How I Landed a Freelance Gig in 4 Months…
It all began with writing.
A few years ago, I started my blog at 25hoursinaday. After posting a few articles and connecting with a few lifestyle and fitness brands, it all came to a crashing halt. Well…I could blame it on the fact that my website crashed, my files were erased, and my web designer went M-I-A. I know…backup, backup, backup. Just excuses.
Fast-forward to Summer 2015
Since the “big crash,” I continued renewing my domain name deep down knowing that one day I’d do something with it. But what, I didn’t know.
Last July 2015, I pulled up an archived email from a spotlight keyword search on my Mac. It was from Carmindy’s PR rep. That email reminded me of how I hustled. I started from ZERO and landed an editorial Q&A with beauty maven, Carmindy . No website. No marketing collateral. No press. Nada. Just my professional voice, likability (wink, wink), and my 30-second pitch. Check out my interview with her here. As I relished in the nostalgia, I feverishly searched for other blog drafts and emails trying to piece together the original articles.
Re-launch
I re-published the posts and re-launched 25hoursinaday in August 2015.
‘Would you like to join my email list?’
Thanks to list building king, Bryan Harris, and a simple tip from one of his live trainings, I mustered up the courage and texted several friends asking if they’d be interested in joining my email list to ‘receive time-saving tips in their inbox.’
Needless to say, everyone said, “yes!” After sending a few email newsletters, one of my readers [we’ll call her ‘Tammy’] reached out to me, and we began texting back and forth about what I do in the productivity space.
The Referral
A couple of weeks later, she and I met over coffee. Tammy graciously brought some of her resources and shared about her past business experience as a professional organizer.
During our chat, she mentioned that she recently got an email from a former client. He needed a speaker to talk about productivity at his company’s sales conference. What? This is the very subject that I love, write about, and I consult about. Tammy shared my contact information right on the spot. What impeccable timing. There aren’t enough words to thank her for the referral and believing in me. On top of that, she offered to refer some other professional organizing clients. To that I said, “Yes, Please!”
‘Excited and Scared’
What were the odds? I told her I was ‘excited and scared at the same time.’ Why? It had been a while since I gave a talk or presentation. This was my invisible script:
“I don’t know Jen (I call myself Jen), are you going to be able to do this with all your time constraints and responsibilities?”
To think, I almost talked myself out of it. Self-sabotage is a B!
The Pep Talk
Then, I reminded myself of the fact that I have done this before. I’d given presentations before peers, colleagues, and large audiences. After my pep talk, I grabbed the bull by the horns, stepped out of my comfort bubble, and put forth every effort to win over this client.
The Gig
I was never asked for my resume, writing sample, or a sample powerpoint presentation.
This speaks to the power of a strong referral, knowing how to listen and connect with a potential client, and offering value. But, more importantly, it had a lot to do with my MINDSET shift, and can-do attitude.
On December 9, 2015, I delivered a one-hour presentation on Distractions and Email Management to a group of account managers. It went great! They were a fantastic and responsive group. Judging from the feedback, they walked away with tools they could immediately implement.
Yes. A friend referred me, but…
She would’ve never referred me if I hadn’t invited her to join my email list. I wouldn’t have invited her to join my list if I hadn’t reposted and wrote new articles for my re-launch.
Write about and share what you know. Your life could change on a dime. It all begins with WRITING.
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When was the last time writing has brought you some good fortune? Please share and leave a comment.
