Freelance to Founder

On today’s show: have you ever wondered when is the right time to start calling yourself an agency? It can be a bit awkward early on. So Clay and I coach our call-in guest Austin through the right timing. Austin has many other questions as he grows his 6-month-old business. Thanks for joining us. PS: Get featured in an upcoming FTF SHORT! Just visit http://freelancetofounder.com/ask and submit a q...

We’ve had a lot of you send questions about difficult clients. So for today’s short, I’m pulling some audio from our YouTube channel to help you out. The video is from a talented freelancer, Josh, on just how to handle 5 common nightmare clients.  If you’ve ever been stuck with a bad client and not sure what to do, this video is for you. We’ll also link to our YouTube channel in the description if...

On today's show: if you're a control freak, you're probably hurting your business. Not helping it. That's the tough news we have to give Silvia, who has a small team of contractors but finds herself reluctant to hand off her oldest or biggest clients. But the reality is: if you never hand off smaller tasks, you will never free yourself up to be a founder in your own business. If this sounds like y...

Today’s question comes from Kirsty. She says, “Do you charge a rush fee? For example, it’s 5:22 pm, and a client asked if I could do an ad tonight. Considering how busy I am, clients need to understand that I don't work weekends unless we have an agreement.” To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK, and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode. Listen to our full-length coaching c...

On today's show, is hiring a Virtual Assistant really worth it? Ben calls in from Rhode Island to get our take on VAs and other questions he has while growing his business. Plus, we share our best advice for making the most of your virtual assistant, and we talk about scaling your business vs. growing it. It all starts right now on this episode of Freelance to Founder. Here we go. This episode was...

Today's question comes from Jacquaniese, a member of our Facebook Mastermind Group. She says, “A client asked me to put “hours” on my work to justify it, but I don’t work on hourly rates. How do I kindly inform potential clients upfront that I work on project-based flat rates? I don’t want to sound rude, but I also will not put an hourly rate on my work to end up cheated.” To submit your question,...

On today's show, Nouman calls in from Pakistan with loads of questions. That's because Nouman's business is growing. At the time of this call, he has 20 employees. But he still struggles to find clients outside of Upwork or Fiverr. All of this leads to questions about hiring the right team, overcoming cultural barriers with clients, where to find high-caliber clients, and a lot more. Let's dive in...

Today's question comes from Emma Noel, a member of our Facebook Mastermind Group. She says, "How do I politely turn down a client? I had a Zoom meeting with a potential client, and we left off with me saying I'd sent her a proposal. But since then, I've decided I don't want to work with her anymore. Apparently, she and her husband run two businesses. The client says she knows how to do everything...

On today’s show: do you ever wonder how to generate some of the best leads possible?  For most freelancers and agencies, filling your pipeline with quality leads is not only critical to your business’s health, but also one of the toughest problems to solve. That’s how our guest Morgan feels right now. Morgan’s a side-hustler who wants to take her freelancing full-time. But until she has a steady s...

In today's question, Simon says, "I'm getting really annoyed with people asking me how to do things rather than paying me to do them for them. How do I tell clients they'll need to pay me to do things or look it up online and not use me as a tutorial instead?" Interesting question, Simon. Clay and I have some answers for you! To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK, and we'll fea...

On today’s episode, we have a coaching call with Eva—a branding expert from Portugal. Eva has gained some nice traction on Instagram and delivers her clients a highly customized service when it comes to her entire on-boarding process. But her attention to detail and propensity for perfectionism could lead to burnout as she tries to scale.  So today, we explore how to scale your business without lo...

Today's question comes from a Millo Mastermind member, Tamra. You can join our Free Facebook Mastermind Group at millo.co/mastermind She says. "If you've given a discount to a client before, and then they refer someone to you, how do you charge the referred client a fair price since they probably talked to the person you originally worked with, and that person told them what they paid?" Clay and I...

On today’s show: how can you delegate without upsetting clients or sacrificing quality? It’s a problem today’s guest, Michael, faces in his young freelance business. He’s been working for himself for a while but can’t seem to solve the delegation piece.  So, with a little role-playing, Clay and I help Michael see exactly what he should say to clients about his need to delegate and grow. This episo...

Today's question is, "How do I answer when a client asks me this question: How did you come up with your pricing?" So let's discuss your different options when you have clients saying, "How did you get to that price point?" or, in many cases, "Why are you charging me that much?" Let's dive in! To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK, and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode....

When growing your business, should you worry about getting a positive ROI on every penny you spend? It’s an interesting question for me while talking with today’s guest, Sarah. Sarah started her own agency just 5 months ago. And while she’s been able to get hourly contractors on board quickly to help with creative work, she’s having difficulty finding the right people to help with administrative w...

Today's question comes from our free Facebook Mastermind Group. Laura MCFalls says, "I ended up doing more work than was included in a proposal I sent to a client and forgot to send an updated estimate as promised. So now I'm wondering, do I send an invoice for the entire amount and hope that they're not upset? Or what should I do? For what it's worth, the client was fully aware of how much extra...

Keeping clients engaged can mean great things for your bottom line, but how can you interact with clients regularly in a sustainable and effective way? That’s what our guest Wayne finds himself asking about his own business. Wayne recently launched a monthly subscription for his clients, and he’s excited to build his recurring revenue. But he’s worried that clients may not stick around for the lon...

Today's question comes from Brenda (a member of our free Mastermind Group). And Brenda says, "I'm new to writing, and I hope to put together a portfolio to showcase my skills and abilities. I don't have any professional experience or schooling in the field, so I'm wondering, what pieces or samples I should include on my portfolio to effectively demonstrate my writing ability and land paid writing...

Do you know you might have potential clients hiding right under your nose? Our guest Jim finds himself in exactly that situation. Jim’s deciding when to pull the trigger and take his business full-time.  A decision that becomes a little easier when Jim realizes he’s got a somewhat reliable source of leads right under his nose already. Add to that some unexpected but helpful long-term marketing str...

Today's SHORT question comes from Robert. He says, "The past month or so, I've been focusing on LinkedIn." Robert's whole goal is to get leads through LinkedIn. And he says, "It's been great for getting people in my network, but not so great for getting leads. I get a few people scheduled twice, many noes, and a lot that never reply." And then, he asks for some advice or insight on the process. So...

On today’s show, we chat with Carey from PodcastFastTrack.com where his business has taken off over the years. Carey is a bit further along in life than many of our guests and is contemplating retirement.  But instead of just selling his business, he wonders: can he just hire the right people to keep the business running smoothly and send him a paycheck each month? The answer is “yes” and by the e...

Today's question comes from our Facebook Mastermind Group (it's completely free. Join +11,000 freelancers and agency builders helping each other). Jay opened a discussion there that made us come up with the following question: When a client asks you, "Can I pay you with a cheque?" or "Can I pay you with PayPal?" - How much do you let the client determine how they're going to pay? And how much do y...

When it comes to growing your business, messaging is everything.  Your messaging impacts your ability to generate leads. It makes a client decide to hire you or forget you forever. It can even make the difference between staying small or scaling up. And today’s guest Taylor joins us for a conversation all about messaging. If you find yourself in Taylor’s shoes, not really sure how to move your bus...

On today's show, Chris calls in with another question: How do I build an impressive marketing plan for big-brand clients? This episode originally aired on April 12, 2022. To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK, and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode. Listen to our full-length coaching calls: http://freelancetofounder.com Support our Episode Sponsors: Ampla - Providing capi...

Should you find a business partner? It's something you might have asked yourself. And answers on the web are mixed. Some say it's a good idea, and others say it's a disaster waiting to happen. But today's guests, Julia and Melissa, have worked together exceptionally well for the last ten years. And now they're ready to take their business to the next level. But how do you legally start a partnersh...