You're looking at freelancing wrong
You're looking at freelancing wrong.
That's why you won't raise your rates.
That's why you keep running into Carrie Clients.
That's why you can't seem to get the best results, that's why you don't ever find the top talent you want to work with.
And if you're looking to hire a freelancer, that's why top talent doesn't want to work with you.
You're looking at freelancing wrong.
You have to understand this...
I only need 50 to 100 new clients per year to make more than most Americans.
I only need to make 50 people happy. That's all I need to do. Make 50 people happy this year, doing something I love to do. Warren Buffet was right. I tapdance to work like a kid on Christmas morning. Every morning. Granted, for me, going to work means rolling out of bed. But we all make choices. Some people have two-hour-long daily commutes, in nicer cars than I'll ever own.
And because I am so good at what I do, sometimes my clients pay me not to work for someone else.
You read that right. My clients pay me exclusivity fees. They pay me more than my going rate, just to ensure that their project gets my undivided attention.
So I'm going to say it again.
You're looking at freelancing wrong.
That's why you won't raise your rates.
That's why you keep running into Carrie Clients.
That's why you can't seem to get the best results, that's why you don't ever find the top talent you want to work with.
That's why top talent doesn't want to work with you.
And with your low rates, your rushed attitude, your poor customer service, your mediocre presentation, and your lack of attention to detail, you are ruining it for the rest of us!
You're looking at freelancing wrong.
I only need 50 to 100 new clients per year to make more than most Americans.
If you run a small business, or a SME, you really should hire Bonnie McClain. She's much better at math, and datasets than you are. Honestly. No offense.
I'll break it down for you.
In my field, 1 million new books are self-published each year.
I made 50 of them in 2019, 50 of them in 2018, 50 of them in 2017, etc.
This year a hefty percentage of the books I published were best-sellers.
I'm getting better at what I do.
I'm already hard at work on next year's best-sellers.
That's why my clients pay me exclusivity fees. They intend to be my client again next year, when I'm better than I am now. I work for really smart people. Usually at the top of their fields. That's one reason they wrote a book.
They just want me to do what I'm good at.
Believe me yet?
You're looking at freelancing
relationships
business
marketing
coding
process
data
software
work
wrong.
Thank you so much to everybody who taught me this.
How are you looking at freelancing wrong? Please answer in the comments. Let the rest of us know. I love making introductions.
Graphic Designer Specialized in Book Publishing
5 年When you put all the books we are working on right now in a post like this I really get excited about what 2020 will bring us. It's been a great year for both of us. Thank you, Chad!
Publishing Consultant | Writer | Editor | Book Designer
5 年Thank YOU Roslyn. What a kind thing to say. You're doing way more important work than I ever will. Thank you! I'll answer your question this way-- every book we do gets at least 18 hours of human attention. Honestly, that's why my rates are what they are, and also why our competitors can't match us. My clients want me to spend as much time on their book as it takes to get it done well. Technically, if you give me a manuscript, and you are not too picky about design, I COULD do your book in about 2 hours. And it will still be better looking, and the eBook will be better coded, than 90% of the books on the market. But I love working on books. That's where the quality comes from. Actual humans, spending hours crafting, honing, polishing. If I were a pompous person, I'd be saying stuff like "artisanally crafted" or some such. Also I've coded software, and developed all sorts of processes to make the production cycle more efficient. So you get this sort of quality-compounded effect. Ivica, my partner, has worked on over 700 books. Between us there's a combined 25 years of book design experience, at play here, applied to building books. So there are some weeks I do 4 books, and some weeks I do zero. Some weeks are just for editing or proofreading text, or ghostwriting for clients. Some weeks all I do is look at/for beautiful imagery. Here's hoping I can get one of those weeks next week. It's been a while. ??
Creator of Realm Theory - a meta-pattern of how life works
5 年Thanks Chad Robertson?Another insightful article that makes me think about how I am working. ?Do you freelance one book a week??