I quit my marketing manager job to do freelancing. Here's what I learned...

In September 2023, after working for three years as an in-house marketing manager, I quit.

On paper, I had everything a 21-year-old me – a final-year advertising student in the UK, once dreamed about.

I had a good salary.

I had a great manager.

I didn't have to manage a team.

I could work 100% remotely (and move to Spain).?

Yet, every day I'd get up for a day of work, I'd feel like something was missing.

I felt as if I was capable of doing much more, and each day that passed, I was wasting my potential.

So, I decided to take the leap and set up my own thing.

A few days ago marked a year from my transition to freelance marketing.?

Here are the main takeaways I wanted to share with you:

The more shots on goal you give yourself, the better.

I realized there were two ways to make my transition to freelancing smoother.

The first was to start taking on clients as a side hustle.

In fact, many successful freelancers will tell you to build a solid client base before quitting your job.

"Your side hustle should make you the same amount of money as your main job."

While I don't necessarily disagree with that statement, it's probably the safest option if you have kids or other responsibilities.?

But in my case, I'm one of those people who can focus only on one thing at a time.?

That's why, instead, I saved up about 2 years of expenses before quitting my job.

It gave me enough runway to focus, make mistakes, and figure things out.?

I knew in the back of my mind if shit hit the fan – I couldn't find clients, I'd struggle to make ends meet, I would still be okay. If things got really bad, I could always get another job.?

Luckily, it didn't go that way, and I managed to land my first three clients within 2 weeks.

Which brings me to my next point:

The more people know about you, the higher your chances of landing a client.

"What's the best way to get clients?"

It's the age-old question most starting freelancers have.

The answer is all the ways.

In my first year of freelancing, I've landed clients by reaching out to my network, posting content on LinkedIn, Upwork, cold outreach, and referrals.

I'm sure you can add more ways to this list, such as running ads, attending in-person events, hosting webinars, creating a newsletter, and doing SEO.

I'm just not in that phase yet.?

But if there's one mindset shift I had that helped me the most in client acquisition, it's this:

It's not how many people you know; it's how many people know you (and what you do).

Initially, I would focus on crafting highly personalized outreach messages on Upwork and email.

I'd legit record a Loom video pointing out the mistakes I thought a business was making in their marketing strategy and how I could improve it. For some of these leads, I'd even write a free sample.?

I'm not saying it can't work (in fact, my biggest client in 2024 came from cold outreach), but the problem with this approach is that you're spending so much time reaching out to one individual.??

Now, I think a much more effective approach is to post content consistently.

The fifth post I made on LinkedIn reached over 10,000 people.?

Within a month, I had generated three leads from posting content alone.?

It's the easiest way to build trust and let people know you exist.?

On top of that, you don't need to guess that the person you're reaching out to needs your service (because that's what you're doing with cold outreach).

Instead, you position yourself as the first person they'll reach out to when they're ready to buy.?

That's why, in 2025, I promised myself to post at least five times a week.

Most of the things you do don't matter.

There's this rule that says 20% of inputs control 80% of your outputs.

It applies to many areas of life, and it's true for freelancers as well.

If you think about it, freelancing is really simple on paper.

All you need to do is land clients, overdeliver, get paid, and get referred.??

When I started, I would obsess over little things, such as whether I should brand my business under my name or whether the font on my website should be in Serif or Sans-Serif.?

The reality is that it doesn't matter.

If it doesn't help you do one of those things I mentioned – land clients, overdeliver, get paid, or get referred, then drop it.

Take on different clients at first.

It took me seven months to understand what I actually wanted to offer my clients.?

I tried writing website copy.

I wrote sales letters.

For some clients, I set up Meta ads.?

For others, I created LinkedIn content.

It wasn't until I landed my first email client that I realized I wanted to do this long-term.

Figure out your offer by trying different things first.?

If you don't try, you'll never know what you like.?

Sometimes, you need to place your ego on the side.

It's quite a humbling experience to go from making a stable marketing manager salary to working at a low price (or sometimes even for free).?

At times, it feels like you've taken a step back.?

But if you're like me, and you don't have a large network from the start, there will be times when you need to swallow your pride and do the work.

Remember, the main differentiator among freelancers is their quality of work.?

And the best way to prove that you're amazing at what you do is through testimonials and case studies.?

You can copy someone's website and social media content, but you'll never be able to copy their proof.?

Focus on getting proof first, even if you can't initially charge what you want.?

Everything takes more time than you think.

It took me ten months of focused work to earn as much as I did from my nine-to-five job.?

But to this day, I don't make any money – everything I earn goes into courses, books, and mentorship programs.?

You may be reading this on your cozy office seat, thinking to yourself:

"I could be making more money, working from anywhere in the world, whenever I want."

While it's technically true, I'm here to tell you this:

Building your client base is hard work.

Building your personal brand is hard work.

Getting your first testimonials and case studies is hard work.

Anyone telling you otherwise is full of shit (I know there are many gurus out there promising you five-figure months while working 10 hours a week).

It's not the reality, at least not in the early days.?

As Alex Hormozi said, your goals aren't crazy; it's just your timeline.?

Always be learning more.?

I've never been a reader. In school, I got used to reading about things I didn't care about.

Every time I'd pick up a book, it's like I'd be staring at a blank screen – I'd be bored out of my mind within two minutes.?

Now, I've made it a habit to read every day.

Over the past 15 months, I've read about 13 books and completed 5-6 courses.

It's not only because now I'm reading about things that genuinely interest me (that certainly helps).

But I've also realized this:

There are only two ways to scale as a freelancer.

You become the best at what you do and charge a premium.

Or you take on more clients and hire employees.?

I'm not interested in the latter.?

Many successful agency owners who I've talked to have said they were the happiest when they could work alone, collaborate with contractors, and get paid.

That's what I aim to do, at least for now.?

Of course, you can do whatever you want.?

What's next

These are my takeaways from my first year of freelancing.

If you're reading this, don't let my experiences dictate yours (I hate when people do that).

If I started posting more often and doing less cold outreach, I would be way ahead than I am now.

So, if you can knock it out of the park right away – that's what's up, I'm rooting for you.

If you enjoyed this article, follow me on LinkedIn - I post content there on most days.?

If you're an e-commerce brand owner struggling to retain customers, contact me at [email protected], and let's talk about email marketing.??