Fifteen lessons for freelance creatives

I started in this business at the bottom. No connections, no experience, no clue. I’ve climbed up the ranks to work with blue-chip clients and have dramatically expanded my income. What I’ve learned over time is that success is not as complicated as we make it. Not easy. But not complicated. These are 15 things I wish I knew at the beginning of my career—and things I remind myself of daily.

1. Never stop selling. You can make a wonderful living by simply having two meetings a month with people who have the Budget, Authority, and Need for what you do. Don’t overthink things.
2. THEM not you. Behind every business buy is a personal desire. Understand what fuels your buyers. The unspoken desire. THAT is what you’re selling to.
3. Understand the economy you’re selling into. $100K for a $1B company = the cost of coffee tomorrow. $100K for a $1M business = all their profit for the year. $10K for someone making $100K = their discretionary spending for the entire year. You can make all markets work. But you need to understand the differences.
4. Be open to opportunity. This game isn’t linear. There is no perfect solution (package, approach, etc.). Keep moving forward.
5. Don’t live scared. There is more business out there than you can possibly imagine. Pandemic’s aside.
6. Stop thinking. Get out there and DO it. You CANNOT know the answer until you try.
7. Execute, execute, execute. 
8. Choose your clients like you choose your spouse. Remember, every yes is also a NO. Don’t waste your life working for jerks.
9. Be willing to hear no. If you want to make more money, you have to be willing to ask for it. You can’t make $500K if you’re asking for $500. The caveat: don’t let pride get in the way of closing deals. We all make compromises. All of us.
10. LEAD. Yourself, your clients.
11. Beware expert syndrome. You know your sh*t but so do they. LISTEN to feedback.
12. Take your ego out of it. If you are here for validation you won’t get it. At the end of the day, that’s OK. Don’t torture yourself. No one really gets the recognition they deserve 🙂
13. Focus on making THEM look good and let the money be the thank you. There will rarely be applause in this business—and even when there is you usually won’t be around to hear it (but that’s what the $ is for).
14. You can have it all. This can be a wonderful way to make money and be creative and build wealth if you do it right.
15. Most important: This is, above all, a RELATIONSHIP business. Do well for those who do well by you.