June Meeting Recap

by Nancy Spraker

 

Ed Gandia, co-author of The Wealthy Freelancer, presented “The Wealthy Freelancer: Five Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle”on June 3, 2010.

 

Gandia opened his presentation by relating a story about how he and his father had conversations in the car. His father told him that he wanted his son to prosper, meaning he wanted him to be both financially and spiritually wealthy. At the time, Gandia was in corporate sales and then broke out on his own. Twenty-seven months after the break his income grew from zero to six figures.

 

A “Wealthy” Freelancer is someone who consistently gets the great clients and projects, lifestyle and income. Gandia's idea of success is to spend more time with family and maximize income for every effort put forth with emphasis on balance in life. He then listed and explained his five secrets to a great income and an enviable lifestyle. Each secret was illustrated with a case study or example of someone who did well with the secret.

 

Secret #1 is to Focus

In order to accomplish success, an individual has to identify her favorite type of work, decide what her favorite client is and decipher what makes her different. Determining all of this promotes smarter services, reduces risk for prospects, eliminates price objections and increased more enjoyable work.

 

Secret #2 is to Assemble a Kick-Butt Prospect List

Great list sources include a network, industry associations, company rankings, the local Business Chronicle, the local library, company websites, Google (names within an organization) and Jigsaw.com.

 

Secret # 3 is Effectiveness and Time Required

Tap networks, go deeper with existing clients, cultivate referrals (word of mouth), conduct smart local networking (get on boards), social media (Facebook, Tweeting) and direct mail. Use no more than three or four tactics at once. Do a really good job in each.

 

Secret # 4 is Project Pricer

Clients don't like uncertainty. Clients may say, “I don't make that much an hour.” Develop a master fee schedule with ranges in price (develop a project pricing scenario).

 

Secret #5 is Boost Productivity

Schedule your working hours. Use the “50-minute-focus” technique. In the course of two hours, work steadily on a project for 50 minutes, take a 20 minute break, then resume working nonstop on the project for another 50 minutes. Build buffer (contingency) time into the daily schedule.Consider outsourcing some non-core tasks and build the cost into the price of the job (proofreading, transcribing).

 

Putting it all together. Spend a morning describing what you want. Types of clients, projects, what sort of lifestyle and level of income. You need to get clear and be specific.

 

For more information on Ed Gandia and The Wealthy Freelancer, visit http://thewealthyfreelancer.com/.