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Author

Jim Hamilton
March 29, 2024

Happy Friday! This is the Freelance Gig, where we share news, tools, tips, and tricks to help grow your freelance business.

Welcome to the 270 subscribers who’ve joined us since the last edition.

Mentioned in today’s email: LinkedIn, Apple, Google, and Threads. Plus how to get your first freelance client even if with no experience, and how to set yourself up for success in Q2.

Read time: 3 minutes and 53 seconds

Together with The Finance Agency

Need help with your bookkeeping this tax season?

It’s officially tax time.

And if you’re like most freelancers, service providers, and solo business owners


Chances are, you’re feeling pretty overwhelmed with your finances right now.

Luckily, that’s where The Finance Agency comes in.

They take care of all your bookkeeping and accounting needs so you can free up your time to focus on growing the business.

Because let’s face it:

You need an accounting partner who actually understands online business


And knows the difference between kitchen funnels and ClickFunnels.

So if you need help with your bookkeeping this tax season


Plus as a subscriber of The Freelance Gig, you’ll get access to a specially discounted rate.

But the clock’s ticking.

Don’t let this deal pass you by.

Making the Rounds

Working With Clients

How to Get Your First Freelance Client Even With No Experience

Your first freelance client is the hardest one to land.

Especially if you’re looking to build your business around a new skill.

So — what’s the best way to do it?

(Unfortunately, calling yourself a “freelance beast” won’t cut it ;)

Instead, we recommend


Offering to work for free in exchange for a case study or testimonial.

Removing your fee from the equation limits their downside


And getting them to agree to give you a case study creates buy-in + ensures you’ll have a proof piece you can use to make landing the next client easier.

But a word of warning before you go on the hunt


Don’t expect clients to trip over themselves trying to hire you just because you’re offering to work for free.

Here’s why:

By making this offer, you’ve eliminated the monetary risk


But not the time and energy risk.

They’ll still have to invest some time and energy into the project and communicating with you about it.

There’s a chance it could all be wasted if the project goes bad.

And they likely value their time much more than whatever fee you might charge them.

So whether you’re prospecting via cold outreach or on freelancing platforms


Keep this factor in mind.

Express your gratitude to them for taking a chance on you


Explain how hungry and motivated you are to knock the project out of the park.

And emphasize that you respect their time.

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Working For Yourself

How to Set Yourself Up For Success in Q2

The first 3 months of 2024 are almost up.

Here are two things you can do to set yourself up for success in Q2:

1) Conduct a quarterly review

Use these questions to guide yourself:

  • What happened this quarter?

  • What learning lessons & corrections came from this quarter?

  • What wins did I have this quarter?

  • What am I looking forward to next quarter?

It’s important to extract lessons and wins from your day-to-day experiences on a regular basis.

This also sets the stage for the next step.

2) Set goals for Q2

Once you’ve completed your Q1 review, set goals for the upcoming quarter based on how you’re pacing.

Metrics you may want to focus on include:

  • Topline revenue

  • # of pitches sent

  • # of new clients closed

  • # of days off

  • Etc etc

Which metrics you decide to focus on are totally up to you.

But the goals you set should reflect your priorities within the business.

One way to frame this is to consider growth vs development:

Growth is all about increasing revenue, clients, and profits.

Meanwhile, development is all about building the foundation you need to grow further.

No business can sustain the same rate of growth forever.

And on the flipside, no business should be stuck in a development stage forever.

Healthy businesses shift back and forth between the two.

Use this as food for thought when mapping out your goals for Q2.

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Tool of the Week

Build a beautiful one-page portfolio site for free with Carrd

Studies show there are over 1.5 billion freelancers in the world.

There’s no shortage of competition.

This means you’ve got to seize every opportunity you can to stand out.

One easy way is to set up a portfolio website.

In the past, this meant signing up for hosting and learning how to use WordPress.

But not anymore.

Now you can use Carrd to create a beautiful one-page portfolio site for free.

They’ve got dozens of templates you can use


Or you can start with a blank slate to build your own.

Plus they’re fast to load and highly responsive, so they look great across desktops, tablets, and mobile.

Hit the link below to learn more:

Bonus Points

🚀 Careers: 50+ freelancers reveal what they’d do differently if they had to start over (link)

✍ Copywriting: 3 copywriting cheat codes for advanced persuasion (link)

đŸ€ Sales: 8 best TED talks on sales psychology (link)

📊 Productivity: The ultimate productivity hack for entrepreneurs (link)