On today’s show: are you a bit of a control freak? Being hesitant about giving up control in your business is normal. We’re all nervous to hand off work to contractors sometimes. But if you never hand off smaller tasks, you never free yourself up to be a founder in your own business. That’s where we find Silvia, our guest on today’s show. Silvia has a small team of contractors, but finds herself reluctant to hand off her oldest or biggest clients. So, how can Silvia finally hand off daily client...
May 05, 2022•44 min•Season 15Ep. 7
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. Anna Keith asks: "I’m getting ready to do my taxes and am considering if I should try a software rather than hiring a CPA. What insights or pro/cons about using software vs hiring a profe...
May 03, 2022•16 min
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 the direction of your company this way. This is where we find today’s guest Erica. She’s been told she...
Apr 28, 2022•47 min•Season 15Ep. 6
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 sending any work for me to do. How would you deal with something like this? Listen to our full-lengt...
Apr 26, 2022•11 min
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 back after a quick message from our sponsors. PS: Get featured in an upcoming FTF SHORT! Just visit h...
Apr 21, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 15Ep. 5
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? Listen to our full-length coaching calls: http://freelancetofounder.com Support our Episode Sponsors: H...
Apr 20, 2022•13 min
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. And while working with agencies definitely has its advantages, there are lots of downsides too...
Apr 14, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 15Ep. 4
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 coaching calls: http://freelancetofounder.com Support our Episode Sponsors: Hectic - Everything you ...
Apr 12, 2022•18 min
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, she’s mostly doing smaller, one-off projects that are both unpredictable and low-paying. So how do...
Apr 07, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 15Ep. 3
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-length coaching calls: http://freelancetofounder.com Support our Episode Sponsors: Compiler - De-my...
Apr 05, 2022•15 min
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 doing now to attract even bigger companies. If you’re ready to build up a healthier client base, th...
Mar 31, 2022•50 min•Season 15Ep. 2
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 coaching calls: http://freelancetofounder.com Support our Episode Sponsors: Compiler: De-mystifying t...
Mar 29, 2022•14 min
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, how to leverage your knowledge, and how to go after what you really want. Join us after this quick brea...
Mar 24, 2022•58 min•Season 15Ep. 1
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 killing our creativity? Listen to our full-length coaching calls: http://freelancetofounder.com Sup...
Mar 22, 2022•15 min
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. Referral partners who can send you consistent leads on a predictable basis. We’ll dive in after this quick...
Mar 17, 2022•57 min•Season 14Ep. 11
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 service, how you can get started, and why productizing can turn your freelance business into a massiv...
Mar 10, 2022•55 min•Season 14Ep. 10
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 build something she can get excited about. It’s one of the most raw, personal sessions we’ve had to da...
Mar 03, 2022•59 min•Season 14Ep. 9
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 leaves him wondering if he’s “doing it right.” You can hear our take on the Employee vs Contractor debat...
Feb 24, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 14Ep. 8
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 order, but Clay and I serve up some solid advice for hiring the best freelancers. For more info on this ...
Feb 17, 2022•55 min•Season 14Ep. 7
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 working with clients you like, and scaling up your business fast. Stick around for this fun brainstorm...
Feb 10, 2022•53 min•Season 14Ep. 6
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 longer. He needs new customers. So, this jam-packed episode gives Jason lots of ideas for getting new cus...
Feb 03, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 14Ep. 5
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-time. It’s time to sink or swim. But she’s bogged down with so many questions, it can be hard to kno...
Jan 27, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 14Ep. 4
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 business owners and potential clients. Stick around for this fun brainstorming session starting right aft...
Jan 20, 2022•50 min•Season 14Ep. 3
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 having a client generation system in place to bring in predictable new work. Her annual goals are lite...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 14Ep. 2
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 and brilliant workflows to save money and get more done. If you find yourself bogged down, short on ...
Jan 06, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 14Ep. 1
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 high-converting lead-generation machine to ensure you always have clients coming your way. You won’t want...
Dec 30, 2021•46 min•Season 13Ep. 12
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 losing your personal connection with clients. Support our sponsors so we can keep airing new episodes: ...
Dec 23, 2021•55 min•Season 13Ep. 11
Today is our mega-productivity episode. It’s nearly an hour of our best tips, tricks, tools, and advice for getting more done and making more money with less time and effort. That’s the dream right: keep growing your business without working yourself to death. And in today’s show, that’s exactly what you’ll get. It all starts right after this message from our sponsors. Support our sponsors so we can keep airing new episodes: ButcherBox: Get our meat delivered, for free, right to your door. Justw...
Dec 16, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 13Ep. 10
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 end of the show, Carey admits he wished he’d considered this question much earlier in his career. Luck...
Dec 09, 2021•58 min•Season 13Ep. 9
On today’s show, our guest skipped out, so Clay and I hit record to discuss something we see a lot of business builders get wrong: marketing budgets. You know that phrase, “you’ve got to spend money to make money”? Well, you might have thought: "that’s not necessarily true. I get referrals for free." But you DO have to spend money in order to predictably SCALE your business. So how can you know exactly how much to spend on marketing efforts next year? Today, we’ll walk you through a simple formu...
Dec 02, 2021•53 min•Season 13Ep. 8
