From a new freelancer:
“I’ve hit the point where I’ve run out of ‘favours’ from my network. I mean, anyone that I personally know from my network that would benefit from my consultancy has made a purchasing decision – they’ve either engaged me or decided they don’t need to/can’t afford to. I’m now reliant on my own marketing and word of mouth from previous clients.
I’m having a lot of trouble converting leads in to engagements. People are very interested in what I do, love to talk about it, often ask for a proposal, but very few convert in to an engagement.
I’m really stressed out about if this new career is going to be able to provide for my family or not. I feel like I’m approaching a crossroads where I’m going to have to either gamble with our future, or give up on my dream.”
Man, can I relate.
My problem, early on, was similar except I never had a network. I didn’t graduate college, I worked construction for a long time, I came from a dirt poor family… there was nobody to go to get me a jump-start.
So, grinding out those few first clients…
Learning those first few “client-getting” skills…
It felt almost impossible.
I had zero momentum. But, all that is also why I harp so much on “systems and science” (More HERE). Look, there’s no “magic” to getting clients. There are repeatable processes you can implement to bring in clients consistently.
They’re not rocket science.
They don’t require a bunch of credentials.
It’s simply about knowing and doing.
But, know this… even if, you’ve got clients coming in right now… if you don’t know how or from where. If that’s not crystal clear to you, you’re running on borrowed time. And, it’ll only take one “lull” for that to be made clear.
And, until you get to the point where you know exactly what to do to bring in new clients, you’re always going to feel that anxiety and that “what if” cloud hanging over your head. The answer, again, is systems and science.
Know-it-all, but broke, freelancers might roll their eyes at that…
But, it’s the truth.
In any case, I teach that basic process in my Beginner’s Guide to Freelance. You can grab a copy on Udemy here: https://johnmorrisonline.com/freelanceonudemy
Later,
John
P.S. If you prefer Skillshare, you can learn how to get FREE access to all my classes, including this one, here: https://johnmorrisonline.com/skillshare
