Year Two: Six figures and the Money Mindset

This is the first part in my series about freelancing. I’ll be answering your questions about finding clients, getting paid, and building your brand/business. Since earning more money is a big motivator, I’ll start with that.
 
To back things up for those just tuning in: Two years ago I quit my corporate job to start a travel company without much in the way of savings or a plan. One year ago after falling $21K in debt, I had started supplementing my income with freelance presentation design (i.e. making PowerPoints look good) and things had really started taking off. Fast forward to today, I’ve officially established a presentation design agency, hired two full-time contractors, paid off my debt, and now generate over five figures monthly in revenue.

And the craziest part of all? I don't have a website or any work publicly displayed online.
 
While half of my income is from contracts with large corporations and agencies, the other half stems from Upwork. For those who don’t know Upwork is a freelancer platform where you can bid and be awarded projects from clients all over the world. They didn’t pay me to write this post (promise!) but they were a key player in my success and will be mentioned often.
 
How much have I earned on Upwork since I started 1.5 years ago? $105,439-- $86K of it from this year alone.

Update 1/3/18: I ended the year with $101,448 made in 2017 off Upwork and $129,048 total earnings from the site.

(Disclaimer: Don’t get confused and think that I am taking home all of this money. I pay my designers, taxes, and Upwork [they take a 5-20% percentage.])
 
MONEY MINDSET
 
The first thing I want to talk about is your money mindset. Not having a stable and secure income was one of the most terrifying feelings starting out. I’ll never forget the morning, six months in, I looked at my earnings and realized that I wasn’t just surviving, but thriving as a freelancer. I literally ran around my place screaming, "I DID IT. I'M GOING TO MAKE IT!" 
 
Here are some money mindsets to think about as a freelancer:

1. You are in more in control of your money. A couple months ago, I lost a $5K job. While that stung, it was only one job, one client out of many. When put in comparison of those who have lost their full-time job and their entire income in one swoop, I realized that I have more control over my earnings freelancing. If work is slow, I hustle harder. If I want a raise, I increase my hourly rate.
   
   
2. There’s a lot of money out there. I worried with two full-time employees that I wouldn’t have enough work. Now most days I have 1-3 additional designers helping out due to overflow. We are taught that only a few people are making all of the money and that we need to compete to succeed. What I learned after talking to other presentation designers, including one who only focuses on the dental industry, is that there’s plenty to go around. Determine your niche and pinpoint your ideal client. You don't need to cater to everyone to get paid.
   
   

PRICING
 
The biggest reason most people quit Upwork after just getting started is that they either get no work from being priced too high or low-paying work from bad clients. Specifically for Upwork, follow these pricing steps and you’ll likely see much greater success.
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1. Price yourself low for the first few (small) jobs. Clients want a freelancer who is vetted and has hours under their belt. Take on a few small, quick, lower-paying jobs and get those 5* reviews. In no time you’ll be given the “Rising Talent” title from Upwork. (Making "Top Rated" is the goal, but will be discussed further in the next post.)
   
   
2. Price yourself to stand out. I never charge what the average price is. I decided early on that I wanted to be known as an expert in my field who delivers first-rate work. I would rather have 1-$500 project than 5-$100 projects. Therefore I always price myself at the higher-end of the spectrum. And do you want to know a secret? 90% of the time, the highest paying clients tend to be the best ones.
   
   
3. Change your rate according to demand. I remember the first time I was changing my rate to $10/hr higher, it took me 30 minutes to press the button. What if the work dies off? You know what happened? My workload increased. Over the next year I then experimented, raising my rate when I had too much work, lowering it when I was open, negotiating when the client had a quick-turnaround. I’ve billed up to $200/hr for a last-minute project.
   
   
4. Don’t do free work. I’ve had a number of potential clients ask me to do 1-2 free sample slides so they can better decide on which freelancer to work with. I always come back to them with one hour of my time as the sample slide rate. 90% of the time, they pay it, no complaints. (And if they do complain, I don’t work with them.)
   
   
5. Don’t do discounted rates (with one exception). Whenever a client says, “I really want to work with you but my budget is only X…” or “I was hoping you could give me a discount…” or "What is your best price?," etc, it’s an automatic red flag. Trust me when I say if you take the job, there is an 85% chance they’re going to be a worrisome, bad client. If you really like the client, but they can’t pay your typical rate, see if you can find a comparable trade. One client wasn’t able to pay the full amount I estimated, so he gave me an airline buddy pass to an international destination instead. The one exception I have is that I have slightly lowered my hourly rate for a long-term contract. In those instances, the amount of projects I received made it worth it.
   
   
6. Hourly vs. flat rate. Usually, I would recommend flat rate over hourly, as it’s a win-win for both the client and freelancer—the client pays what he or she believes the work is worth and the freelancer has more of an incentive to complete the work efficiently and well. However, with the fast-paced nature of my work, I have found charging hourly to be a better fit for me at the moment. It’s your preference! If you do charge a flat rate fee, be sure to submit a proposal or SOW (Statement of Work) with detailed scope / milestones for approval and clearly set expectations.
   
   
7. Don’t be afraid to renegotiate. I’ve had a couple of clients for a few years—when I first started working for them, my hourly rate was much lower. A few months ago, I reached out to both of them about a raise and they happily increased my pay an additional $10-15/hr because they valued our long-term relationship.

 
Well, that’s it for Part 1. Next week, be on the lookout for Part 2!