It’s actually feels ridiculous to officially type this out, but I’ve been an independent eCommerce consultant for 4 months now. Yes, 4 months! 33% of an actual entire year.
It’s been crazy, it’s flown by and I’ve learned loads. But do you know what? I’m in love with what I do, the community and the opportunities that are thrown my way are excellent and I’m not looking back!
But this post isn’t about me – it’s about helping people (like you) that are either curious about freelance, are about to make the jump. Or maybe you’re freelancing as a side gig and you want to take it to the next level?
Whatever your situation, I want to share my learnings thus far with you whilst they’re still fresh in my mind.
Now clearly, there’s people out there who’ve been doing it far longer and are much better at it than I. However, I’m not sure I’ve heard many accounts from people who’ve recently made the move and are still fresh-eyed. I wanted to change that with this post.
So here goes!
Pick the brains of your industry idols
One of the first things I did when I was playing around with the idea of going solo was speaking to the people I was inspired by, the people that I admired and the people that were at the top of their game.
This was a huge help as it really helped me to shape my offering as a consultant, decide on what I was going to do and how I was going to go about it.
At every stage of my planning I would reach out to people at networking events or even just slide in to DMs and ask for 10 mins of time.
You’ll be amazed at just how awesome and helpful the digital marketing and SEO community is. People love to help and speaking to the pros was one of the most pivotal decisions I made.
The key thing here is that this is something I still do even now. Having those conversations, taking that advice, asking those questions and really thinking things through is something that’s truly invaluable.
Also try to get different perspectives. Speak with SEOs if you’re wanting to go in to that space, sure. But how about speaking with creatives and agency owners too to get a broader perspective and alternative opinions?
Remember that YOU need to set the agenda. The advice you receive will only be as good as the questions you ask. Think about the questions you’d like answers to in advance.
But do you know what the best thing is that I totally did not expect? You’re essentially raising your profile and getting epic and priceless advice at the same time.
I know more about the people I look up to and equally, they know more about me and what I do too.
Make it effortless for people to explain what you do
If you can’t explain what you do effectively in 10 seconds or less, how are others going to?
It’s really easy to take something really simple and make it really complicated. What does your target audience need to know? What the heck do you do, who for and where do you add value? If you can’t simply answer that then others won’t be able to either.
Equally saying you do SEO simply isn’t good enough because so does thousands of others. Look at some of the other peeps out there and see how they market themselves.
Equally, when you think of noteworthy people in your space, how would you explain what they do to others?
Some of my go to examples:
- Rise at Seven – Properly joined up SEO and PR
- Barry Adams – News SEO
- Claire Carlile – Local & SME SEO
Find your niche(s) and sing it from the rooftops
You can’t just be an SEO (well you can, who am I to stop you) but where in SEO do you excel? What do you love to do?
Are you someone that prefers making JS sexy for search engines? Are you someone that loves link building and content? Are you a copywriter that loves writing for fashion and current affairs?
Find your skill and find your niches and make it clear to others precisely what they are.
On the flip side, there’s no need to get super-specific and granular either. Find a nice middle ground and position yourself so you can play to your own strengths without putting yourself in a pigeonhole.
Specialising also means you can command a higher fee too. The case is true for most things. Specialist chefs/mechanics/professionals command more for owning a specialist area. It’s often the same in the world of consultancy and freelance too.
Rapport is more important than raw skill
We’re only human, right? Don’t be afraid of not knowing all the answers – it’s impossible and that’s ok. But what I’m noticing more and more is building a good, solid rapport and having professional chemistry with people you meet is much more important than practically everything else.
Just so I’m clear here, I’m not saying blag it – not at all. But you haven’t got to be the most experienced SEO in the world to be respected and get referrals.
Sure, know your stuff, but relationship building is ultimately what’s most important.
Try not to obsess over your (lack of) website leads
True story: I pick up very little of my work via my contact form. At first, I was pretty concerned that my contact form wasn’t blowing up. But I’ve now learnt that that’s actually ok.
I actually get most of my work via word-of-mouth, Twitter DMs, LinkedIn and contracts dropping me messages on WhatsApp.
Maybe in time, the number of contact form leads will change, but I’m really not sweating it. You shouldn’t either.
Equally, if you do get a lot of genuine enquiries via your contact form, embrace them and don’t let them sit without a reply for too long. Reply within the hour if you can.
Even if you just reply to say thanks for the enquiry and you’ll be in touch when you get a moment, it really makes a difference.
Go out and meet people face to face if you can
The best and most memorable catch ups, chats or meetings have always been face to face. Google hangouts, Skype, GoToMeeting or whatever just doesn’t come close. If you can get to someone and get a face to face in the diary, you absolutely should.
I’ve been offered positions and work before by just hot desking in an office, meeting the wider team and getting to know the business before catching up with the person I’d travelled to meet. Face to face matters.
Never work for free, but give advice freely
Refuse to work for free. The only person you should do free work for is yourself. When you’re freelance, time really is money.
Not only that, but anyone that asks you to work for free doesn’t value the work you do or just plain doesn’t get it.
However, I’m always an advocate of helping folks out. If someone has a question that you can help answer? Chip in. Even if you’re just passing them a few blog posts or book names you’ve checked out, it really goes a long way.
Jamie Oliver does not sell any less cookbooks because he’s telling you how to do it on Channel 4. Therefore, don’t sweat giving out advice in fear of losing work. It always come back.
Giving solid advice also positions you as the go to expert on the topic in question. It really is win-win.
Build a schedule that works for you – it really makes a difference
I’m not a morning person. Or at least I am, but I prefer to not be in front of my laptop screen for 9am sharp unless I need to be.
First, I do the school run, hit them gym, I might run an errand or two and then I’m ready for work. I’ve never had the freedom to hit the gym before work unless it was some ungodly hour – no thanks. Now? I have dedicated time to focus on my health and feel energised before firing up my laptop.
Make your career work for you and not the other way around. Of course, remain disciplined, but work in a way that makes you better, happier and more effective at what you do.
If you work better in the morning, build a work structure that allows you to thrive in that space. Work better in the evening? You’ve guessed it..
The little things are super-important. Don’t underestimate them.
It sounds crazy, but the small things were actually more impactful and influencing to me than the bigger things. For example, for almost as long as I’ve been working, I’ve driven to work.
Getting in the car and driving to a destination is a mental thing for me that just has to remain the same. Sure, I work at home now, but I realised soon it my mood and attitude deteriorated quickly when working from home full time.
Now I’ve a small, cheap office which I drive to when the feeling takes me. It’s made the world of difference.
Little things like getting properly dressed and having a proper lunch break cannot be underestimated. Don’t become your own shit, slave driving boss.
It’s ok to be emotional. It’s a freakin’ huge change
This is a point that I don’t feel is emphasised or shared enough, so I wanted to make it clear. I’ve definitely cried a bunch of times since going freelance. Sometimes because I’m really happy at what I’ve achieved.
It could be something as simple as getting a gleaming bit of feedback from one of your first clients. Something as small as that can set you off, but you see, it’s not small. Not at all.
It’s all you. Your work, your company, your skill, your audit, your late night hustle. That’s why good news and positive feedback hits so hard. They can be truly overwhelming at times and that’s absolutely ok.
But let’s get real – although good times, great times even are sweet. Bad times hit harder. Self doubt, stress, late nights, feeling lost, worrying about money etc. I’ve been there and these low points have brought me to tears too.
But to get through it, you have to remind yourself of what you’re capable of and why you’re doing this in the first place.
Pull down the advice that you’ve worked hard to get from people you respect. Be vulnerable and ask for help publicly.
Reach out to your network, friends and ask the questions you want answers to. Want to be sure your audit is polished and strong enough? Ask people for pointers.
Having being out of the agency game for so long, I was worried my proposals would be way off the mark. I reached out to people I thought could help and I was steered in the right direction.
I also wanted to feature as a speaker at more conferences this year, here’s a tweet I put out. Look at all of the awesome help I received!
Conference organisers & Twitter fam, can we have a chat? 🤔
I'm an eccentric British guy with a borderline obsession and buckets of passion for eCommerce, CRO, UX.
I'd love for 2020 to be my best-ever year when it comes to conference speaking.
So, how about it? Hit me up! pic.twitter.com/H72ELdHpgW
— Luke Carthy 🔎 (@MrLukeCarthy) November 7, 2019
Last but not least, get yourself a solid accountant and speak to a mortgage advisor
If you’re remortgaging soon or you’re soon wanting to buy a home for the first time, speaking to a mortgage advisor prior making the jump will ensure you set up shop in a way that’s most favourable when applying for mortgages.
Even if you’re not looking to buy or remortgage within the next three years, I’d still say it’s worth speaking to someone who’s as obsessed with mortgages as you are digital marketing.
Secondly, invest in a proper accountant. Good accountants pay for themselves many times over and I’d always recommend finding an accountant you get on with is more important than choosing an accountant that’s the cheapest or most skilled.
Accountants know more about your money than even you probably do. You probably should get on well with someone that knows that much about your money.
I’m only just scratching the surface, but I hope this helps fellow freelance freshers
I’m not some sort of freelance expert and I don’t pretend to be. There’s still things I’m learning and working on; such as properly finding time to work ON the business rather than just wrapping myself up in client work.
But if life is a journey, then so is independent consultancy/freelance.
I hope it helps. Good luck!
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