June 27, 2024 • 17 mins
In this episode of the Boss Responses podcast, host Treasa Edmond and guest Liz Heflin address the doubts and challenges faced by freelancers, especially when dealing with imposter syndrome and low-paying clients. They respond to a question from Paul, a 10-year freelance veteran struggling to make ends meet and doubting his abilities. Treasa and Liz provide practical advice on paying attention to your mental health, raising rates, and finding better clients. The episode emphasizes the importance of a positive mindset, proactively seeking quality clients, and effectively managing client relationships to overcome self-doubt and grow a successful business.
About Our Guest
Liz Heflin has been a freelance writer and editor since 2006. She’s also the founder of MACE Writing, her content marketing consultancy. After fifteen years of seeing firsthand the benefits of freelance, she launched a second arm of her business. Designed to help her fellow freelance writers have more success, these services include group and private coaching, resource creation, and the Inkwell community. Liz is excited every day to do her job, and her mission is helping other freelancers capture that in their lives!
Links You Might Want
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Interested in Liz's "Find Your Floor" course? Learn more about it.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to listen to Boss Responses. This podcast is a passion project that comes from years of helping freelancers shape a business that supports the lifestyle they want.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Treasa Edmond (00:00):
Welcome back to the Boss Responses podcast.
Have you ever consideredquitting freelancing?
We all go through tough times.
They might be caused bypersonal life issues, a
difficult client or being in thewrong mindset.
Today, liz and I answer aquestion about making changes to
protect your mental health andyour business.
(00:20):
If you're a freelancer,business owner or anyone who
deals with clients, you're inthe right place.
I'm your host, teresa Edmond.
I've been dealing with clientsand running my business for
nearly two decades and in thattime, I've dealt with my share
of doubt, imposter syndrome andnot knowing what to say when a
client asked a question I wasn'tready for.
(00:42):
I created this podcast toempower you with the boss
responses you need to grow yourbusiness.
Each week, my guest co-host andI will bring you five episodes
packed with practical insights.
Monday through Thursday, weanswer your questions, and
Fridays, we dive deep to explorehow our co-hosts embrace their
(01:02):
role as the boss of theirbusiness.
Welcome to Boss Responses.
We are back for day four withLiz.
Liz, what's the question?
Liz Heflin (01:13):
for today.
Today's question is from Paulin Michigan.
He says I'm struggling.
I've been freelancing for about10 years and the shifts in the
market have hit me hard.
I started taking on some lowerpaying clients to make ends meet
, but to be honest, I think myrates were pretty low anyway.
There were always enough tomake ends meet as long as I had
enough client work coming in.
Now I'm doubting everything.
(01:33):
Should I quit freelancing?
Am I really any good at whatI'm doing?
Why do I have so much troublefinding clients when other
people are making over $10,000 amonth doing what I'm doing?
What am I doing wrong?
I've always been someone withimposter syndrome, but I feel
like if I don't make a changesoon, this is going to have a
major impact on my mental healthas well as my business.
Do you have any advice?
Treasa Edmond (01:56):
You know what, paul, I'm really sorry that
you're struggling.
That is a hard situation to bein and I think all of us have
been there to some extent atsome point.
Imposter syndrome is evil andinsidious and it works its way
in, and I have found the bestway I can deal with it is
positivity, and I know thatsounds like a trite answer.
(02:18):
I am not a toxic positivityperson I'm not, but I really
believe that when you areintentionally positive and you
intentionally look for the goodthings, you start finding them.
So let's look at some of theelements of your questions.
Should you quit freelancing?
That is a decision that onlyyou can make, and I hope you
don't.
I think it's a wonderful way tomake a living, but if you are
(02:39):
more comfortable with a nine tofive job, then there is no guilt
none at all in doing that.
Absolutely, look at it, butit's up to you.
It's what works best for you.
Are you any good at what you'redoing?
I can't tell you that withoutlooking at your work, but I
would bet that you are prettygood at it.
I would also be willing tohazard a guess that if you think
(03:00):
your rates were low, they wereand you cannot feel successful
at doing something if you're notcharging what you're worth.
And sometimes one of the bestthings that we can do for
ourselves and our business is torealize that we're not doing
what it takes to make ourbusiness successful.
(03:21):
So, paul, it's not about I'mreally only worth a hundred
dollars an hour.
It's what does my businessdeserve.
And I think if you can removeyourself from the situation in
those cases, especially whenyou're feeling imposter syndrome
, my client's going to think Ican't do this, I'm not worth a
hundred dollars an hour, I'mgoing to charge 50.
I'm just that's where I'm going.
(03:41):
Or I know there are people whocharge a thousand dollars for a
thousand word blog post, but I'mreally happy with $250 a blog
post.
That's fine If you really are.
If it's chipping away at who youthink you are, then you need to
do some serious self-reflectionand figure out why you have
(04:02):
such a hard time charging athousand dollars for that.
A lot of it's not about meanymore.
(04:34):
It's about my business.
These are the rates for mybusiness.
It has nothing to do with me.
It has everything to do withthe value of the rates to the
client.
And then you just move on withthat and then you're just the
spokesperson, right?
It's like selling shoes.
You go into a store and you area shoe salesman and you have
your $5 slip-on tennis shoes andyou have your $50 leather pumps
(04:56):
.
It's no skin off of your nosewhich ones the clients choose,
but you're going to push thosepumps.
It's the same thing with yourrates.
If your business sets the ratesand then you are the
salesperson for selling thoserates, it makes it so much
easier.
As for the major impact on yourmental health, I highly
encourage you to talk to someoneabout this.
(05:17):
Do not wait until it has adetrimental effect.
There is no shame in asking forhelp, and talking to a good
counselor will help you workthrough things in ways you've
never thought.
If it's just a business issue,find a business coach and say I
have no perspective here.
I'm too deep into this.
(05:38):
I'm doubting everything I do.
I just need someone to give mesome feedback on this.
Do those things?
Take proactive steps.
You're always going to hear mesay this Be proactive.
Don't wait until it becomes aproblem.
Just be proactive anddefinitely look at leveling up
your clients.
Paul, if you feel like you'restuck with low-paying clients
who are barely making the endsmeet.
(05:59):
You don't have to stay stuck.
That's a you decision.
Find the better clients, andsometimes that's as simple as
reaching out to your network andsaying hey, I'm looking for
better clients.
Anyone have any referrals andif you don't have a network, get
one Dial into the freelancecommunity.
Your business will change ifyou do.
What do you think about thisone, liz?
(06:20):
I know this is a difficulttopic.
Liz Heflin (06:22):
Yeah, no, there's a lot to unpack there and I agree
with so much of what you said.
I had bullet pointed out somethoughts and you went ticking
down the list.
You really did, I would say,from a practical perspective, if
you're really looking to lineup work quickly, really focusing
your client acquisition onthose shorter term wins, those
quicker wins, because sometactics are long games.
(06:45):
Building a personal brand onsocial media is a long game.
It can have huge payoffs, butit just doesn't mean clients are
going to be lining up at yourdoor right now when you need the
money now.
So I would do things likeyou've been in the game for 10
years.
You probably have a nice quiverof former clients.
If you will, I would just reachout to those former clients.
(07:05):
Sometimes just a reintroductionemail is enough to go oh, you
know what?
We have this project that needsto get done and sometimes work
can get rustled up that way.
If you have existing clientsand there's a natural upsell
there.
They're at four blocks, maybethey want to go to eight.
They have a newsletter?
Hey, maybe you want to startposting on social media.
Whatever the case may be forthat particular client, but
(07:28):
upselling the people who alreadyknow and trust you can be a way
to instantly up the revenue,one thing that some people don't
always think to do.
You can apply to in-housepositions, but not for the
position, but by offering yourinterim services while they are
looking for that permanentin-house position, because it
(07:48):
takes a couple of months to fillthose roles.
Treasa Edmond (07:51):
That's sneaky brilliant.
Liz Heflin (07:52):
That's sneaky brilliant.
Yeah and yeah, they're desperateto get the work off their plate
.
It's an easy yes, they'reinclined to get you up and
running fast and it's not along-term solution.
It's usually one month of work,two months of work, but it can
tide you over and you know thatthey're looking and you know
that they're in many casesdesperate to get that work off
(08:13):
their plate.
That's an option.
And then, if it makes sense inyour business, raising your
rates on your existing clientswhich I think we're probably
going to be talking about thison day five, but that can be a
way Again, with people youalready like, know and trust, if
you've proven that the ROI isthere, then that can be a way to
instantly again boost thoserevenue numbers without taking
(08:35):
anything extra onto your plateor searching too hard and then
not being shy about hey, here'swho I am, here's what I offer.
I'm looking for work, justbeing comfortable saying that,
putting yourself out there andhitting that network, your
personal network, yourprofessional network.
And, as we said, if you don'treally have an existing network,
(08:56):
it's a good time to start one.
Because I have, it's probablybeen.
I will say it has probably beenthe single biggest a positive
change in my business was when Istarted, when I really jumped
into the freelancing communityand network.
It just changed andrevolutionized a lot of things
(09:17):
about my business for the better.
So I can't recommend thatenough.
But yeah, all of those things.
It can feel like a lot doingall of those client acquisition
tactics at once, but if youreally diversify how you're
going after clients, it's in thesame way that you don't want
one client making up too much ofyour income.
You want to spread out youreggs over a lot of different
(09:38):
baskets and if that channel'srunning dry then hey, maybe this
one will pop, and if that one'snot working, then maybe
something will come of thistactic.
Treasa Edmond (09:46):
Yeah, hitting those sort of quicker ways to
land clients can be a way totide you over till some of the
longer term gains can play in aswell, yeah, and even, paul,
even if you reach out toeveryone and all of a sudden
you're having a banner month,don't overlook the need to work
on the mindset.
Yeah, you can put it off, youcan put it off and focus on the
(10:08):
client work, but you really doneed to focus on that, because
all of us suffer impostersyndrome.
I still have it, especially onbig projects, but it shouldn't
feel like it's running your life, doubting whether or not you're
(10:31):
enjoying what you're doing.
Then have that conversationwith yourself or, even better,
have it with someone else,because if it's a trusted person
, they will help you bringclarity that you're not going to
get any other way.
And my biggest thing is if yougo into those conversations, go
into them open-minded.
A business coach, a counselor, atrusted colleague, whatever it
is go into those conversationsopen-minded.
(10:51):
And when they tell them, listen, paul, you really have to step
up in this area or you reallyneed to let this go, then
seriously consider it.
Don't just discount it, becausethat's your knee-jerk reaction.
I think our mindset is the mostimportant part of running a
business and I will shout thatuntil the end of time.
It's so important and we ignoreit until it becomes a crisis,
(11:17):
and that's not good.
So let's not, and let'sencourage each other to not.
Liz Heflin (11:23):
Yeah, listening to those mental and physical cues
that's your body, that's yourmind telling you something.
Cues that's your body, that'syour mind telling you something.
If you're getting those redflags from your body, from your
mind, that is something worthlistening to, because if you
ignore it, if you push it downand just keep powering through,
that is just something that'sgoing to compound and become a
bigger problem.
It is worth listening to yourown self and taking cues and
(11:47):
making changes early on.
It's always going to be easierto right the ship if you deal
with it sooner rather than later.
Treasa Edmond (11:54):
Yeah, and there's one kind of peripheral issue
here that I would like toaddress really quickly and I
would like Liz's feedback onthis as well.
So it's a bonus question.
Paul says that he was workingwith rates that were pretty low
anyway, but he was okay with itbecause they were meeting the
status quo.
They were doing the thing.
I have talked to severalfreelancers in the last month
(12:19):
who are charging lower tomidland rates.
They're just in there andthey're like I've been charging
this for 10 years.
It works for me.
My clients aren't complaining.
I've had the same clients allthis time.
I have issues with that thoughtprocess because that is not a
sustainable business.
That is a business where youare actually losing more money
(12:43):
every single year and even if itworks for you, even if maybe
you're part of a two incomefamily and you're not the
breadwinner and you're justbringing in fun money, your
business is still a business.
You still need to take itseriously and you still need to
have a cashflow plan thatincludes increases every year,
(13:05):
because cost of living increasesevery year and like cost of
living in the last two years hasincreased almost what?
25%.
It's stupid, stupid, ridiculous.
Your business needs to reflectthat, and it can be
uncomfortable.
It's definitely uncomfortableto get out of the status quo,
but in my opinion, if your ratesaren't raising on a regular
(13:26):
basis, you're doing yourself andyour business a disservice,
because your value is increasingevery year, because you're
getting better at what you doevery year.
But what do you think aboutthat, liz?
Liz Heflin (13:36):
No, I absolutely agree, and it's so funny.
When I started my business, mydad gave me a piece of advice
and, in typical daughter fashion, yeah, whatever, dad and I
rolled my eyes.
And now, looking back on it, Igo, oh my gosh, that was a
really smart thing that he toldme, and I was.
(13:56):
I'd been doing my business fora couple of years and it was
getting to the point where Ifigured out how to pitch to
clients and I figured out whatthey wanted and I was getting
more yeses than I was gettingno's and I thought that was
amazing.
I thought this is great.
And my dad told me like itmight be worth upping your rate
until you get some nose, findsome ceilings.
And I thought I don't know, I'mgetting the clients, the
(14:20):
money's coming in.
Why would I rock the boat, thething?
And looking back, what a smartthing.
I should have listened to dad.
Dad, if you're listening, yourfeelings about income and your
feelings about ceilings, aboutwhat people will pay, are often
very different than what acompany who has a budget
earmarked for this.
If you're working withcompanies, it's not like you're
(14:43):
pulling out of somebody'spersonal checking account.
So finding a company's ceilingis account.
So finding a company's ceiling,you're usually pretty surprised
by what that actual number is.
So it's worth stepping up untilyou get some pushback because
one client pushing back, even ifyou lose that deal because of
(15:03):
it now going into subsequentnegotiations and rate setting.
You have some more context andsome more information and you
could very well potentially makeup that lost income very
quickly with a couple of yesesdown the line.
That would be my two cents onthat.
Treasa Edmond (15:19):
And when you think about leaving money on the
table, a lot of people are likeit's not really worth hassle of
a couple hundred dollars.
It's very seldom a couplehundred dollars.
If you're charging $250 for ablog post that other writers in
your field are charging athousand dollars for one, your
clients are never going to thinkyour work is as good as that
(15:39):
thousand dollar blog post.
They're just not.
It's a perception issue.
It may be entirely wrong, butthat's what they're going to do.
But you're leaving $750 on thetable.
That's huge.
Think about that.
That's not just one project.
If you do 10 projects a month,that's $7,500.
Start thinking about how all ofthis adds together, because
(16:02):
it's important, and I've workedwith people who are like I'm
just going to give them a rateand I'm like no, no, you ask the
client what their budget is.
Always find out what theirbudget is, because sometimes
it's like $3,000 more than youthought you should ask, and
that's big.
And the more professional youare about that, the more
proactive you are about it andthe more you lead those client
(16:23):
relationships, the more moneyyou're going to make and the
more, the more respectful yourclients are going to be and I
don't mean that in a negativeway, because it's definitely a
partnership the more respectfulthey're going to be and you're
going to respect them becausethey're following your
leadership.
That's huge.
That also, by the way, helpswith that imposter syndrome.
Client management and reallyeffectively managing that can
(16:47):
really negate imposter syndrome,because you go into it feeling
like an expert and there's noroom for it.
It just doesn't exist.
So, yeah, all right.
So that was Paul's question anda little bit of a bonus there
at the end.
But I think those tie togetherand I don't think that we can
really look at one clearlywithout the other.
Come back tomorrow, becauseit's going to be an on-fire
(17:08):
conversation with Liz.
We're talking all about money,which is one of the most
important topics you will evertalk about when it comes to your
business.
See you tomorrow.
Welcome back to the Boss Responses podcast.
Have you ever consideredquitting freelancing?
We all go through tough times.
They might be caused bypersonal life issues, a
difficult client or being in thewrong mindset.
Today, liz and I answer aquestion about making changes to
protect your mental health andyour business.
(00:20):
If you're a freelancer,business owner or anyone who
deals with clients, you're inthe right place.
I'm your host, teresa Edmond.
I've been dealing with clientsand running my business for
nearly two decades and in thattime, I've dealt with my share
of doubt, imposter syndrome andnot knowing what to say when a
client asked a question I wasn'tready for.
(00:42):
I created this podcast toempower you with the boss
responses you need to grow yourbusiness.
Each week, my guest co-host andI will bring you five episodes
packed with practical insights.
Monday through Thursday, weanswer your questions, and
Fridays, we dive deep to explorehow our co-hosts embrace their
(01:02):
role as the boss of theirbusiness.
Welcome to Boss Responses.
We are back for day four withLiz.
Liz, what's the question?
Liz Heflin (01:13):
for today.
Today's question is from Paulin Michigan.
He says I'm struggling.
I've been freelancing for about10 years and the shifts in the
market have hit me hard.
I started taking on some lowerpaying clients to make ends meet
, but to be honest, I think myrates were pretty low anyway.
There were always enough tomake ends meet as long as I had
enough client work coming in.
Now I'm doubting everything.
(01:33):
Should I quit freelancing?
Am I really any good at whatI'm doing?
Why do I have so much troublefinding clients when other
people are making over $10,000 amonth doing what I'm doing?
What am I doing wrong?
I've always been someone withimposter syndrome, but I feel
like if I don't make a changesoon, this is going to have a
major impact on my mental healthas well as my business.
Do you have any advice?
Treasa Edmond (01:56):
You know what, paul, I'm really sorry that
you're struggling.
That is a hard situation to bein and I think all of us have
been there to some extent atsome point.
Imposter syndrome is evil andinsidious and it works its way
in, and I have found the bestway I can deal with it is
positivity, and I know thatsounds like a trite answer.
(02:18):
I am not a toxic positivityperson I'm not, but I really
believe that when you areintentionally positive and you
intentionally look for the goodthings, you start finding them.
So let's look at some of theelements of your questions.
Should you quit freelancing?
That is a decision that onlyyou can make, and I hope you
don't.
I think it's a wonderful way tomake a living, but if you are
(02:39):
more comfortable with a nine tofive job, then there is no guilt
none at all in doing that.
Absolutely, look at it, butit's up to you.
It's what works best for you.
Are you any good at what you'redoing?
I can't tell you that withoutlooking at your work, but I
would bet that you are prettygood at it.
I would also be willing tohazard a guess that if you think
(03:00):
your rates were low, they wereand you cannot feel successful
at doing something if you're notcharging what you're worth.
And sometimes one of the bestthings that we can do for
ourselves and our business is torealize that we're not doing
what it takes to make ourbusiness successful.
(03:21):
So, paul, it's not about I'mreally only worth a hundred
dollars an hour.
It's what does my businessdeserve.
And I think if you can removeyourself from the situation in
those cases, especially whenyou're feeling imposter syndrome
, my client's going to think Ican't do this, I'm not worth a
hundred dollars an hour, I'mgoing to charge 50.
I'm just that's where I'm going.
(03:41):
Or I know there are people whocharge a thousand dollars for a
thousand word blog post, but I'mreally happy with $250 a blog
post.
That's fine If you really are.
If it's chipping away at who youthink you are, then you need to
do some serious self-reflectionand figure out why you have
(04:02):
such a hard time charging athousand dollars for that.
A lot of it's not about meanymore.
(04:34):
It's about my business.
These are the rates for mybusiness.
It has nothing to do with me.
It has everything to do withthe value of the rates to the
client.
And then you just move on withthat and then you're just the
spokesperson, right?
It's like selling shoes.
You go into a store and you area shoe salesman and you have
your $5 slip-on tennis shoes andyou have your $50 leather pumps
(04:56):
.
It's no skin off of your nosewhich ones the clients choose,
but you're going to push thosepumps.
It's the same thing with yourrates.
If your business sets the ratesand then you are the
salesperson for selling thoserates, it makes it so much
easier.
As for the major impact on yourmental health, I highly
encourage you to talk to someoneabout this.
(05:17):
Do not wait until it has adetrimental effect.
There is no shame in asking forhelp, and talking to a good
counselor will help you workthrough things in ways you've
never thought.
If it's just a business issue,find a business coach and say I
have no perspective here.
I'm too deep into this.
(05:38):
I'm doubting everything I do.
I just need someone to give mesome feedback on this.
Do those things?
Take proactive steps.
You're always going to hear mesay this Be proactive.
Don't wait until it becomes aproblem.
Just be proactive anddefinitely look at leveling up
your clients.
Paul, if you feel like you'restuck with low-paying clients
who are barely making the endsmeet.
(05:59):
You don't have to stay stuck.
That's a you decision.
Find the better clients, andsometimes that's as simple as
reaching out to your network andsaying hey, I'm looking for
better clients.
Anyone have any referrals andif you don't have a network, get
one Dial into the freelancecommunity.
Your business will change ifyou do.
What do you think about thisone, liz?
(06:20):
I know this is a difficulttopic.
Liz Heflin (06:22):
Yeah, no, there's a lot to unpack there and I agree
with so much of what you said.
I had bullet pointed out somethoughts and you went ticking
down the list.
You really did, I would say,from a practical perspective, if
you're really looking to lineup work quickly, really focusing
your client acquisition onthose shorter term wins, those
quicker wins, because sometactics are long games.
(06:45):
Building a personal brand onsocial media is a long game.
It can have huge payoffs, butit just doesn't mean clients are
going to be lining up at yourdoor right now when you need the
money now.
So I would do things likeyou've been in the game for 10
years.
You probably have a nice quiverof former clients.
If you will, I would just reachout to those former clients.
(07:05):
Sometimes just a reintroductionemail is enough to go oh, you
know what?
We have this project that needsto get done and sometimes work
can get rustled up that way.
If you have existing clientsand there's a natural upsell
there.
They're at four blocks, maybethey want to go to eight.
They have a newsletter?
Hey, maybe you want to startposting on social media.
Whatever the case may be forthat particular client, but
(07:28):
upselling the people who alreadyknow and trust you can be a way
to instantly up the revenue,one thing that some people don't
always think to do.
You can apply to in-housepositions, but not for the
position, but by offering yourinterim services while they are
looking for that permanentin-house position, because it
(07:48):
takes a couple of months to fillthose roles.
Treasa Edmond (07:51):
That's sneaky brilliant.
Liz Heflin (07:52):
That's sneaky brilliant.
Yeah and yeah, they're desperateto get the work off their plate
.
It's an easy yes, they'reinclined to get you up and
running fast and it's not along-term solution.
It's usually one month of work,two months of work, but it can
tide you over and you know thatthey're looking and you know
that they're in many casesdesperate to get that work off
(08:13):
their plate.
That's an option.
And then, if it makes sense inyour business, raising your
rates on your existing clientswhich I think we're probably
going to be talking about thison day five, but that can be a
way Again, with people youalready like, know and trust, if
you've proven that the ROI isthere, then that can be a way to
instantly again boost thoserevenue numbers without taking
(08:35):
anything extra onto your plateor searching too hard and then
not being shy about hey, here'swho I am, here's what I offer.
I'm looking for work, justbeing comfortable saying that,
putting yourself out there andhitting that network, your
personal network, yourprofessional network.
And, as we said, if you don'treally have an existing network,
(08:56):
it's a good time to start one.
Because I have, it's probablybeen.
I will say it has probably beenthe single biggest a positive
change in my business was when Istarted, when I really jumped
into the freelancing communityand network.
It just changed andrevolutionized a lot of things
(09:17):
about my business for the better.
So I can't recommend thatenough.
But yeah, all of those things.
It can feel like a lot doingall of those client acquisition
tactics at once, but if youreally diversify how you're
going after clients, it's in thesame way that you don't want
one client making up too much ofyour income.
You want to spread out youreggs over a lot of different
(09:38):
baskets and if that channel'srunning dry then hey, maybe this
one will pop, and if that one'snot working, then maybe
something will come of thistactic.
Treasa Edmond (09:46):
Yeah, hitting those sort of quicker ways to
land clients can be a way totide you over till some of the
longer term gains can play in aswell, yeah, and even, paul,
even if you reach out toeveryone and all of a sudden
you're having a banner month,don't overlook the need to work
on the mindset.
Yeah, you can put it off, youcan put it off and focus on the
(10:08):
client work, but you really doneed to focus on that, because
all of us suffer impostersyndrome.
I still have it, especially onbig projects, but it shouldn't
feel like it's running your life, doubting whether or not you're
(10:31):
enjoying what you're doing.
Then have that conversationwith yourself or, even better,
have it with someone else,because if it's a trusted person
, they will help you bringclarity that you're not going to
get any other way.
And my biggest thing is if yougo into those conversations, go
into them open-minded.
A business coach, a counselor, atrusted colleague, whatever it
is go into those conversationsopen-minded.
(10:51):
And when they tell them, listen, paul, you really have to step
up in this area or you reallyneed to let this go, then
seriously consider it.
Don't just discount it, becausethat's your knee-jerk reaction.
I think our mindset is the mostimportant part of running a
business and I will shout thatuntil the end of time.
It's so important and we ignoreit until it becomes a crisis,
(11:17):
and that's not good.
So let's not, and let'sencourage each other to not.
Liz Heflin (11:23):
Yeah, listening to those mental and physical cues
that's your body, that's yourmind telling you something.
Cues that's your body, that'syour mind telling you something.
If you're getting those redflags from your body, from your
mind, that is something worthlistening to, because if you
ignore it, if you push it downand just keep powering through,
that is just something that'sgoing to compound and become a
bigger problem.
It is worth listening to yourown self and taking cues and
(11:47):
making changes early on.
It's always going to be easierto right the ship if you deal
with it sooner rather than later.
Treasa Edmond (11:54):
Yeah, and there's one kind of peripheral issue
here that I would like toaddress really quickly and I
would like Liz's feedback onthis as well.
So it's a bonus question.
Paul says that he was workingwith rates that were pretty low
anyway, but he was okay with itbecause they were meeting the
status quo.
They were doing the thing.
I have talked to severalfreelancers in the last month
(12:19):
who are charging lower tomidland rates.
They're just in there andthey're like I've been charging
this for 10 years.
It works for me.
My clients aren't complaining.
I've had the same clients allthis time.
I have issues with that thoughtprocess because that is not a
sustainable business.
That is a business where youare actually losing more money
(12:43):
every single year and even if itworks for you, even if maybe
you're part of a two incomefamily and you're not the
breadwinner and you're justbringing in fun money, your
business is still a business.
You still need to take itseriously and you still need to
have a cashflow plan thatincludes increases every year,
(13:05):
because cost of living increasesevery year and like cost of
living in the last two years hasincreased almost what?
25%.
It's stupid, stupid, ridiculous.
Your business needs to reflectthat, and it can be
uncomfortable.
It's definitely uncomfortableto get out of the status quo,
but in my opinion, if your ratesaren't raising on a regular
(13:26):
basis, you're doing yourself andyour business a disservice,
because your value is increasingevery year, because you're
getting better at what you doevery year.
But what do you think aboutthat, liz?
Liz Heflin (13:36):
No, I absolutely agree, and it's so funny.
When I started my business, mydad gave me a piece of advice
and, in typical daughter fashion, yeah, whatever, dad and I
rolled my eyes.
And now, looking back on it, Igo, oh my gosh, that was a
really smart thing that he toldme, and I was.
(13:56):
I'd been doing my business fora couple of years and it was
getting to the point where Ifigured out how to pitch to
clients and I figured out whatthey wanted and I was getting
more yeses than I was gettingno's and I thought that was
amazing.
I thought this is great.
And my dad told me like itmight be worth upping your rate
until you get some nose, findsome ceilings.
And I thought I don't know, I'mgetting the clients, the
(14:20):
money's coming in.
Why would I rock the boat, thething?
And looking back, what a smartthing.
I should have listened to dad.
Dad, if you're listening, yourfeelings about income and your
feelings about ceilings, aboutwhat people will pay, are often
very different than what acompany who has a budget
earmarked for this.
If you're working withcompanies, it's not like you're
(14:43):
pulling out of somebody'spersonal checking account.
So finding a company's ceilingis account.
So finding a company's ceiling,you're usually pretty surprised
by what that actual number is.
So it's worth stepping up untilyou get some pushback because
one client pushing back, even ifyou lose that deal because of
(15:03):
it now going into subsequentnegotiations and rate setting.
You have some more context andsome more information and you
could very well potentially makeup that lost income very
quickly with a couple of yesesdown the line.
That would be my two cents onthat.
Treasa Edmond (15:19):
And when you think about leaving money on the
table, a lot of people are likeit's not really worth hassle of
a couple hundred dollars.
It's very seldom a couplehundred dollars.
If you're charging $250 for ablog post that other writers in
your field are charging athousand dollars for one, your
clients are never going to thinkyour work is as good as that
(15:39):
thousand dollar blog post.
They're just not.
It's a perception issue.
It may be entirely wrong, butthat's what they're going to do.
But you're leaving $750 on thetable.
That's huge.
Think about that.
That's not just one project.
If you do 10 projects a month,that's $7,500.
Start thinking about how all ofthis adds together, because
(16:02):
it's important, and I've workedwith people who are like I'm
just going to give them a rateand I'm like no, no, you ask the
client what their budget is.
Always find out what theirbudget is, because sometimes
it's like $3,000 more than youthought you should ask, and
that's big.
And the more professional youare about that, the more
proactive you are about it andthe more you lead those client
(16:23):
relationships, the more moneyyou're going to make and the
more, the more respectful yourclients are going to be and I
don't mean that in a negativeway, because it's definitely a
partnership the more respectfulthey're going to be and you're
going to respect them becausethey're following your
leadership.
That's huge.
That also, by the way, helpswith that imposter syndrome.
Client management and reallyeffectively managing that can
(16:47):
really negate imposter syndrome,because you go into it feeling
like an expert and there's noroom for it.
It just doesn't exist.
So, yeah, all right.
So that was Paul's question anda little bit of a bonus there
at the end.
But I think those tie togetherand I don't think that we can
really look at one clearlywithout the other.
Come back tomorrow, becauseit's going to be an on-fire
(17:08):
conversation with Liz.
We're talking all about money,which is one of the most
important topics you will evertalk about when it comes to your
business.
See you tomorrow.
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