There’s a few steps to this… so, stick with me.
It starts with who you trust. In my opinion, the only real way to have complete, top-to-bottom control of your business, your finances and your life… is to be 100% dependent on yourself for how you make your living.
Not a job.
Not your government.
Not a parent or spouse.
You.
Nobody else.
Now, some people will start arguing here… “We live in an interdependent society… you still rely on clients…”, etc, etc. Yes, but I’m talking about this at a root level — a visceral, no bullshyte, no airy, fairy, koombaya nonsense… level.
For example…
I *know*… not think, not wonder, not hope or wish… I KNOW that any client I work with is better off for having me on their team. Nearly 15 years of working with people from all over the world has proven it to me.
Every single time…
They’re better off than when I left.
That’s why I don’t get all anxious when they’re “interviewing” me or peppering me with questions about why they should hire me and all that. It doesn’t phase me. I know that they just don’t know, yet. They don’t know what I can do.
But, they will.
And, they’ll feel silly for having hammered me like they did.
THAT is what I mean by being 100% dependent on yourself.
That kind of competence and confidence.
There’s no substitute for it.
Then…
In my opinion, the best way to maximize that kind of competence is to also put myself in charge of how the products/services get made and delivered… and how the clients get brought in.
Instead of “outsourcing” that to the CEO of a company…
I’ll do it myself.
Because I’ll probably do a better job anyway.
Yes, that makes me an arrogant a-hole… haha.
But, it’s also usually true.
But… the critical thing… now *I* have control top-to-bottom.
I don’t have to worry if he/she is making stupid decisions or embezzling money or snorting lines of coke off some hooke– well, you get it. I’m the boss. I make the decisions. I live with my own consequences.
Again, maybe not for everybody…
But, it’s the only way to have 100% control… in my opinion.
And, that’s why I freelance…
Instead of accepting the dozens of high-paying jobs I’ve been offered over the years.
Just a quick example.
A friend of mine works for a high-profile tech company. He earns in the high 6-figure range. Last year, when the Corona hit, the company he works for took a hit. They laid off a lot of
people. And, he had to take a 15% reduction in his salary.
No discussion, no choice… nothing he could do.
And, it put him in a bind.
Fortunately, they came out of it and he’s back to where he was… but, it illustrates how little control you really have in those situations. Not that you’re a bad person if you work for someone else…
But, if you want *absolute* power and control…
Bet on yourself.
Finally, then… the nitty-gritty of where I’m going with this. You see, as a freelancer, the most important thing you do…
Actually, let me ask you.
What is your most important job as freelancer?
Think about it for a second.
A lot of people get this wrong.
…
So, what is it?
Getting hired.
Nothing else happens until you actually get hired by a client. Doing a good job of delivering, provide high quality service, referrals… so many freelancers confuse themselves with all this other stuff.
But, it’s moving the needle that matters.
That is your #1 job.
So, when it comes to that…
How do you gain control? How do you KNOW… instead of hoping and wishing… that you’ll always have enough client work to feed your family, pay your bills, buy all the things you want, etc, etc?
With ZERO uncertainty.
You stack the deck.
Most freelancers I talk with rely on only one… maybe two… methods for getting clients. They’ll hop on a few freelance sites… maybe put up a website or do some networking… but almost nobody uses all 6 primary methods.
And I mean… leverage to the max.
Squeeze every last drop out of them.
It’s rare.
But, if you want absolute control… that’s how you get it.
Anyway, right now, I teach 3 of the 6. In my upcoming course, Freelance Feast, I’m going to teach you all 6. But, for now… these are the three you can learn right away:
- My Upwork course (https://johnmorrisonline.com/course/get-high-paying-freelance-jobs-on-upwork/) will teach you how to leverage the “freelance site” method.
- My Content Marketing for Freelancers course (https://johnmorrisonline.com/course/systematic-content-marketing-for-freelancers/) will show you how to leverage the “content marketing” method.
- And, my latest course… The Cold Email Method (https://myjohn.us/coldemail) will show you how to use cold emails to get clients.
And, it’s this last method that gives you the most control.
The other methods are great.
You should absolutely be doing them.
But, they’re long-term strategies. And, frankly, they’re dependent on other people. Upwork has to decide it likes you. Google has to decide your content is valuable. And, you have to strategically and methodically build those over time.
Cold email is quick.
It’s aggressive.
And, it’s 100% in your hands.
You can learn the method and be sending your emails in a little over an hour from now. You could maybe even have a client by the end of the day. It’s that immediate. And, it actually works when you do it the way I show you.
Not blasting out 1000s of spam emails.
Instead targeted emails to highly qualified leads.
Who NEED your services.
That’s the “secret” to this.
Anyway, learn it all… but if you’re in need of a quick injection of client work and income, then give this cold email method a look. I’ve put it up on Skillshare to make it accessible to everybody regardless of your financial situation.
But, it’s coming down at the end of April…
At which point, I’ll sell it on my website for probably $100 or more.
So, now is the time if you want to save some money on this.
Anyhoo, the link again is here: https://myjohn.us/coldemail
If you’re already a Skillshare member, that will take you right into the course… you’re looking for Lesson #3. If you’re not a member, that will trigger a 14-day trial of Skillshare for you.
What some people do is start the trial…
Take the course (or courses)…
Then, cancel before the 14 days is up…
And you never actually pay anything.
A few hoops to jump through, but might be worth it for you.
Up to you.
Link again is here: https://myjohn.us/coldemail
Later,
John
