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I have been freelancing full-time for a little over eighteen months. I have spent enough time in writing, content marketing, and audience building to understand three years in marketing is nothing. Yes, you learn a lot - but it’s still nothing. I fret over it multiple times, thinking I am not doing good enough only to realize I haven’t done great work nor spent ample time to understand business to its core.

For some folks, three years is a timeline from a freelancer to a solopreneur to an agency owner. For others (like me), it’s just a learning curve. I don’t come from a business family, nor did I have any friends / real-life exposure to any business. Fun Fact: I didn’t go to college as well. I mean, I have an Engineering degree with a 6.51 GPA, but I was a professional cricketer back then and only attended college for six months in four years.

That’s my cotton candy. I don’t use it as a reason to justify my slow but steady progress. But there were many things I had zero knowledge about - like earning money, running a business, understanding people and society, how jobs function, etc.

What’s the point of sharing this story?

Well, it’s simple. It’s one of those days when I want to share notes on what I have learned about running a service business. I will keep it fun, crisp, and useful. I will also address the changes I am making to my systems.

But before we get started, you know the drill. Say hello to one of our top sponsors (yes PGA has sponsored more issues than anyone else):

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Personal Notes on Freelancing

1. Build CRM

As the business grew, managing all clients without having them in one place was hard. I didn’t have a CRM until a week ago - a single database with all the documents, data, briefs, deadlines, calendar, meeting links, etc. Chelsi recently told me she uses Slack as a CRM and it made total sense.

I tried making one on Slack, but the friction was too high. Luckily, I use Discord daily + Cognition Insiders is also on the same platform; so it made sense to limit my usage to fewer platforms.

My Personal Discord Server now has the work documents, invoice data, revenue charts, separate channels for each client, etc. I love how I can hop into one hub and it directs me to wherever I need to go.

I call it Vikra’s Adda.

2. Set criteria to onboard clients

Imagine you’re dating. You have a list of qualities you need from your partner and another list of habits, behaviours, etc., that you absolutely can’t tolerate. Internet calls them red flags.

My point is: Freelancing is similar to dating in terms of the time you spend with a certain person and their impact on your life.

Just like one bad relationship can affect different facets of your life, one bad client also affects all your clientele. You’re stuck with this one client, making things right - and in the process of building that pillar, your entire castle collapses.

Trust me, I once had one bad client who consumed too much of my time. I was fixing things I wasn’t supposed to fix or problems that shouldn’t have occurred in the first place. This slowed my progress with other clients, forcing them to fire me.

Now I believe we need to build client criteria before onboarding - what kind of businesses do I need to work with, what kind of people, what niches, what kind of content, what am I okay doing and what am I not, etc. The more clarity you have, the better.

3. Getting hiring wrong

If you’re doing less than $5000 MRR, it’s best if you collaborate with your equals than hiring interns or newbies. One of my greatest mistakes is hiring folks who are far less skilled and experienced than I am to write content for my clients.

I learned this the hard way: You hire a member to outsource the work. If you hire someone new, you invest sizeable time and energy in making people understand tasks - which is exactly what you’re trying to avoid in the first place.

A good substitute would be to collaborate with an equal. It reduces the amount of money you earn initially but saves your time, energy, and produces better quality output.

4. Understand what leads truly want

If you are a writer, don’t position yourself as a good writer.

Writing is a skill, not an outcome.

Your leads pay you for the outcomes you promise (and results you’ve previously generated) and couldn’t care less about how skilled you are. What results can you bring that directly or indirectly grow your leads’ businesses is the real question.

I have been constantly working on how I can change my perspective as a service provider:

I don’t want to be a writer/content marketer. I want to be the guy who gets results and makes money for businesses. Sometimes writing or strategy happens to contribute to it.

5. Cold emails: Show, Don’t tell

Oh boy, where do I even start? I was so bad at cold emails. I went on and on about myself, my skills, my experience, and hardly cared about my leads.

Don’t worry. I am not repeating the previous note.

You already know the ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ strategy in writing. We all agree with it, right? It’s the same with cold emails too.

I used to send emails mentioning what I had done for my previous clients, what skills I have, and how I could help their business. But I never showed them.

Recently, I shifted my focus to showing skill/knowledge in pitches. It can be a writing sample, a strategy document, a case study of what’s wrong with their content, etc.

For example, I have pitched Hosteller recently with a mindmap of how I can increase the signups across their hostel chain with their newsletter:

I have more to share, but I have decided not to write more than 1000 words per issue. I don’t want to compromise on nuances, so I often break it into 2-3 parts.

Ngl, it also helps me keep up with the sponsors. Our next post is scheduled for Thursday. I will see you soon.

Love,
Vikra