Introduction
After making hundreds of thousands of dollars from freelancing, this is the exact checklist I would follow if I had to start from scratch today.
Level 1: Earn your first $1
Choose your Character ☆
There are 3 components to choosing your character, you have to pick:
- Your superpower 🦾
- Your target client 🎯
- Your charge 💰
1. Your Superpower 🦾
1A. Identify a problem 🚩
➠ One of the big things I’ve learnt about freelancing is that:
➠ Here are some example problems:
- Not making enough cash.
- Not growing on YouTube, Instagram, X, etc. the way they want.
- Not having enough time.
- Being overwhelmed by Tech.
- Not knowing how to write a good copy = Not knowing how to make sales.
- Not knowing how to grow an email list.
- Not being able to design things to look nice.
➠ 99% of CEO problems fall into(a.k.a The Value Trifecta):
1B. Experience 👵
Do you have experience already?
- Yes – Use it, That’s easy mode!
- No – Then you’re just like me when I first started with no relevant work experience.
- ⌛ Take things off their plate and recover their time.
- 🤏 Be an assistant(to start) and help with any small bits & pieces.
- 📈 You’ll gain XP really fast, learn how things work behind the scenes and can then promote yourself.
In this case, just solve for the problem:
“I don’t have enough time to do everything”
Every single business owner has this problem. Here’s how you can help them:
1C. Competitive advantage ⚓
What is your competitive advantage?
If you’re like – Deya I don’t have one. I challenge that because back in 2016 I didn’t think I had them but looking back now, I definitely did.
E.g. Me in 2016:
- I have time: Business owners don’t have time for anything.
- I am very Type A & detail-oriented: I could help with granular or double-checking stuff.
- I am great at Googling: They don’t have time to figure out how things work.
- I am a people pleaser: I always over-delivered and was a huge value add.
- My prices are cheap: I was very cheap which was a huge plus for clients.
To give you a list of aspirational stuff you can achieve. This is my updated list😇:
- XP: I have 6+ years of experience(project, team, ops mgt for digital businesses). I’m really great at systems & processes, hiring, project planning, ops.
- Soft skills: I have strong soft skills, clients love working with me and they often say I am their biggest asset.
- DBM: I’ve helped clients properly scale from 6 to 7 figures in a way that doesn’t make them wanna burn down their business, which is very hard to do.
- CEO: Started a course business of my own. It grossed 6 figures in its first year.
Again, I still retained these:
- Still, very Type A & detail-oriented.
- Still great at Googling.
- Still a people pleaser.
Here are some quick tips:
- Don’t start out too specialised: A lot of people try to focus on niche, but working with many people will give you data about who you like or not and who you ultimately want to be supporting long term in your freelance business.
- Try everything: If you’re still unsure of where to start, you could start as a YouTube, or TikTok assistant.
- You could also watch these videos if you still can’t decide:
2. Your Target Client 🎯
To identify your target client, there are a few questions you need to consider:
🔍 Who has this problem?
Time: Probably any scaling small business owner.
Energy: Probably a scaling business owner who has started hiring and is managing a team of 5+ people and is exhausted by a lack of systems or processes.
Social Media Growth: Probably any business prioritizing organic traffic strategies on those platforms(X, LinkedIn, Tiktok…).
🩷 Who are you curious/interested in helping?
- What type of content do you enjoy/consume already?
Think about all the content you already consume e.g. Blogs, YouTube, TikTok, Podcasts…
- Hobbies?
There are very likely small businesses centered around your hobbies too e.g. Health(Fitness creators), Video Gamers(streamers), Vegan Desserts(Food bloggers)...
Tip: Search for people with these keywords.
✅ Checklist of things to keep in mind as well?
Make sure your target client -
- – has the $$$ to pay you.
- – is taking their business relatively seriously; only pick beginners with evident commitment levels.
- – is neither too big(>100k followers) nor too small(<3k followers).
- Then create your tagline. E.g. I help __ do/with __ so they can __.
- Here’s mine:
“I help small business owners with project, team and operations management so they can get more of their free time back while still scaling their business revenue 🫅”. - Tip: Use language familiar to your target for instant connection.
3. Your Charge 💰
- Reduce Risk: Without experience, you’re an extreme risk for the client.
- No Brainer: You need a no-brainer offer. What makes it an “easy yes” for them?
- Start Low: How can I reduce the risk for them? The best way is to reduce your charge. Incentive a YES and then you will grow.
- Step by Step: You will increase your pricing by 5-10% with every next client
- Paid Intern: It’s also really good to have a paid internship mentality. A lot of people accept unpaid internships but not paid ones due to the low pay. It really should be seen as an opportunity to learn. The lessons are more valuable in the long run.
- Take Action💣: Do not get stuck on pricing. Just pick one random number and use it for that one client. That’s not gonna be your pay forever. Honestly, it’s not that deep.
Collect your Gear ⚙
1. Portfolio 💼
Your portfolio is the only real gear you need as a freelancer. So make it a strong one. You don’t need a website, logo, full branding kit, …
What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is simply how you show clients –
Hey, I know what I’m doing. Look at times when I did this for other people.
Deya, I haven’t done things for other people?
That’s OK!! Totally fine! Those are called Ghost projects - Project samples made simply for your portfolio, even if they weren’t done for other people.
As far as it's a good sample, clients don’t care if you did it for a real person or not.
Quality >>> Quantity
One really good project beats many average projects. Make sure it's really indica..tive. Make sure it's the most relevant sample for your target.
And of course, I have a video walkthrough on building a portfolio:
Portfolio Steps
Make 2-3 samples for what you want to offer(One really great one is equally just fine) e.g.
- Want to be a TikTok Assistant?
- Make 2-3 sample edits for TikTok videos.
- Come up with 10-20 ideas for Tiktok videos for your target client.
My Trick: Once you find a good target. You could piece up their YouTube videos into shorts or TikTok videos and pitch them with it - “Hey, I had a bit of time and decided to create some shorts for your videos, I’m wondering if you like em”.
- Want to be a YouTube Assistant?
- Do some research and draft up 2-3 video proposals for your target including titles, thumbnails etc.
- Write 1 script sample: It could just be like 500 words, just to help the client get a taste of your style of writing, tone of voice, and how good your writing is…
Land your first Gig🥇
You don’t have to overwhelm yourself trying to make 6 figures.
Your only focus: make $1. Remember your unique selling point/competitive advantages.
You can convince someone to pay you $1. I believe in you.
Your only goal: Get out there at least 20-30 times.
Your checklist:
- Join a freelancing marketplace like Contra, Upwork, or Fiverr & send 5 proposals.
- Watch my cold pitching series & send your first 5 cold pitches.
- Tell 5 people(family, friends, local cafe, etc) in your network who could potentially use your help.
- Other options: Cold pitch via email, voice message, short video, X, LinkedIn, etc.
Support 💙
if you enjoyed this article, feel free to let Deya know! You can use any of these means:
Here’s a sample comment to get you started:
Hi Deys, I came across an article written by Goody for one of your videos. I think it really adds value to your content! You can check it out here: goody.bullet.site/blog/deya
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