6 Figure Creative

Have you ever had one of those awkward situations with a crush where you were TOTALLY into them, but you weren’t sure if they were into you? Yeah... That sucks. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do to help you there since we give business advice instead of dating advice. What we CAN help you with is the client equivalent of that situation. Here’s what I mean... You’re talking to a dream client...

Client acquisition is a nerdy marketing term that basically boils down to one thing: getting clients. While the idea is simple, our freelance community seems to be deathly allergic to client acquisition. I get it... None of us got into this game because we wanted to become marketers. We do this because we love spending all day every day doing what we love by being creative. Unfortunately, that's n...

If you're doing anything worth a damn, you will eventually hit a point of burnout. There's literally no way to avoid this happening from time to time. The question is "how do you handle it"? Some of us just put our heads down and keep working, trying to pretend we're fine. Others completely withdraw to "recover", but they lose all momentum. This episode explores the wide range of "gray" areas... T...

“I’m a failure. I should just give up. This industry is oversaturated. I could never compete with the other people in this city. I will never be good enough” If you’ve ever had thoughts like this, then you may have a dangerous condition known as a “Fixed Mindset.” This is where you believe your skills, abilities, and talents are capped.  “I can never get better than this at these things”. If you a...

Ever meet someone who's able to earn more than they need while still having time to enjoy their lives...without stress weighing them down? A successful, carefree person is a surprisingly rare person to meet. It seems like people are either constantly working while neglecting their personal lives, or their personal life seems solid but their business is stagnant. Even more common seems to be the pe...

What do you do when your income hits a plateau? Do you... (A). Give up and move on to a new career (B). Keep going but try something new in your business (C). Keep doing the exact same thing for 8 years straight and keep getting the same result If you chose option C, then congrats, you're probably in what we call "zombie land". This is the place where your business is earning just enough to surviv...

If you've been stuck at 4 or 5 figures per year as a freelancer, there's likely one ingredient that is holding you back from growth. Without this ingredient, it is 100% impossible to get clients, grow your income, and get past the 6 figure mark (if that's your goal). In this week's episode of the 6 Figure Creative Podcast, my buddy Mark Eckert and I map out the path you can take to overcoming all...

How do you go from "nickel and dime" $200-$500 projects to premium $10,000-$20,000 projects as a freelancer? To be honest, the answer is "you don't". You first need to make the shift from "freelancer" to "business owner". Lydia Kerr of Telltale Design Co made this transition in her highly-saturated market, and the results are jaw-dropping. Within 4 years of starting her design business, she grew i...

In my last day job, I busted my ass for two years slinging video games at a chain called Gamestop. I never missed a day of work, I always hit my upsell targets each month (getting people into our rewards program), our regulars like me, and my manager loved me. After two solid years of "kissing ass and kicking ass" there, I had worked my way up from $5.15/hr to a staggering $5.50/hr. Truly life-cha...

You probably got into the freelance world based on something you were passionate about, however, you likely know by now that it takes more than passion to create a real income. Making the move from passion-led freelancer to "6 figure creative" takes a brand new set of skills, beliefs, and character traits that no university or trade school will bother teaching you. One person who's successfully na...

Ever had an off day where you just didn't feel creative? What about an off week, or an off month? Where things can get dangerous is when our income depends on us being creative on-demand, but we're just...off. The great thing is that there are certain actions we can take to stay consistently and brilliantly creative for a long, long time. This week we interviewed Toddy Henry, author of the best-se...

Want to know the secret that separates failing freelancers from 6 figure freelancers? It's this one concept: 6 Figure freelancers constantly solved their business bottlenecks. If it sounds stupidly simple, it is, but it's definitely easier said than done. Let me break it down real quick... There are 5 main parts of any real business (freelancers included). Here they are: Part 1: Lead generation -...

If you run a freelance business, there is no real separation between you and your business. That means any personal issues you have are guaranteed to affect your business. There are actually 4 specific "personal bottlenecks" that act as single points of failure as an entrepreneur. No time "Dirty Fuel" Lack of skills Blindspots If any of these 4 issues exist, your business is 100% guaranteed to suf...

If you're stuck in a dead-end job, about to turn 30, and thinking, "I wish I could open my own business... But I'm too old to start..." then listen up. You're not too old – it's never too late to start your freelance career or open a business. World-renowned designer Lisa Congdon didn't even start designing until her late 20s, and she didn't even start gaining traction until she was nearly 40. In...

Last week we introduced the first of a two-part series about "The 6 Levels of Freelancing". The 1st level was "yes mode" and the 2nd level was "the generalist". This week we're walking you through what it looks like to move up the ladder into levels 4-6. If you feel stuck and you're ready to move up a level or two, fire up your favorite podcast app and let's dig in... In this episode you’ll discov...

Most freelancers have no idea what they are doing and end up stuck in a low-paying, dead-end job because their business never gets enough clients to pay the bills. In this episode, we discuss the levels of your freelance career, and how to move from one level to the next so you can earn more money and work with better clients. If you want to learn how to become an expert in your field, get paid we...

You FINALLY get someone to reach out to you asking for your rates. Wooooo! 🥳🎊🎉 You rack your brain to come up with a price for the project and send it off. Days pass… you don’t hear back. So you send a follow up.  Weeks pass… now you’re trying to figure out where you went wrong.  The would-be client has just ghosted you. The worst part is that you have NO idea why… Was it pricing? Scheduling? D...

Here's a list of the most common reasons someone might hire someone else instead of you:  They don't trust you They forgot you exist They felt like you were manipulating them  They felt misunderstood  They’re not confident you can give them what they want/need They felt no connection to you What’s funny is that this list is nearly identical to the reasons a new romantic relationship might fail.  M...

It’s the beginning of 2022 and I recently completed my end-of-year retreat where I went off the grid to dig deep into my own businesses and plan for the year.  During my retreat, one of the things I did was dig into my analytics to see what’s been working, what’s not working, and what needs to change in the future.  This week’s podcast episode is the direct result of one of my most interesting dis...

Implementing helpful tools into your business is one of the best, most cost-effective ways to increase your income or decrease your time spent doing tedious, frustrating tasks.  Every single tool we discuss on this week's podcast is created to either straight up make you more money, or save you time, money, and frustration. One quick word of warning...while tools are amazing when fully implemented...

Being overwhelmed can stop you from achieving your goals and living the life you want. This can be especially damaging when you run your own business, so your livelihood relies on you alone. In this episode, Chris and Brian talk about how they deal with overwhelm in their businesses and in life. They also discuss mental health issues such as PTSD, ADHD, and ways to cope as a self-employed creative...

For decades, recording studios around the world were able to thrive in a healthy music industry full of platinum albums, hefty recording budgets, and, most importantly, ACTUAL profits. Things have steadily declined over the past 15 years with large commercial facilities closing down left and right. For many studios, the final nail in the coffin was the COVID-19 lockdown.  While many are failing, s...

In 2017, John McLucas was homeless and sleeping on a foam pad in his one-room, windowless recording studio. Just a few years later, he's earning a six-figure income as a producer working with pop artists to provide a high-value, white-glove service. How did he make this massive change? While there isn’t one thing John did right, there are a few big things he did that you can start doing today to p...

Humor is a great way to connect with your friends 1 on 1, but it’s one of the most difficult things to do right in marketing (1 on many). Allie LeFevere of Obedient Agency has spent the last six years helping companies find the sweet spot between lame, lifeless jokes and cringy, over-the-top humor to get their marketing just right. Listen now to learn how Allie has built her business from a two-pe...

Most freelancers shy away from the corporate world because “they’re special snowflake creatives who will never sell out and could never possibly be fulfilled working with corporations”.  The reality is that any creative work can be fulfilling.  The beauty of working with corporate clients is they actually have budgets.  With budgets come options... The option to actually make great money as a crea...