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Advanced Freelancing

Learn more about freelancing and owning your business and your time from six-figure freelancer Laura Briggs.
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Now displaying: Page 8
Feb 7, 2017

 Kali Rogers is the CEO and founder of Blush Online Life Coaching. She has her BA in Psychology from the University of Texas in Austin and her masters in counseling from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She currently lives in Los Angeles, where she leads a team of five who coach millennial females all over the globe through the Quarter Life Crisis.

Kali first began to develop the idea for Blush while bartending her way through graduate school. She noticed the high turnover of young female managers and pitched the idea of online counseling to the large restaurant chain where she worked. Although they didn’t bite, Kali continued to be drawn to entrepreneurship, and when she was fired from a traditional counseling job, the time was right to start Blush.

Blush’s mission is to provide affordable, convenient and professional online life coaching for any girl, anywhere. The company is dedicated to encouraging, motivating and challenging girls from all over the globe. On this episode of the podcast, Kali destroys the stigma associated with counseling (strong, successful people benefit from coaching), explains Blush’s validating coaching style and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to take the leap.

 

Key Takeaways

High functioning individuals benefit from counseling and coaching services

 

The psychological challenges of entrepreneurship

  • Coming to terms with the fact that you don’t fit in at a ‘normal job’
  • Explaining the service you provide to others (friends and family may not understand the work you do)

 

Kali’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs

  • “Become friends with good enough” – perfect is not feasible
  • Check in regularly with supportive people who get what you are trying to do
  • You’re never going to be ready, so let go and go for it

 

Definition of Quarter Life Crisis

  • The feeling of loss and hopelessness young women feel after they leave the structure of school (where success was easy to measure) and suddenly face a freefall where there is no formula for success

 

Kali’s Marketing Tips:

  1. Expand your company through the power of writing – blog posts and email lists were the key to Blush’s initial growth
  2. Propagate with Pinterest – the recent use of Pinterest quadrupled Blush’s web traffic
  3. Take advantage of channels like Instagram and Google to attract clients to your site

 

Customize your services to maximize accessibility

  • New clients complete a profile before they are matched with an ideal coach (like the Harry Potter sorting hat!)
  • Blush offers a variety of options that range in price from $25 to $249

 

Resources

HARO (Help A Reporter Out)  

Connect with Kali Rogers

Website 

Twitter 

Instagram 

Blog 

 

 

 

 

Jan 31, 2017

Laura returns with another solo podcast to share her business secrets with beginning freelancers. She offers advice in several areas of business basics, including marketing, dealing with difficult clients, developing a support system and establishing your schedule.

Learn from the best as Laura shares her own stories about getting started in the freelance writing business. Find out how she deals with negative comments from friends and colleagues who don’t acknowledge freelancing as a ‘real’ career and the strategies she employs to sever ties with difficult clients.

Laura also explains how conversion rate shifts as you become more established and why setting official business hours is necessary to maintain work-life balance. If you’re just getting started in the freelance writing business, this podcast is a must-listen!

 

Key Takeaways

The breakdown of marketing vs. delivering work to clients

  • When you’re getting started, it is appropriate to dedicate as much as 80% of your time to writing samples, pitches, etc.
  • Eventually, you will hit a sweet spot and commit the majority of your time to ‘billable hours’

 

The power to say ‘no’

  • Release your attachment to difficult clients
  • Simply explain that your circumstances/business model have changed and you will no longer accept work after a particular date

 

Laura’s advice about finding a support system

  • Friends and family may not understand what you do
  • Find people who do get it (i.e.: Facebook group, business coach, etc.) to keep you inspired

 

The benefits of establishing official working hours

  • You are not beholden to traditional business hours, but it is important to set aside dedicated time to work on your freelance business
  • Set aside time to do the things that keep you sane

 

Resources

Overcast App 

Laura’s Full List of Courses 

 

Connect with Laura Pennington

Blog

Twitter 

Website 

 

 

Jan 24, 2017

Kim Garnett is the founder of Brainy Girl Virtual Assistant. She and her team help online course creators with the technology and marketing of their online courses. They assist with the strategy and implementation of sales funnels, landing pages, webinars, email marketing and social media marketing for clients. Kim has created several successful online courses, and she is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs create passive income streams.

Kim was working a regular job and hating it when the idea for Brainy Girl was born. Wanting to get back to her first love of helping business owners and entrepreneurs, Kim placed an online ad and landed her first client. She worked nights and weekends and got very busy very quickly. Soon Kim was able to leave her j-o-b and freelance as a generalist. In the four years since, she found her niche – helping online course creators –  and her team has grown to seven.

On this episode of the podcast, Kim explains how to utilize email marketing, drive traffic to your website and build a results-oriented lead magnet. She also opens up about the current challenges she faces in growing a virtual team and mistakes she made along the way to building Brainy Girl. 

Key Takeaways

Kim’s secrets to finding freelance work

  • Just because we exist in a digital landscape doesn’t mean you can’t work locally; Kim landed her first clients through an online local classified ad
  • Look through available jobs for work a freelancer could do and approach those clients

Email marketing is an important component of your overall marketing strategy

  • When you have an email subscriber base, you can be in front of those people when you want to be
  • Only 3-5% of followers will see a post on a Facebook page versus a 20, 30 or even 50% open rate for an email

Kim’s advice for luring potential clients to sign up for your email list

  • Stay away from words like “newsletter” and “subscribe”
  • Build a lead magnet (white paper, ebook, video training, PDF, etc.) that offers value to site visitors

Kim’s suggestions for attracting customers to your website

  • Make sure that your lead magnet has a high conversion rate (Based on the # of visitors to the site, what percentage have opted in?)
  • Then employ Google, Facebook and YouTube ads
  • Use social media channels to drive traffic to your lead magnet via integration or a link

Steps to launching your email marketing list

  1. Find the right email marketing service provider (ESP), i.e.: MailChimp or ConvertKit
  2. Create your lead magnet
  3. Get your lead magnet on your website (embedded box, pop-up opt-in, or landing page)

Common stumbling blocks to creating an online course

  • Analysis paralysis (being so overwhelmed by choices that you don’t take any action at all)
  • Most of Kim’s clients get stuck on the technology and marketing piece; they are not familiar with how to link their systems (learning management, email marketing, webinar platform) together

 Kim’s tips for using marketplaces like Udemy and Upwork

  • Don’t put your signature course on a marketplace
  • Consider posting a mini-course on a marketplace to get your name out there and drive traffic to your personal LMS
  • Because you don’t “own” your students in a marketplace, give them a call-to-action that takes them to your lead page 

Kim’s best advice for people who are just getting started

  1. Be prepared for your first client by putting the building blocks in place (contracts, client onboarding processes, etc.)
  2. Take one small action step each day to move you toward becoming a full-time freelancer

Resources

MailChimp https://mailchimp.com/

ConvertKit https://convertkit.com/

Udemy  https://www.udemy.com/

Thinkific https://www.thinkific.com/

 

Connect with Kim Garnett

Website http://brainygirlvirtualassistant.com/

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/BrainyGirlVirtualAssistant/

Twitter https://twitter.com/kim_garnett

 

 

Jan 17, 2017

 

Getting noticed online is a challenge, but Erin Montgomery has the secret sauce. She is the founder of Piper Media, a boutique communications agency that offers social media packages and à la carte services developed through Erin’s ten years of media and public relations experience. She works with both brick and mortar businesses local to her native Toronto and savvy online creatives across the globe.

On this podcast, Erin addresses the value of social media in marketing your business, maintaining self-discipline when you’re self-employed, and establishing clear boundaries with clients.

 

Key Takeaways

Erin’s smart strategy for landing new clients

  • Utilize targeted email cold calling to approach potential clients
  • Be specific in explaining where the client is now, and where they could be in six months – with your help

 

The secret weapon for staying disciplined when you work for yourself

  • Establish dedicated, routine work time
  • Go to a coffee shop or library to eliminate distractions

Set boundaries to establish work-life balance

  • Erin’s contracts outline her availability
  • She doesn’t work after 10pm or on Sundays (unless there is a serious issue)

Erin’s advice regarding how to package your work

  • Whether you do hourly or packages, script a detailed contract with explicit expectations
  • Piper Media creates custom monthly packages with a four-month minimum contract

Leverage Facebook to reach potential clients

  • Erin launched an Etsy shop for one-off social media services (i.e.: blog posts, newsletters), and she uses Facebook ads to advertise to small business owners, corporations and entrepreneurs
  • Facebook groups provide a forum where you can meet and chat with potential clients instantly

 Erin’s keys to getting the most value out of your social media content

  • Be consistent – post on a regular basis
  • Include a call-to-action in your posts – tell the reader what to do next (i.e.: answer a question, read your blog post, sign up for your newsletter)

 Make use of a scheduling tool to plan your posts

  • Erin recommends Hootsuite or the free scheduling feature on Facebook

 You don’t need a fancy degree to land a job in social media marketing, but you do need to understand the channels and be willing to do the work 

Resources

Hootsuite https://hootsuite.com/

Hootsuite Academy https://hootsuite.com/education

 

Connect with Erin Montgomery

Website http://www.pipersocialmedia.com/

 

 

 

 

Jan 10, 2017

Mella Barnes is a session singer, songwriter and producer living in Nashville, Tennessee. An animal lover, she has three dogs, a rabbit and any number of foster animals in various shapes and sizes. Mella is the author of Way Less Cowbell, a book on communicating with session musicians. She specializes in helping others complete their musical projects, working with corporate clients, songwriters and individuals with no musical background who want to compose songs for their loved ones as gifts.

On this episode, Mella offers advice for creatives seeking to use their talents in entrepreneurial ventures, discussing marketing strategy, organization and work-life balance.

 

Key Takeaways

Mella’s advice for people who are considering starting an online business

  • Don’t quit your day job, but lay the groundwork in your spare time

 

While many advise that you stick to one marketing platform, Mella argues that a diversified approach makes you “as findable as you can be”

 

Mella’s tips for staying organized and meeting deadlines

  • Record due dates in your planner
  • Stay in constant contact with your clients to discuss your progress

 

As you strive to achieve work-life balance, practice daily self-care

  • Mella hikes alone every day
  • If you don’t put yourself first, you won’t have any energy reserve to devote to your family or business

 

Mella’s guidance for creatives who believe they can’t get paid to do what they love

  • Make a mental shift by asking, “How can I be of service?”

 

Mella’s advice for dealing with difficult clients:

  • Create an avatar of your ideal client to determine who will be a good fit
  • Pay attention to how they treat you in your initial correspondence

 

Music playlists can help you focus and get motivated to work

 

Start where you are and celebrate progress, even if it’s only 15 minutes

 

Resources

Mella’s Book Way Less Cowbell: How to Communicate Your Musical Ideas 

Focus at Will Playlists 

 

Connect with Mella Barnes

Website 

 

 

 

 

Jan 3, 2017

 Laura is back with a solo podcast to discuss the benefits of taking on freelance projects that are outside your comfort zone. Although her core business is SEO blog writing supplemented by a handful of project management and coaching jobs, Laura recently had the opportunity to assist a client in the development of an advertising budget.  Inspired by this experience in print and digital marketing, she outlines the beauty of accepting opportunities that are not on-brand, the advantages of developing new skills and the ways freelancers can leverage newly discovered abilities to expand and transform their businesses.

Although you might hesitate to accept a project that seems unglamorous or outside your niche, listen and learn how to change your mindset, expand your skill set and uncover your hidden talents!

 

Key Takeaways

Every project you take on as a freelancer will not be on-brand

  • This is especially true for beginners who may not know what they’re good at
  • Rather than feeling ‘meh’ about a project that is not ideal, see it as an opportunity

 

Reasons a freelancer might take on projects outside their comfort zone

  • Financial considerations
  • Change of pace
  • They have the bandwidth and interest

 

Laura’s guidance about focusing on a niche

  • You should concentrate your freelance business on a handful of select offerings
  • But don’t close yourself off to other opportunities that come along

 

The benefits of taking on (and even pitching) opportunities that aren’t a perfect fit

  • Develop new skills
  • Incorporate new services into your business
  • Realize increased marketability

 

Laura’s advice about choosing projects that aren’t spot on

  • Don’t accept a project just because you need the money
  • Do assess each opportunity to see if it might be a good fit for your skill set

 

Complementary offerings allow you to pitch additional services to existing clients

  • Developing an expertise in press release composition allows Laura to offer an additional service to clients she already has a relationship with as an SEO blog writer

 

 Resources

Laura’s Full List of Courses 

 

Connect with Laura Pennington

Blog 

Twitter 

Website 

 

 

Dec 27, 2016

 

Daphne Gray-Grant grew up in the newspaper business. Her parents owned a struggling weekly, where she worked from the age of 16. From there she advanced to the position of senior editor at a major metropolitan daily, supervising a dozen reporters and editors and managing several daily pages. Eventually she spent four years as a director of communications for the newspaper’s parent company.

Today Daphne is a communications consultant, writing and editing coach, and the author of the best-selling book, 8½ Steps to Writing Faster, Better. She is currently working on her second book titled Writing Your Crappy First Draft. Her popular newsletter Power Writing, which is delivered to more than 12,000 readers around the world, helps corporate communicators, business owners and students write better, faster.

Daphne is also the mother of triplets, which only serves to cement her reputation as a compulsive overachiever. This time on the podcast, Daphne walks us through her journey from traditional job to self-employment and teaches us how to manage our time to accomplish long-term goals as we write better – faster!

 

Key Takeaways

Daphne’s best tip for writing faster without sacrificing quality is to break the habit of editing-while-you-write

  • Train yourself to separate the phases of the process: research, mind map, write, then edit
  • Avoid stopping to research when you discover a hole in your knowledge

 

Daphne’s advice for reaching a long-term writing goal:

  • Spend the first half hour after you wake up on your big project
  • We have maximum willpower and concentration first thing in the morning

 

What is most important to you may not be the most urgent

  • You must make time to work on the projects you love
  • For the sake of accountability, Daphne’s clients report to her each day – or she tracks them down!

 

Daphne’s tips for making a long-term goal into a bite-size, achievable project

  • Begin with a word count goal (if the client doesn’t give you one, create an arbitrary one of your own)
  • Do the math to determine how many words you need to write per day, working five days a week

 

Your feeling about your writing is irrelevant to the number of words you produce

  • You need distance before you can accurately judge your work
  • Daphne encourages writers to wait 6 weeks before editing (on a long-term project)

 

Select your topics in advance so that you are not faced with a blank page when you sit down to write

 

Resources

Daphne’s Book 8 ½ Steps to Writing Faster, Better 

 

Connect with Daphne Gray-Grant

Website and Newsletter Sign-up 

 

Dec 27, 2016

 Frank Salas (also known as the Talented Mr. Salas) is a serial entrepreneur from Texas living the digital nomad lifestyle. He was born homeless to a single mother, English is his second language, he was raised on a rural farm in Mexico, and he dropped out of college to start his first business at the age of 20. Starting with limited resources, Frank leveraged social media marketing to blow up his business and developed a unique skill set of hiring offshore assistants to grow his online empire while leveraging his currency to get the most return on manpower for his dollar. Today he travels the world, sharing knowledge on entrepreneurship with social media. When he’s not live streaming growth hacks for his tribe, the Talent Tribe, he’s probably somewhere on a rooftop smoking cigars or enjoying some yoga and posting it on his Snapchat.

On this episode of the podcast, Frank talks about his all-in attitude toward entrepreneurship, strategies to build your tribe via social media presence, and how you can scale your business through outsourcing. Get ready to get inspired!

Key Takeaways

Frank’s litmus test for deciding if entrepreneurship is for you

  • Would you rather work 80 hours a week for yourself and make nothing, or work 40 hours for someone else to earn a salary?

 

The Four E’s of Value

  1. Experience
  2. Expertise
  3. Emotions
  4. End game

 

Frank’s advice for determining your target followers:

  • Don’t say your product/service is for everyone, get specific
  • Ask yourself, “Who is the person I want to help?” and figure out how you can make their lives better

 

Successful entrepreneurs understand that social media is today’s primary marketing strategy and build an online presence to establish their tribe

  • Frank recommends live stream video as a way to connect with people who might buy your products or hire you as a speaker or consultant
  • Doing complimentary work demonstrates your value

 

Frank’s guidelines for outsourcing to scale your business:

  • Your job is to develop the relationships with clients and close the deal
  • Delegate all other work that is not necessary for you to do to virtual assistants
  • Establish standard operating procedures for processes

 

Knowledge is not power… The application and execution of knowledge is the power.

 

Resources

Trello App 

 

 Connect with Frank Salas

Facebook Page 

Join Frank’s Email List

Website 

 

Dec 27, 2016

 

Welcome to the premiere of the Better Biz Academy podcast with Laura Pennington! Laura is a wildly successful freelance writer who creates content for a variety of clients, including entrepreneurs, small business owners, life coaches and law firms. She is also the owner of Six Figure Writing Secrets, a platform through which she teaches new and emerging freelancers how to build and grow their businesses.

In 2012, Laura left a teaching career to pursue freelance writing full-time. In just 18 months, she established a six-figure freelance writing business. She is passionate about teaching others how to skip the trial-and-error stage and fast track their careers in freelance writing. On this episode, Laura covers the benefits of pursuing a freelance writing career and outlines the three things you must have to get started.

 

Key Takeaways

Don’t fall for the myth that it’s too much work to get started

  • There are no startup costs
  • You only need a computer, your brain, and an internet connection

 

While 80% of new businesses fail within the first year, freelance writing is low risk but has a high potential reward

 

Another benefit of pursuing freelance writing is that it fits in well with other responsibilities

  • When you work is up to you

 

Laura’s 3 Non-Negotiables for Landing Clients:

  • Quality writing samples
  • Clients will overlook lack of referrals and testimonials if you have killer writing samples
  • Determine the niche/industry you want to pursue and research what others are doing in that field
  • Consume as many free resources as you can
  • Pitch
  • Don’t focus entirely on yourself
  • Discuss what you can do to help the client reach their goals
  • Don’t overwhelm the potential client with too much information
  • Willingness to put yourself out there
  • You will hear no and/or get no response a lot
  • Don’t take rejection personally

 

Laura’s advice for presenting yourself as a competent professional:

  • Don’t present work with grammar or spelling errors; clients will write you off entirely

 

Resources

Laura’s SEO Writing Course 

Laura’s Full List of Courses 

 

Connect with Laura Pennington

Blog 

Twitter 

Website 

 

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