Having one or two anchor clients with a steady monthly retainer sounds great, right? But what happens when you put your faith in these clients and lose them? That’s exactly what happened to my guest today, copywriter and editor Haley Walden.
She has some really unique insights to share about what she has learned in working with clients, what makes relationships good, versus some of those red flags that should clue you in early on or in the middle of a project that it’s time to cut and run.
Haley will share how she pivoted from one anchor client and rebuilt her entire business, how she added in other creative pursuits and income by writing books, and the importance of building personal connections.
We discuss three red flags to look for in clients that should lead you to run in the other direction and how coaching can change your business.
Here are some things we covered in this episode:
- How to pivot when you’ve gone all-in on one opportunity that is no longer a viable option for you
- Why you need to be careful about putting your “eggs all in one basket”
- The importance of having a network for marketing
- How Hailey rebuilt her business after losing control
- What it is like to chase one-off jobs
- The danger of having one or two anchor clients
- Why you need to continue marketing your business even when you have a steady freelance income
- Hailey’s approach to marketing and making personal connections
- Why you should take time to build real, personal relationships without expectations in that moment
- Red flags to spot with clients and why these are a problem for freelancers
- How to add additional income streams to your business
- How mindset coaching can help you
- Why adding a creative project can help you overcome burnout
- Find Haley at haleywalden.com
After listening to this episode, share your action steps and take-aways with our group:
Mastering Your Freelance Life With Laura
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Laura Briggs is empowering the freelance generation. Through her public speaking, coaching, and writing, she helps freelancers build the business of their dreams without sacrificing all their time, family, or sanity. Laura burned out as an inner-city middle school teacher before becoming an accidental freelancer with a Google search for “how to become a freelance writer.” Since then, she’s become a contributor to Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and Writer’s Weekly. She worked for more than 300 clients around the world including Microsoft, Truecar, and the Mobile Marketing Association. She’s delivered two TEDx talks on the power of the freelance economy for enabling freedom and flexibility and how it’s being used to address the technical skills gap in the U.S. Laura is the host of the Advanced Freelancing podcast, a sought-after public speaker on the gig and digital freelance economy, and a freelance coach focused on aspiring six-figure freelancers. Laura’s books, courses, and coaching have reached over 10,000 people.
As a military spouse, Laura is passionate about serving her community and founded Operation Freelance, a nonprofit organization that teaches veterans and military spouses how to become freelancers and start their own business.https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=19656152