I thought I was free when I quit my 9-5 job.
Boy, was I wrong.
Learn from my mistakes. Below are three lessons I learned in my one year building and running a 6-figure consulting business.
1. Day 1 taught me the importance of freedom
A consulting or freelancing job is just as taxing (emotionally and physically) and time-consuming as a traditional job. Who woulda thunk?
- You still trade time for money
- You still answer to your clients (like your boss)
- You still have to do the work to get paid
Lesson learned: You must scale yourself out of getting and doing the work to live the life of freedom you want. More on this later…
2. Day 180 taught me I can choose my clients & do the work I want
I began my digital marketing consultancy by doing everything under the sun.
When I say everything, I mean content writing, web design, social ads, email marketing, social strategy, copywriting, storytelling, SEM, content strategy, graphic design, SEO, newsletter strategy, lead generation, funnel building, website management.
Everything.
Granted, it was a good way to start. During my first 6 months, I learned …
- Which services I enjoyed
- Which services were lucrative
- Which services my clients needed help with
- Which services I was actually good at
- Which clients I enjoyed working with
So I pivoted focused. One service for one niche: Content for solopreneurs.
Lesson learned: Go niche with both your service and your niche sooner than you imagine. It’s so much easier to market yourself.
3. Day 365 taught me how to live the free life I always wanted
When I quit my job, I wanted to be free. I envisioned …
- Sitting on a beach.
- Sipping a cerveza.
- Earning in a week what I had previously earned in a year
Easier said than done.
After helping CEOs, coaches, consultants and creators build their audiences and earn an income online, I know I can do the same.
Lesson learned: Building an audience and monetizing your expertise is the route to building a truly free life in 2022.
I’m no guru. I know it doesn’t happen overnight. But I have so much up here (I’m pointing to my head) to help consultants and freelancers get the same free life I’m pursuing.
Here’s to another year of inflection points and lessons learned. Tag along. Cheers.
