#Who are you? ##What do you want to do? (Not your job, but your work, now, tomorrow, and in the future)
I want to help other web developer freelancers (I know it's meta) to stop worrying about their cashflow issues. I want to teach them how to take existing customers, make them awesome, and use these referrals to get even better customers. Then to use different recurring revenue models that will make cashflow a worry of the past. Next I'd want to move this model up to agencies and small SaaS companies.
##Who do you want to change, and how do you want to chage them?
Freelance web developers. I want to change their outlook of their business. I want them to consider how their business will look financially a year, 5 years, and 10 years right now. How does it shape their retirement and their lifestyle?
#What do you provide? ##What do people buy when they buy something from you? They buy my experience building a freelance business that has exceeded $175K/yr. They buy my desire to take them where they're at (fretting about cashflow, not consistently paying themselves, not setting aside money for retirement, not consistently paying taxes) and putting all the knowledge and research I have to creating a stable business for themselves: salaried, retirement money, business war chest, etc.
##Leave out the easy, repetitive, generic stuff... What are you doing that's difficult? Getting freelancers out of their own way. It's easy to tell someone to offer a support contract or to build an info product based on their services. But it's very difficult to convince them emotionally that it will work out. A lot of my readers are stuck at the mechanical cog level of freelancing. They're happy to get by but they know there is something more out there to achieve. They just can't make the leap emotionally. I provide them with small financial wins to get them over this emotional hump.
#List of 10 things you deliver to your client ##Things that aren't the thing. Thing like timeliness, confidence, respect, a story, etc.
- Before anything else I listen to other freelancers and their pains.
- Empathy. And I can relate to other freelancer's pains because I experience those same exact pains on a daily level.
- Focused on success. I've given refunds to clients who I feel like I haven't helped.
- Failure. I've been part of two consulatancies that tanked. I've gotten in my own way from helping freelancers for the past 3 years. I've jeopordized client relationships. All these failures influence the way I teach.
- Cheerleader. I'm very careful with my words and try to remain positive and encouraging. If you see an email or message from me it's guaranteed that I've rewritten it at least 3 times.
- Respect. I grew up in a Military household. I will remain respectful to you and your business at regardless of the outcomes of our engagements.
- A parent. I'm a father of two kids. It shapes the way I teach and the way I relate to people.
- Responsiveness. I maintain inbox zero. I do this for my own sanity but also I want to be sure I get back to all the people who have contacted me.
- My network. If someone else can get a freelancer to where they want to be I always point them in another direction: this is why I constantly read and refer people to Brennan Dunn, Nick Disabato, Patrick McKenzie, Amy Hoy, etc.
- Other interests. I maintain a very sane worklife. I make it a priority to do other hobbies such as crossfit, surfing, and building legos with my kids :)
#Rank Yourself ##Compared to others who do what you do, rank yourself on: reputation, knowledge, expertise, tools, handiness.
- Reputation: I'd rank myself at the lower to middle tier. People have started to contact me and I've been published in several areas but there is a lot of growth to still be made. I have about 380 newsletter subscribers. I'd consider 500 getting close to the middle tier.
- Knowledge: Close to middle tier. I know generally all the things to advise my freelancer clients on but there is another level of mastery I'm trying to achieve.
- Expertise: Middle to higher tier. I've built a very stable revenue stream and had hiccups in the past.
- Tools: Lower tier. I probably have knowledge in a handful of tools out there.
- Handiness: Higher tier. I'm not afraid to experiment to find the right answer for my clients.
##Which will you invest in developing? For all of 2015 I've been developing reputation and knowledge. This is why I haven't formally started serving other freelancers at this point.
#B2B Sales ##What is your client afraid their boss will think if they say yes? ##What would your client tell their boss to explain why they bought from you?
#Develop a Unique Voice ##If you could choose an archetype or extreme (edgecraft), what do you want your brand or work to be known for
- daring
- calm
- confident
- friendly
- edgy
- knowledgeable
- passionate
- proud
- responsive
- sentimental
- trustworthy
- accepting
- caring
- dependable
- giving
- ingenious more words in the actual sheet
#Permission ##How many people would complain if you didn't send out your newsletter or brochure? ##Clearly articulate what promise you make to those that give you permission? ##What makes your marketing anticipated, personal and relevant? ##What could you promise that people would look forward to?
#Organize and connect ##How and what can you organize and connect? ##List people with in your sphere who are disconnected. What do they want? Who do they want to be recognized by, trusted by, or learn from?
#Leveraging content ##5 blog topics your market would find surprising, insightful, provacative, useful. ##5 blog topics they are sick of reading about (are you writing about these?) ##Industry report you could write 50 pages about. ##Infographic - an infographic that doesn't exist yet, but should.
#Organize Your Competitors ##How can you organize your competitors to do a thing together? Example: New York Book Packagers organization
#Sales ##Practice selling to willing strangers: Ask a non-profit you care about for a chance to volunteer to fundraise. Get on the phone, or even better, go visit people and sell them on donating more than they did last year ##It's not you on the line this time, you're selling something you care about. Explore how it feels to close the sale. How does the donor shift in posture or action?
#Make a Timeline ##Now that you know where you're going, break it into small steps and assign actions and dates to each step. As Zig used to say, "See you at the top."