On today’s show, we talk with Akshat Choudhary who runs a thriving business called BlogVault. Despite having over 10,000 customers and a growing team, Akshat’s not sure where to go next when it comes to getting more customers. That all-to-common problem leads us to a conversation on building an affiliate program to get new clients, using social media to build a front-of-mind brand, and taking advantage of email to boost revenue. Whether you’ve hit a plateau with your promotions or you’re just ge...
Jul 09, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 8Ep. 14
On today’s episode, we have a great conversation with Will Gibbons—a product rendering expert who works with huge brands like Pelaton, 3M, Vizio and more. After a year of working for himself, Will is facing perhaps one of the best problems you can ask for as a freelancer: He’s got too many client requests coming in and too much work that needs done. So in this episode, Clay and I walk him through a few hiring, scaling, and management tips to help him move up the “freelance to founder” scale with...
Jul 02, 2020•55 min•Season 8Ep. 13
On this week’s episode we have a heart-to-heart chat with Bri Earles, a freelance social media manager and virtual assistant. Bri has never had any trouble getting new social media clients. But whenever Bri thinks about having money conversations or raising her prices, she kinda freezes up—using words like “awkward” “greedy” or “selfish” to explain how she feels about charging clients. What many freelancers like Bri fail to realize is the only way to become comfortable with charging more is to g...
Jun 25, 2020•55 min•Season 8Ep. 12
On today’s call, we chat with Mihai Zamfir who has done some incredible work in building a presentation design company. Mihai gets a fair amount of new clients using sites like Upwork and other freelance marketplaces, but he’s ready to start finding better clients in more intentional ways. All of this leads us to an answer-rich coaching session all about short-term vs. long-term sales strategies. Cold-pitching vs. Content marketing. On the one hand, cold-pitching is hard and has notoriously bad ...
Jun 18, 2020•59 min
On this week’s episode, we talk with Jason Vance, a former web design freelancer who’s building his next company in marketing. In just 9 months, Jason has hired 9 employees for his marketing agency because there's a whole lot of work that needs to get done. But now Jason feels like he may be holding his team back by causing a bottleneck. It's hard going from doing everything yourself to hiring and trusting employees to take on important tasks. But it’s a subject Clay and I have a TON of experien...
Jun 11, 2020•56 min•Season 8Ep. 10
On this week’s episode, Clay and Preston have a heart-to-heart chat with Rodney Little, a UX/UI designer who wants to build an audience-first business. But Rodney, a side-hustler with a full-time job, has been kicking this idea around in his mind for a whopping five years—so in this episode, Clay and Preston call him out. They dive into what’s been holding him up and what it’s really going to look like to build an audience-first business. It’s a very personal conversation for Preston especially—...
Jun 03, 2020•41 min•Season 8Ep. 9
On today’s show, we talk with Spencer Blaiklok—a freelance animator who dreams of building something bigger. But, like most creatives, Spencer doesn’t want to give up the fun creative work in order to sit behind a desk or in meetings all day, hating his job. In this episode, Clay and I walk Spencer through a few different ways he can grow his business without having to become a typical CEO-type. Be a guest on an upcoming episode: We'd love to feature your business and offer some free on-air advi...
May 28, 2020•52 min•Season 8Ep. 8
In today’s episode, Clay and I talk all about freelance pricing: what to charge, and when to raise your rates. We explore two very different pricing models and reveal 5 triggers you should watch for to signal it’s time to raise your rates. If you’ve ever wondered if you’re leaving money on the table in your business or if you’re charging the right amount for the work you do, this episode is for you. To dig even deeper, here are a few more pricing resources from the Millo team: How to Gracefully ...
May 21, 2020•38 min•Season 8Ep. 7
On today’s show, we have a nice long chat with Carl Smith. He’s been an in-house web developer for the past 20 years, but at the end of 2018, Carl finally launched a small business of his own—L&L Web Consulting. Carl saw some early success on Upwork, but when one client who was taking up 50 hours of his work-week suddenly halted their project, Carl was left wondering if sites like Upwork were the best way to get web design clients. In the first half of today’s episode, we talk all about Upwo...
May 14, 2020•54 min•Season 8Ep. 6
On today’s episode, we sit down with Margaret Ryland, a brand and identity designer who started her own design business not very long ago. Margaret is working hard trying to figure out exactly what kind of client to target which has left her listening to and reading a lot of advice about finding your freelance niche. Advice to "find your niche" in business is not uncommon on the Internet—you’ve probably seen it yourself. We've even published our own articles about it. But Clay and I worry that M...
May 07, 2020•44 min•Season 8Ep. 5
Too many freelancers never actually build a business that works for them. Instead, they just build another job for themselves—trading one annoying boss for a dozen high-maintenance clients. Eesh. In today's episode, we sit down with Bobby Macey, founder of Macey Media. After side-hustling through a series of frustrating lay-offs, Bobby finally decided to take matters into his own hands and start a content agency. He’s doing a lot of things right and his business is growing fast. But Bobby still ...
Apr 30, 2020•57 min•Season 8Ep. 4
Auni Milne can close a deal with just about any client that comes her way. But getting new clients continues to be a struggle. Can being more active on social media help Auni improve her inbound lead generation? We explore that question on today's episode of Freelance to Founder. Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts: If you enjoy the show, can you do us a favor and leave us an honest rating and review on Apple Podcasts? We'll love you forever. Click here to leave a review. Be a guest on an upcomi...
Apr 23, 2020•56 min•Season 8Ep. 3
On today’s episode, we sit down with Amy Kuo—a former designer at Disney who after finding her passion for branding, and taking the leap into full-time freelance, wants to grow her own agency. We talk about one of Amy’s biggest hurdles: overcoming imposter syndrome—especially when trying to get new freelance clients. And we strike some real gold toward the end of the episode with one way Amy—and you—can get out there and be yourself while building your business. Be a guest on an upcoming episode...
Apr 16, 2020•44 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Not long ago, Clay was a struggling freelancer working low-paying jobs to make ends meet. Just 4 years later, he had a thriving agency with 10+ employees and over $100K/mo in recurring revenue. In today's episode, you'll get to know Clay better and see why he's going to make an incredible co-host for the all-new recharged Freelance to Founder podcast. SUPPORT FOR THIS SHOW comes from: Harpoon - the next generation time-tracking and billing software that not only records your financial past, but ...
Apr 09, 2020•59 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Freelance to Founder is a unique call-in show with real-life freelancers trying to grow their businesses and escape the feast-famine lifestyle. Co-hosted by Clay and Preston, two former freelancers who have started, built, and even sold six- and seven-figure businesses of their own. Binge the Q&A episodes, dive deep with the coaching sessions, or even join in yourself and take the next step on your journey from ... Freelance to Founder. Subscribe at FreelanceToFounder.com, in Apple podcasts ...
Apr 06, 2020•2 min•Season 1Ep. 2
