies and specializing in converting their clients' ideas into code for word press and other platforms. He walks us step by step through his sales funnel, from outbound campaigns to tech briefs to sale, and the practical day to day operations to meet the unique demands of agencies.
http://www.freelancetransformation.com/episode53
Podcasting can attract and sell to your ideal client and establish you as the expert before you even meet. Jason Bay built a coaching and consulting business, GenY Success, based on the strategy using podcasting to win clients.
In this episode, Jason shares why his podcast is an effective lead generation tool and the critical strategy behind starting a podcast that will reach your perspective clients and turn them into leads. The secret, a common theme for Freelance Transformation, is first identifying and reaching out to your ideal client.
http://www.freelancetransformation.com/episode52
Why does a client decide to buy services and products from you? What can you do to break down the barriers to buying? Sean D'Souza, author of The Brain Audit, explains the process that goes on in a potential customer's mind as they decide to buy or not, and what you can do so that the customer buys from you.
Sean shares with us the main concepts in his book, The Brain Audit, how to apply these concepts to your freelancing business, and explains how he has re-envisioned his work-life balance so he can spend more time with his family and away from work for 3 months every year.
Emails have become central to daily communication with potential and current clients, business connections and colleagues. Sometimes it's not that easy to write an email. I'm sure, like I have, you have received many bad, ineffective emails that amount to spam. Today's guest explains strategies to write genuine emails that catch the recipient's attention and build relationships.
Danny Rubin is the author of “Wait, How Do I Write This Email?” and an expert in career advice, professional development and communication skills. He coaches freelancers on how to write effective messages with focused words. As Danny says, it all comes down to being genuine and respectful.
Let's be honest here, being an entrepreneur is hard. The uncertainty of getting clients, the ebb and flow of projects, the black and red in your bank account, the growth of your waistline, the long hours trying to make it all work, ... Didn't mean to stress you out. Take a deep breath and then listen to the story of a hard-working guy who has been there, but then pulled his resources, changed his outlook and created a world-class consulting business.
Over the last decade, David Mansilla built his business from the ground up, learning as he encountered all those problems and more, but he never gave up. He tells us how he overcame the problem of growing his business too quickly, how to delegate, how to get clients, and most importantly, how to be calendar-independent and have time to live a full meaningful life.
http://www.freelancetransformation.com/episode49
Most designers, programmers, and other freelancers use their experience to help their clients strategize and figure out what work needs to be done to achieve the client's goals. But how do you sell this type of strategy work, instead of only charging for the technical work (design, coding, etc) that results from it?
Marie Poulin found herself in this position, explaining to clients how to integrate her work into the big picture strategy, but realized that she was only charging for the deliverable. In this episode, Marie explains how she repositioned herself as a web designer to a digital strategist, how she transitioned from only creating a deliverable to creating a big picture strategy for her clients, gaining lifelong clients and higher paying projects in the process.
As a freelancer, you are an expert in the technical skills of your field, skills that are in demand. Have you ever thought about training others? Reuven Lerner explains how to succeed in corporate training.
Reuven Lerner transitioned from programmer and software developer to teacher and trainer after being asked by his clients to train their staff. Reuven has found training to be very rewarding because he loves teaching and interacting with people as well as having the freedom to learn new technology based on his curiousity. The pay isn't bad either and Reuven has broken the feast and famine cycle by being booked 10 months in advance for training sessions.
Do you have clients who are always late paying their invoices? Julie Elster shares how you can get paid on time, every time by following her tips on communication and insisting on being paid upfront.
Often, the core of the problem is lack of communication from the start, where no one knows how much to pay or when it is due or who they should talk to about billing. Julie reminds freelancers to pick up the phone and talk to their clients about expectations and figure out a payment schedule that works for both the freelancer and the client.
As a successful mentor for virtual assistants (VA) and a VA herself, Gina Horkey reveals how hiring a virtual assistant can help you leverage your time and focus on the things in your business that you should be doing.
Gina dispels the myth of a VA as a secretary or administration assistant, but rather that virtual assistants are well-educated and can help you in any aspect of your business, do the tasks you don't like to do, relieve stress, spot and solve weaknesses in your business, and at the end of the day, give you a high return on investment. Gina also shares what you need to do as a business owner to get the most out of hiring and working with a VA.
http://www.freelancetransformation.com/episode45
No matter who you are, you will encounter roadblocks while running your business, but that doesn't mean that you have to be stuck forever. Many of the roadblocks happen because you probably started as a freelancer to share your craft with your clients, but you might not be familiar with the growing pains of business management.
Today's guest, David Shriner-Cahn, helps his clients create breakthroughs while they struggle to grow their businesses and shares how you can implement some hiring and organizing strategies as you hit roadblocks in your own consulting business. Sometimes, it can be as simple as changing your mindset.
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode44
Freelance marketplaces such as Upwork might not be the best long-term strategy, but it is possible to find reasonably paying work and win the jobs that you are great for. Best of all, it can mean paying work very quickly.
Danny Flood shares the secrets to finding and winning profitable work on Upwork, as well as how Upwork saved him during a financial crunch and allowed him the freedom to travel the world and live in Thailand.
Do you have an hourly rate? Do you provided fixed-price estimates based on one?
Jonathan Stark explains why charging based on your time is so self-defeating, and how to actually apply value-based pricing instead.
We really dissect pricing in this episode, so if you've been stuck on figuring out how to charge what you're worth, this should help.
Show notes:
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode42
Freelance Transformation takes a break from the usual episode format to cover four concrete things you can be doing right now to end your freelancing business year on a high note.
In keeping with the holidays being on us, this episode is short and applicable immediately.
Show notes: http://freelancetransformation.com/episode41
Ryan Waggoner goes deep on the mindset and habits that he's developed which have allowed him to earn over $250,000 profit year after year as a mostly solo mobile app developer.
Ryan shares the very specific market that he targets with his mobile apps, why it's critical to charge for results and not hours, and the productivity habits he's developed that allow him to get so much more done in less time.
Show notes:
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode40
Jeffrey Shaw is one of many photographers out there. Yet unlike most, he focused his services to a very specific market that shared the values of the work that he creates. The result? Over 30 years of being a photographer to affluent people who are happy to pay a premium price for a certain type of service.
Jeffrey shares the fascinating story of how he discovered this market, and the lengths he went to in order to understand how to actually present his services. There is a tremendous amount to be learned here for any freelancer struggling to find their niche.
Show notes:
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode39
Is it possible to win consulting business through Twitter? Absolutely and Mojca Marš does exactly that.
In this episode we go back to the roots of what social media is actually about, and how to use it to build authentic relationships that consistently turn into consulting clients.
You will quickly see why Mojca's approach is very different, and why it works.
Show notes at:
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode38
Is it possible to win consulting clients through podcast appearances? Kai Davis built his outreach consulting to six figures in revenue primarily through the 2-4 guest podcast appearances he does per month.
In this episode Kai reveals how to successfully get on other people's podcasts, and when you do, how to turn that appearance into growing your audience and ultimately into clients.
Michael Port is the best selling author of six books including Book Yourself Solid, one of the top 3 books that I recommend for consultants and freelancers. Michael shares insights on how to get out of your own way, how make sure that you actually work with the right clients, how to get past that inner struggle of being afraid to charge what you're worth, and from his new book, how to "Steal the Show", as a consultant.
Show Notes:
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode36
Jarrod Drysdale of Studio Fellow has used retainers to quickly build his new design business. In this episode Jarrod peels back some of the mystery surrounding what a retainer is, and isn't, and how freelancers can introduce them to their clients.
Show notes:
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode35
Louis Byrd takes us through the tough challenges and lessons of becoming a freelancer and ultimately starting a cross cultural branding agency. We cover concepts such as raising his rates, becoming a "doctor" instead of a "waiter", and how to be a professional that establishes boundaries with clients.
Show notes at http://freelancetransformation.com/episode34
What makes an effective website for a freelancer, consultant, or agency? It goes far beyond just showing off your work.
In this episode I chat with Wes McDowell from Deep End Design to discuss how he built his new website from the ground up to attract turn visitors into clients.
Show notes at http://freelancetransformation.com/episode33
Building and maintaining amazing client relationships is one of the golden keys to highly profitable consulting and today's episode is all about how to accomplish this.
Liston Witherill was the chief marketing officer for a $10M environmental consulting company and for the past year has run his own agency. He is one of the consultants that "get" the importance of relationships and in this interview he shares keys to how freelancers can build amazing client relationships.
Show notes:
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode32
Back in episode 12 Kai Davis mentioned that he arrived at his unique positioning as an "outreach consultant" thanks to help from Philip Morgan.
I now bring Philip on the show for a deep dive on positioning your consulting business, the theory behind it, and hopefully make the case that strong positioning is a powerful part of earning higher rates and not becoming a commodity.
We discuss what the heck positioning is as a freelancer or consultant, the specific dimensions that you can position yourself along, and how to transition to a narrow positioning without risking your entire business.
Show notes (with lots of positioning resources):
http://freelancetransformation.com/episode31