Three Tips for the Freelance Curious
Two years ago, I was laid off from a job I… hated. And while that was a scary and unsettling moment, it also came with a massive sigh of relief and, weirdly, a strong sense of confidence. I knew I could make a career freelancing. I was sure going solo would come with trials, tests, and low moments—but I knew I had it in me to find success as an entrepreneur.
Why I Knew I Could Build a Successful Freelance Business
Short explanation: My parents are entrepreneurs, my sisters are entrepreneurs, my best friend is an entrepreneur. I witnessed the most influential people in my life start and successfully run their own businesses from a young age. And there’s power in seeing that as a young person! It influences that part of your brain that says: “Wait, this is possible for me, too!”
Three Tips That’ll Give You a Head Start
So, getting to the advice I now offer those who are freelance curious, I have three tips. And the first is maybe the most important.
#1: Find mentors in other successful entrepreneurs
First, find the people in your network who are successful entrepreneurs and start watching what they do. Let them show you what’s possible by just witnessing their success. Think: A creator on social who inspires you, a college friend who has launched their own business, a leader in your city.
These don’t need to be people you can send an email to or take out for a coffee—there’s power in just seeing to believe that what you want is possible by watching other people achieve it. But, of course, if you have mentors you can have a two-way dialogue with, line them up!
I have both IRL mentors I speak to regularly and mentors who I’ve never met but have a huge influence on how I run my business (like Justin Welsh, a LinkedIn influencer). In an ideal world, you have both contacts you can reach out to on a Tuesday afternoon for advice and a handful of people whose content can help inspire and guide your journey. Go out and find them. They’re everywhere.
This is a practice I learned from To Be Magnetic and it’s been huge for my career and my life overall.
#2: Charge for your value, not your time
Oftentimes, the work you do for your clients shouldn’t be tied just to the hours you put in. Think of it this way: If you write a tagline for a brand that encompasses their mission and ethos in a mere few words and will be used across assets for years to come, that’s incredibly valuable to them. You’re not just solving a creative problem, you’re helping them build their brand. If it takes you 10 hours to complete, great. If it takes you 10 days, great. But either way, providing this type of long-term solution is a high-value project and should be compensated accordingly.
I suggest charging a flat fee for projects like this and creating a contract detailing what this project fee includes (i.e. rounds of revisions, meeting time, etc.).
Shoutout to my sister and mentor Kate, who is also a brand strategist and copywriter, for teaching me this lesson from the start. It’s given me a huge advantage and I hope sharing this will have the same effect for you.
#3: Become an expert in what you do and share, share, share
Scan your skill set and get ultra clear on what you’re particularly good at. Copywriters (I am guessing there are a few of you here), think about where you excel in your role. Maybe you’re really great at writing copy for product pages and finding just the right words to get someone to convert. Maybe you have a special talent in defining a brand’s social voice or just writing captions that get really great engagement. Whatever it is, find your area of expertise and market this as your service.
For me, LinkedIn has been a fruitful place to market my branding services and meet new clients. So I post there regularly about the work I do and my thoughts on the creative work I find inspiring. Essentially, I’m establishing myself as a thought leader and authority in brand strategy and messaging so future clients can discover me and understand my value immediately. And you can do the same in your area of expertise.
TLDR
Find mentors in other entrepreneurs and let their success inspire and guide you. They’re not competitors, they’re people showing you what is possible.
Charge for the value of the project, not your time. For high-value projects, charge a flat fee and create a detailed contract that outlines deliverables and boundaries.
Make your specific expertise the service you offer clients—and get really good at pitching it.
Wanna chat?
There is so much more to say on this topic but, sheesh, this got long fast! If you’re still here and considering launching a freelance business, or already have and are looking for guidance, feel free to get in touch.
And to all of you who are freelance curious, you got this. I’m excited to see what you create.