Freelance to Founder

On today’s show: Have you ever noticed just how liberating it can be to tell your clients “no”? In the early years of your freelance career, you feel almost obligated to say “yes” to any request your clients make. After all, they’re the ones paying your bills.  But every “yes” to a client request means a “no” to something else in your business. If you’re not careful, your clients end up deciding t...

You're listening to our brand-new Freelance to Founder SHORTS, 5-10 minute episodes answering one (or two) questions from listeners like you. To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode. Today’s question comes from our free Mastermind group on Facebook. Kristy Gardner asks: My client is happily paying her retainer bill every month but not...

On today’s show: have you ever wanted to pivot your freelance business into something a little more passive?  In this episode, we chat with our old friend Will Gibbons who came on for a coaching call a couple of years ago. Since his coaching call, Will has pivoted into a more passive business model. If earning money passively is something you’d like to try, this episode is for you.  We’ll be right...

You're listening to our brand-new Freelance to Founder SHORTS, 5-10 minute episodes answering one (or two) questions from listeners like you. To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode. Today’s question comes from our free Mastermind group on Facebook. John-Luke Ward asks: How do you deal with freelancers that don't deliver as agreed? Lis...

On today’s show: how can you stop using agency work as a crutch & build your own rolodex of high quality clients? It’s something we chat about with our first ever guest duo, Shelby & Kristina. They’re two comedic video marketers doing really fun work out of Hollywood, California. In the wake of the pandemic, Shelby and Kristina started their video business and found early success with agencies. An...

You're listening to our brand-new Freelance to Founder SHORTS, 5-10 minute episodes answering one (or two) questions from listeners like you. To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode. On today's show, Chris calls in with another question: How do I build a marketing plan that is impressive to big-brand clients? Listen to our full-length...

On today’s show: When you’re just getting started, taking on any clients just to pay the bills is almost a given. But there comes a time when you need higher-paying more established clients. That’s the situation today’s guest, Brittany, finds herself in. Brittany has been freelancing on the side for years and recently took her freelance business full-time. But aside from a couple of anchor clients...

You're listening to our brand-new Freelance to Founder SHORTS, 5-10 minute episodes answering one (or two) questions from listeners like you. To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode. On today's show, Chase calls in with a question: What's a good "gut check" or "litmus test" for finding the perfect product/market fit? Listen to our full...

On today’s show: how do you go from small, one-off clients to more reputable, big-name brands? It’s a question I pose to Elna Cain, my guest on the show today. Elna is a freelance writer who has worked with big brands like Zapier or Walmart. And in this episode, Elna and I unpack exactly how she got started building her portfolio, how she leverages that portfolio to get new clients, and what she’s...

You're listening to our brand-new Freelance to Founder SHORTS, 5-10 minute episodes answering one (or two) questions from listeners like you. To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode. On today's show, Dwaynia calls in with a question: How can I introduce a retainer option to people who inquire about services? Listen to our full-length c...

On today’s show: do you ever feel like freelancing and entrepreneurship are just one crazy roller coaster ride?  Well in my conversation today with two friends Darryl and Micah, we talk all about how to convert the roller coaster of business from something negative and scary, to something positively exciting. We explore how to tap into the freelancing community, how to build a solid foundation, ho...

Big news today! We're excited to share our brand-new Freelance to Founder SHORTS, 5-10 minute episodes answering one (or two) questions from listeners like you. To submit your question, visit FreelanceToFounder.com/ASK and we'll feature you on an upcoming episode. On today's show, our friend Chris calls in with a question: when's the right time to hire a project manager and how can I do it without...

On today’s show: we all know client referrals can be a great way to grow your business. In fact, most service businesses still identify word of mouth marketing as their #1 source for new clients. But if you never know when that next referral is coming, it can be a bit nerve-racking. Today’s guest, Erik Jensen, shares how to find and leverage high quality referral partners for your business. Referr...

Have you ever wanted to say goodbye to writing custom proposals or charging low rates by the hour? If so, today’s your lucky day. Clay’s on leave today which leaves me to chat with our expert guest, Tyler Gillespie. Tyler has grown and sold multiple productized businesses—including one he grew to over 125 freelance employees. In this episode, he’ll unpack exactly what it means to productize your s...

Have you ever felt like you don’t know where you’re going in your business? It can be debilitating and frustrating. Not only that, but it can leave you spinning your wheels and wishing you knew what to do next to finally get some traction. That’s the situation we find today’s caller in. Her name’s Bernadette and she’s calling from New Zealand with questions about how to restart her business and bu...

On today’s show: Are you still debating whether you should build your business with full-time employees or independent contractors? For Josh, a former side-hustler who recently quit his job to pursue his business full-time, the question is a tough one. That’s because Josh’s business is thriving and he’s hired 10 new team members in the last year and a half or so. They’re all contractors which leav...

On today’s show, have you ever thought: if I could just find the right person to hire, I could scale up my business. That’s how Virginia from Argentina feels about her unique content marketing company. The challenge? Virginia’s company develops content around witchcraft and spiritualism—so she needs teammates who speak fluent English, writes well, and understands her unique niche. It’s a tall orde...

On today’s show: have you ever wished you could actually get paid to do things like write up a proposal or send a pitch? Well, today’s guest, Austin Church reveals how he built a system to sell strategy to his clients—allowing him to get paid for a lot of the work many of us do before ever closing a deal. Austin also opened my eyes to how selling strategy can lead to increasing your rates, only wo...

On today’s show: when’s the right time to spend money on paid advertising? If you’re not sure when or how to approach paid growth as a freelancer, you’re not alone. Our guest today, Jason, is a pastor who sells a course focused on addiction counselling and recovery. Jason has had early success with his course but knows he can’t rely on his personal mailing list or friends and family for much longe...

On today’s show: what would you do if you suddenly had to start making full-time money from your business tomorrow?  In this episode, that’s a question we pose during our coaching call with Kate—a very talented motion graphics designer living in Orange County California. Kate has been building her business on the side of her day job and she’s ready to make some serious progress toward working full...

On today’s show: do you keep hearing how important networking is, but you really just don’t enjoy it? In this episode, we chat with Morgan, a freelancer from Chicago. Morgan can see the potential in networking with local clients, but can’t quite figure out how to enjoy it. So, Clay and I start brainstorming a few fun and exciting ways she can leverage her unique talents to network with local busin...

On today’s show: if you get most of your clients from referrals, is that a good thing? Or is your business at risk of failing? You’re about to hear a coaching call with Dwaynia who’s calling in from Alabama in the USA. Dwaynia has a great writing business going. She’s working with clients she loves and has a small team to support her.  But, Dwaynia literally lies awake at night worried about not h...

On today’s “best of” episode which originally aired in Oct 2020, Preston has a one-on-one conversation with James Rose. James is a total rockstar when it comes to automating tasks in your business. In fact, as you’ll hear by the end of this conversation, in order to accomplish everything James automates in his business, he’d have to hire a full-time employee. Instead, he leverages affordable tech...

On today’s show, it’s Clay’s birthday, so he has the day off, but I have a great conversation with Yash who built an agency from 2 people to over 55 employees in just a few years.  Now, Yash is building a tool called ClientJoy—helping thousands of freelancers and agency-builders take control of their client management and processes.  Today, Yash outlines in exact detail one way you can build a hig...

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...