EP. 7 / Quitting Your Job To Take a Risk and How to Make Great Money as a Freelancer - Leslie Gray Streeter & Aubree Malick
SHOW NOTES:
After 27 years as a journalist, single mom Leslie Gray Streeter quit her job to pursue being an author and promote her acclaimed book “Black Widow.” She wanted her son to ‘see her happy’ and has tips on how to feel empowered when starting your own freelancing business. Plus former teacher and host of the podcast Freelancer to CEO Aubree Malick has tips on how to start your freelance business ASAP (like next week!), how to find clients and the very first steps you need to take.
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Takeaways from our guests:
Aubree Malick’s 3 things to do to start your freelance business or side hustle today
Set up legal entity - LLC or sole proprietor
Figure out your service offering & pricing
Start marketing & promoting yourself
Aubree Malick’s tools to invest in as you start your business
An invoicing system
CRM - Like Dubsado or Honeybook
Online scheduler like Acuity or Calendly
Leslie Gray Streeter on deciding to quit her career of 20 years to work for herself and focus on being an author
“I wanted my son to see me happy.” “If you have the choice, work should not make you miserable.”
When working for herself as compared to a salaried job: “the opportunity to make money is far greater now than it was.”
On pricing your services:“If you keep giving discounts, the discount is your price.”
I loved hearing Leslie’s perspective on how she frames her work as freelancer vs entrepreneur
“So I was freelancing and at first I would consider myself a freelancer because it felt like you have to fill the void of the money that you're not making when you're doing full time. Once I started thinking of what I did as a business, as a freelance business, as an entrepreneur that covered many things that covered my book, writing that covered my speaking, all of this is a business. What I'm doing is creating my own opportunities.”
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EPISODE LINKS:
GUESTS:
Leslie Gray Streeter | Twitter | Instagram | Black Widow Book
Freelancer to CEO Podcast | Aubree Malick Instagram | TikTok
Emily Newman & Carpenter Newman
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Leslie Gray Streeter (00:01):
I want my son to see me happy. Your work should not make you miserable.
Kim Rittberg (00:06):
Meet a single mom who ditched her nine to five journalism job, mid pandemic to be a freelance writer and author.
Leslie Gray Streeter (00:13):
At the end of the day, I couldn't do everything well. So I had to err, on the side of the thing, that was my passion.
Kim Rittberg (00:18):
And if you wanna freelance your way to freedom. Yes. I just made that phrase up. We have an expert who will take you through the tools you need and the very first steps to start making money ASAP.
Aubree Malick (00:30):
This is something that you can start right from your home and start relatively quickly. I mean, when I started my business, I had it up and running. And with my first week I had a client
Kim Rittberg (00:41):
Leave your lanyard and swipe card at the door. Welcome to mom's exit interview, a podcast for moms seeking fulfillment and contentment outside the traditional nine to five, whether you're considering taking the leap or you're already midair. This podcast is for you. You'll meet moms who are consultants, entrepreneurs stay at home moms side hustles and part-time workers across various industries and levels. Plus every episode will have experts with tips so you can turn your inspiration into action. I'm Kim Rittberg. I was a Netflix executive and former head of video at us weekly. And I'm a mom of two. I quit the corporate world and I've never looked back, but I'm still on this journey. So join me. We don't need a boss to give us permission or a promotion to lead the lives. We want
Kim Rittberg (01:41):
Friendly reminder to subscribe and leave a review. Now back to the business. If I told you one third of the workforce has freelanced this year, would you believe me? 57 million people. And according to medium freelancers will make up most of the us workforce by 2027. So if the idea of freelancing appeals to you, whether as a way to test the waters of a new career or to make some extra cash, make sure to take notes. First, you're going to hear from our incredible guest, Leslie gray Streeter, this single mom ditched her job mid pandemic because it all became too much. And she jumped straight to freelancing. Leslie was a journalist for the Palm beach post and other papers for 27 years. Leslie has an eight year old boy. Her husband died of a heart attack in 2015. And Leslie wrote a book about it called black widow. She co-parents with her mom in Baltimore. You're gonna hear from Leslie how she took the plunge out of the newsroom, how she's getting more quality time with her son and how adjusting her mindset from freelancer to entrepreneur has empowered her. Let's start with Leslie talking about her aha moment or moments.
Leslie Gray Streeter (02:50):
A bunch of things happened. Uh, newspapers started to go not so great. And, um, the pandemic started. I always thought, okay, this might be the time to move from Florida where I was back to Maryland. My mother is my co-parent. The pandemic happened, our company, my newspaper company, put us on what they called the furlough program. Literally this is a quote from an email taking part and the furlough program like it was like for those of us who wanna be in our gym and work at our, our,
Kim Rittberg (03:22):
Yeah, I was gonna say the furlough program sounds like you're going on a field trip to an amusement park.
Kim Rittberg (03:25):
It does. It was not amusing at all. Um, nothing amusing about it, that we were off. We were furloughed one week a month for three months. So consistently I'm making, I'm losing a quarter of my pay and it's like, this is stupid. And I called my, uh, financial guy and I said, what would you think about me quitting my job cashing out part of my 401k, moving into Baltimore. And he said, normally I would tell you that's nuts. However, you've prepared. Well, you want it to go anyway. And it's not like your job as a business is going great. So, um, we just did it
Kim Rittberg (04:07):
Farewell Florida. After more than two decades in journalism, Leslie left, she moved from Florida to Baltimore, Maryland, where she has a lot more family support. Okay. So you were a journalist, a newspaper writer columnist for 27 years. Then during the pandemic, you quit your job after there was a furlough program mm-hmm <affirmative> furlough program. And then you move with your son to Maryland and take a job where
Leslie Gray Streeter (04:34):
It's a consulting firm. Um, and did some like quarter communication stuff. As
Kim Rittberg (04:39):
Leslie settled into Baltimore, it all became too much.
Leslie Gray Streeter (04:43):
So it was a combination of getting my son settled. Literally my mom was here with us, you know, down in the living room and him trying to figure out this whole thing. And I'm up here on this very demanding job, which I'm beginning very quickly to understand is not my passion. I was still promoting my book and talking about like grief and growth. And I thought I could do all of it, but I, at the end of the day, I couldn't do everything well. So I had to err on the side of the thing, that was my passion. There were moments where I just would be on the zoom. I'd get off at six. I'd go make dinner with the computer next to me in case anybody needed me. I never felt like I was off.
Kim Rittberg (05:24):
Her son was a big part of the decision.
Leslie Gray Streeter (05:27):
I want my son to see me happy. I want him to know that sometimes work is work and you have to be there. There's sometimes I don't wanna do something, but I have to cause I'm getting paid for it. If you have the choice to your work should not make you miserable.
Kim Rittberg (05:41):
Are you getting more time with your son now that you've switched from working for someone else and working for yourself?
Leslie Gray Streeter (05:47):
So freaking completely. If I were still had that job, it would be really stressful for me to walk into school. I just don't schedule anything on those warnings until nine 30, cause I don't have to. And so that means that my time with my son in the morning is not stressed. I can make breakfast. He just knows that I'm less stressed. I can do things like go with him around the corner to get, um, when he had to go on, go virtually had to go pick up the computer and do all that stuff. And I could do that and not have to, to ask for permission to do it, but I don't want him to feel like I am scheduling in every bit of time I have for him. And I don't have any time to just chill.
Kim Rittberg (06:27):
Leslie had been a reporter and colonist for years. So after her husband died of a heart attack, she began writing a memoir called black widow, a sad, funny journey through grief for people who normally avoid books with words, like journey in the title. And it got great reviews and was dubbed one of glamor magazine's best books of 2020
Leslie Gray Streeter (06:47):
As a journalist. I've done a lot of column work. Um, movie reviews, theater reviews, concert reviews of reported columns, or just columns about me. And I wrote a memoir about, you know, my widowhood, there were not at that time, a lot of books about things like that from that experience from, from a black experience, like the black experience. But cuz there is no the, from a black experience and the rest of the book when I was pitching my book, I said, it's like, you're magical thinking, but funny and with black people, um, which is pretty much
Kim Rittberg (07:16):
What it's a good
Leslie Gray Streeter (07:17):
Logline, you know, thank you. Um, but you know, we all widows experienced that. Why am I doing this? What is it for? Why did this happen? A lot of people would say your husband died. So you could write this book and help people. It's like, no, I would rather, he still be alive than other people help themselves figure out somebody. I didn't do this for other people. It's more that he died, died period. Now I can help people. Those are two different things. There was a choice to make about using this experience.
Kim Rittberg (07:46):
Leslie says she's been building her personal brand as a writer for years before she fully quit her full-time job.
Leslie Gray Streeter (07:54):
I've done a lot of it's me. It's me kinda like, um, both good and bad stuff. So there was always a brand that was growing and I had the, the absolute pleasure of doing that professionally, that when I was at the Palm beach post, particularly for 18 years, I wrote narrative stories that I was largely seen as a columnist.
Kim Rittberg (08:14):
Leslie has already learned some important lessons. One is about how you frame your career, both to yourself and others and how calling yourself an entrepreneur instead of a freelancer boost, your confidence and your bank account. Leslie, how would you describe your current work situation? Are you self-employed part-time are you an entrepreneur?
Leslie Gray Streeter (08:36):
So I was freelancing and at first I would consider myself a freelancer because it felt like you have to like fill the void of the money that you're not making when you're doing full time. Once I started thinking of what I did as a business, as a freelance business, it has an entrepreneur that covered many things that covered my book, writing that covered my speaking, all of this is a business. What I'm doing is creating my own opportunities. Um, I'm doing a lot of freelancing for things like the Washington post and the Atlanta journal constitution. And I'm actually doing a gig for the Palm beach post, which is my employer for 18 years. And um, so when I think of it that way it's a lot more empowering and it's permanent. It's not like I'm just waiting for the next thing to happen.
Kim Rittberg (09:24):
And I really like how you're sort of taking the vantage point of they're your clients cuz so it's similar to my background. I was a media executive for about 15 years and right before the pandemic like total kiss met is when I finally got the courage to launch my own business and not just say, oh, I'm freelancing or I'm taking a gig. I was like, no, okay. I'm gonna make an LLC. Someone hired me for a pretty big project. I'm gonna make an LLC, a website, a professional email, all that stuff. And even though I had a long term freelance client, the work I was doing for them was executive consulting. So I'm like, you know what? This is a client. I'm not a high end freelancer. I am an entrepreneur. I run my own video and content strategy company, thinking of them as a client, empowered me.
Leslie Gray Streeter (10:10):
The, the phrasing is so important to me because it puts us in control of it. It's not like we're just taking anything that comes and we're filling a gap. It's that we have a full schedule that we have a full sense of. This is what I want my business to be. It's a real hard reset to get into that someone else is not in control that I am controlling what I do. I don't have to do that. I can say no to things. I can turn things down. Um, and like anyone else does, who has a business and that is empowering,
Kim Rittberg (10:42):
But I had such a hard time at the beginning saying no. And finally I was like, actually I really don't have time for that. Or you know what, that's the summer, that's the only time I get like really unstructured kids time with my kids. Yes. I'm never gonna get that time back. So it's hard to say, no, it's hard to say no to money. And it's hard to say no to projects. That sound good.
Leslie Gray Streeter (11:01):
There's a newspaper that I worked with as a client that started offering me some stuff. And I was like, this isn't enough money. And I understand that this is what your budget is, but I can't do it. And to walk away from a paying gig because it just wasn't enough. Money was really empowering to me.
Kim Rittberg (11:20):
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Leslie. I'd love to know how your finances compare this past year since you've been working for yourself versus when you are working as a journalist or in corporate communications.
Leslie Gray Streeter (11:32):
Well, that's hilarious. Um, they have, let's say they have not yet in real time caught up. Um, and I have borrowed a little more from savings than I wanted to, but the, and I mean this in all, in all honesty and I have some other opportunities happening and I'm like doing more and more speaking and stuff. The opportunity to make money is far greater now than it was the last year. That for instance, that I was at the Palm beach post and I, this is nothing against it. It just is what it is. I was never gonna make any more money than I was actually. I was making less money because of the furlough. We weren't gonna get more raises this. The opportunities are, are based on the hustle and what I do and the gigs I get and the stuff that I do honestly, and setting my prices in a way that makes me that money. I have so many friends who have their own businesses, many of them creatives or counselors or whatever who say how to make more money, charge more for your services and the people who can't afford it can't have your services right now.
Kim Rittberg (12:39):
Leslie finds saying no is empowering as a business person and reframing yourself away from a hungry freelancer. What advice would you give to someone striking out on their own?
Leslie Gray Streeter (12:51):
Um, have a price, know your price. I'm looking online, I'm asking Twitter, strangers. Can I DM you and ask you a couple questions about how you structured your prices? And cuz you wanna start. I'm never gonna be at the bottom range because why would I be? Because I have 30 years of experience doing this. So figure out who you are, where you are, what other people charge and don't be the cheap person because you'll never get out of it. But as my sister says, if you keep giving discounts, the discount is your price. That's what you, that's what you charge for this. Cause if you don't actually ever charge anybody, what you say, your prices on your website, that's not what you actually do. Also. Don't burn bridges ever. So many of the jobs that I have had ha or opportunities, I have two opportunities to speak in person in both in Florida, both with organizations that I have worked with before, because I knew people and I'm a known quantity.
Kim Rittberg (13:45):
And in wrapping up our chat, this is how Leslie describes her life. Now,
Leslie Gray Streeter (13:49):
Before my life was ultimately controlled by someone else. Now my life is controlled by me.
Kim Rittberg (14:00):
Since we interviewed Leslie, we have a quick update about her life. We talk a lot about finding a path that makes you happy, whether that's outside an office or on your own, in her own words, Leslie said she would not take a full-time job unless it was financially and creatively flexible and doing the most amazing work. So she found something that meets that criteria and she accepted a full-time lifestyle columnist role at the Baltimore banner. And we're really happy for her. And again, Leslie's book is called black widow. You can find it linked out at her website, lesliegraystreeter.com, which will be in the show notes. And next up you'll hear from Aubrey Mallek with solid tips on how to start your own freelance business. ASAP.
Kim Rittberg (14:41):
Aubrey Mallek is a mom of two little boys and she's a former teacher who now coaches, women who wanna start and grow their own freelance businesses from home. Perfect for today's show. She hosts a great podcast called freelancer to CEO, and she is bringing you amazing tips for moms who wanna freelance, like how to convert your existing skills to a freelance business, how to find clients and the very first things you need to do to start earning some cash. Auburn, you have this amazing podcast called freelancer to CEO. Can you gimme the top three tips for someone who wants to freelance?
Aubree Malick (15:16):
Yeah, absolutely. So I think the first thing that I would say would be to really think about where do you already have skills in a lot of times we think we have to know all of this stuff in order to be able to do this. And what I like to help people do is take the experience that they already have, whether that's as a teacher, as a nurse, as a stay at home, mom as a corporate nine to fiver, where do you already have skills in what you're doing with your current job? And how can we translate in that into something that you can support business owners with? So kind of that's the first tip is really kind of evaluating those skills. And I, a lot of people think, well, as far as like I'm a teacher, so I have to come online and teach like, how does it, how does it make sense?
Aubree Malick (15:54):
It's really not about those hard skills of things that you necessarily do day to day in your job, but what are the almost soft skills that are required for you to execute those things? So as a teacher, for me, like it was about being creative and being organized and being able to juggle many things. And those were not necessarily things that I technically did day to day, but those were the skills that I could, you know, that were innate in me that I used in my job that like, oh, okay, like I can come online and help a business owner with that thing. So that would be the first tip. My second tip is to just kind of let go of that identity, that your job is the only thing that you can do. A lot of times we think that I went to school and I did all these things and that's the only thing that I can do.
Aubree Malick (16:33):
And there might be something that you've always been super passionate about that you kind of maybe suppressed or just kind of pushed the side because it's not required of you, of your job. Um, but this could be something that you could actually pursue. So that would be the second thing. And I think the third thing is to really kind of let go of the, um, expectation that in order to start a business, it has to be this big thing because a lot of us think like businesses are, they've gotta go to the bank, they've gotta get a loan, they've gotta have this storefront. Um, this is something that you can start right from your home and start relatively quickly. I mean, when I started my business, I had it up and running in with my first week I had a client. So it's something that you can get started quickly. It doesn't have to be this whole big thing. Um, you can actually get started relatively quickly as well.
Kim Rittberg (17:18):
Oh, I love that last one because it does feel like people feel overwhelmed and they think of entrepreneur and it's oh, a unicorn company, billion dollars. You're like, Nope, it could, you could still be a business, just one person. <laugh> right. <laugh> and then, um, what are the most common areas? You see people growing freelance businesses, ones that are sustainable for moms.
Aubree Malick (17:37):
So anything I think in video is doing really well and coupled with that too, anything in social media, especially with the pandemic and everything that happened. There were a lot of businesses who, when the pandemic happened, they were like basically feeling like I have to close my doors because I'm only in a physical location. So really helping them to gain that social media presence to be able to connect with their consumers, not just in the physical location of the business that they have, but E being able to connect with them online. And then I think something that really a lot of people don't necessarily talk about. So
Kim Rittberg (18:11):
Are there other things that you see teachers going into like specific service areas that they, they find themselves a good match for?
Aubree Malick (18:19):
Yeah. I mean, a lot of times it's really helping teachers to like recognize those in innate skills that I talked about before that are within them. Um, it's really interesting because a lot of teachers, there's really two routes that I see a lot of teachers go. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the platform, teachers pay teachers, which is where teachers can create online resources. They can take their lesson plans, their curriculum, that they've created any kind of things that they're creating for their classroom and they can sell it online using this platform to other teachers. And so these teachers have created their own business of selling their digital resources online. So a lot of the women that come through my program naturally, like that makes perfect sense for them because they know the content, they know what's going to perform well in the classroom.
Aubree Malick (19:03):
They know what kind of resources cuz they're fresh with that too. So they're kind of able to help these online educators who have taken their digital resources and now are selling them online and they're able to support them in that. So that's really where I see a lot of those teachers shifting into is supporting, um, we call them T P T sellers. Uh, that's just like the lingo that, that we use too, but they really supporting those online educators and helping them as they either step out of the classroom or just kind of expand and have that additional revenue stream.
Kim Rittberg (19:33):
What are the top five tools freelancers should invest in?
Aubree Malick (19:37):
Yeah. And I, this is a big one for me because I know that sometimes taking that step and making an investment, especially, you know, if you're looking at possibly going like part-time or stepping away from your job in order to start this business, sometimes it's hard to really like take that step cuz you're, you know, in the back of your mind, I know you're probably thinking like what if this doesn't work out and I've invested this money and stuff. So there's some really great tools that I think are helpful that don't cost a ton of money. Um, but I definitely feel like the number one thing that I would say to, to recommend to invest in. And this is really, you know, there's definitely free routes that you can take there's cheaper routes, but I think this is one that you wouldn't cut corners on is really having a great program.
Aubree Malick (20:15):
That's going to handle all of your invoicing, all of your proposals for clients. Um, a really great CRM is great and that really sets the stage for number one, your business, to run smoothly in the background, but also to allow it to scale. But in the same time too, when you bring new clients on, it's a really solid way to be able to onboard them so that they feel like they're well taken care of and that, you know, the hiring process and, you know, bringing somebody on to help you and support you in your business is never an easy process. So if you're able to kind of lighten that load and have a really great system, like a CRM to help them. So some of my favorites are DDO or honey book. Those are ones that do require a little bit of money up front and have a monthly fee or, you know, you can pay the annual fee, but that's something that I would definitely recommend investing in.
Aubree Malick (20:57):
Um, and then there are some programs that I think you can get away with using maybe like the free version or some of the, um, just like the basic plan, but definitely having something where you're going to schedule calls with people. That's a big one. So there's, someone's out there like acuity or ly, um, where you can have calls with people, cuz there's no sense in going back and forth and being like, Hey, I've got Wednesday at five available in this time. So having something that's going to handle all of your cut, scheduling and calls and being able to keep that all in one place so that you can keep your head on straight and know what you're doing. And then, um, again like there's, there's some that really, that I recommended to people that don't really cost a ton of money. So even like Gmail, that's free, um, having zoom to run your calls, um, having something to help you stay organized.
Aubree Malick (21:45):
So that could be as simple as having like a Google driver using some kind of project management system. There's tons of them out there. Um, everything has its pros and cons. So those would be some of the tools that I would recommend for freelancers who are just getting started. But definitely if you're gonna invest in something that might be a little bit of a stretch for you because it comes with a monthly fee, definitely doing a really solid CRM is going to help you to support your clients, but also to have your business run smoothly
Kim Rittberg (22:10):
And a CRM is customer relationship management, right?
Aubree Malick (22:14):
Yes. <laugh>
Kim Rittberg (22:16):
This is a place for learning <laugh> yes. And, um, what are the first three things someone should do as they start out? Like they either just left their job or they're stay at home they're or they off ramped and they're looking to get back, what are the first three things they should do?
Aubree Malick (22:32):
Yes. So definitely the first thing that you're going to want to do is really set a solid foundation for your business. So a lot of times we have misconceptions about like how we actually start business. A lot of moms think, oh, like this is another form of a network marketing company where I, you know, pay so much money to join into a company. And I become, you know, a direct seller and I get this kit and, and that's how it works. This is completely different. You are actually starting a business. So that means that you have to legally decide how you're going to form your business. So that could be either a sole proprietor or an LLC. So really those business legalities foundations is where I tell people to start and not have that be something that you skip over because you don't want to, especially with things like opening up a business bank account, like those things, things can seem scary and like, oh, I'll, you know, I'll do that later, but you definitely wanna have a solid foundation for your business legally off the bat.
Aubree Malick (23:23):
So that's really that first place that I tell people to start. And then the next place is kind of what we chatted about in the beginning to is really starting to think, okay, where, where are my skills at? Where do I want to start? And what can I offer as a service to business owners? So really starting to get a clear picture of that. And then, um, along with that too, is figuring out like how you're gonna price yourself, cuz this is not just, you know, a, a hobby. This is actually going to be your business. So you want to charge for this, even though that can feel really scary and overwhelming and thinking like who's even gonna pay me to organize their Gmail, like trust me, people will. Um, and that's something that somebody needs. So, um, in, in line with that too, and then also starting to think about where am I actually going to show up, how am I going to go about finding clients?
Aubree Malick (24:05):
And I know that we're gonna get into that here next too. But really thinking about that from a business perspective and knowing that if I want this to actually grow, if I want to gain clients, I have to be actively doing things day in and day out to let people know that this is something that I'm doing, that this is a business that I'm taking this seriously too. So those are those three things. There's a lot of, I could go into more depth on that, but I think that that's a really great place to start.
Kim Rittberg (24:27):
No, I, I loved your tips and I do wanna, we'll get right into how to find clients, but I loved your tip about the foundation with the bank account. The very first thing I did and in my mind it was like, oh, bank account, LLC. First of all, you had mentioned Gmail earlier. I also think I'm a big advocate of, of investing in a professional name and email address. I just think like, you know, kim@kimrittberg.com versus kimrittberg@gmail.com completely sends a different message. So I think that no matter what level you're at sending that professional message and it does seem Ugh, an investment, but that investment is very low. You mentioned this, I really wanna hear from you. What are your top tips to finding clients as a freelancer?
Aubree Malick (25:05):
Yes. So my first one, and this is what I tell everybody from the beginning is you have to be actively talking about what you're doing and you have to use your personal network. So the people who know you in your life, they are the ones that are going to recommend you, who are gonna be the ones that'll that put that connection together. And sometimes we think, well, I don't, I don't know anybody who even owns a business. Who, why would I be talking about it with the people who I know trust me, do it because you don't know who they know, you don't know where their connections go to. So I always tell people, start with your personal network when you're in the grocery store and somebody comes up to you and says, Hey, you know, I haven't seen you in a long time. What's going on instead of just saying, oh, nothing, same old, same old.
Aubree Malick (25:44):
Talk about what you just started, talk about this business and just share it. You don't have to go into like, you don't have to give them your whole life story about like why you started it, but just kinda say, Hey, I'm really excited. I just started this freelance business. I'm gonna help business owners with social media. And then hopefully being a kind human being. They're gonna say, what's that? Tell me more about it. So just kind of a really easy way to break into that because it, it does feel a little uncomfortable at first to talk about ourself, to share what we're doing. We feel like we're, you know, overwhelming people where we feel like we're bothering people by doing that. Um, and that's how I gained my first client. I posted on my personal Facebook page and said, Hey, I'm starting this business. I'm really excited to offer virtual assistance services.
Aubree Malick (26:22):
If you know of anybody, um, that could use this, please pass it along. Or even if you just shared this on your page. And of course like my friends and family are like, oh my gosh, like, I'm so excited for you. Congratulations. And it just helped me to even break that ice with myself where the first time I actually talked with a client, wasn't the first time those words ever came out of my mouth. I, I had practiced with people who I at least felt somewhat comfortable with. So definitely starting with your personal network, that's a really great place to start. It's a way to ease into it. And then of course, I really believe in being on social media, utilizing that, picking a platform that you know, that you can be comfortable with and be consistent with and show up with, to let people know again that you are here.
Aubree Malick (26:58):
This is what you're doing. You are serious about it. Um, and so then you can start to connect with people on, on there. And then even too, just locally, I know that the world is starting to open back up again. And there's a lot of local things. There's the chamber of commerce, maybe in your local area, or maybe there's a networking event that you can go to. And kind of thinking, even though that this is technically an online business, you can still connect with people locally that have those businesses that have struggled to get online that need your support. Um, my parents just opened up a pharmacy this past year and my, I helped my mom connect with a graphic designer to design her logo, to design her website, somebody to just help her virtually to answer emails and to just go through things like, so don't count people out, even though they're not technically online.
Aubree Malick (27:42):
So those are some of my favorite ways to find clients. And definitely, like I said, starting with your personal network, it's a really great way to get started. And every time I run a challenge in my group saying like, Hey, all right, let's everybody post on their personal page. You'd be surprised with how many you're like so nervous to do it. And they're like, oh my gosh, I just got three discovery calls from this. I never would've thought that she would need somebody or she would even think of me. So, um, yeah. I love telling people to start there
Kim Rittberg (28:05):
And I completely agree with that sentiment. When I, in my past life, I had a jewelry business, um, when I was like in my twenties and I was selling it and in Bloomingdale's and trying to get press, and I just blasted out to everyone. I knew someone passed it on to a journalist for women's wear daily, which is the Bible for accessories. And they ended up writing up my jewelry. I mean, never in a million years would the person who was a guy who I was acquaintances with. He's the one who forwarded to her. So you just don't know who's gonna help you. And I think it's a good reminder, Aubrey, to what you were saying about people wanna help you, you know, you, once you say it out loud and you make it real. And also I loved your tip of saying it because once you've said it, a you're practicing saying it, but B it's real. It's out there. Mm-hmm, <affirmative>, it's not an idea in your head. It's it's, it's like it, maybe it's a website or maybe it's a social handle, but like you put it out in the world. So I love those tips. Aubrey recommends that once you're further into your journey, you should focus in on one area or as we like to call it nicheing down.
Aubree Malick (29:02):
So a lot of my women are like so afraid to take this step because they're thinking, oh my gosh, if I stop offering all these services, like I'm gonna leave all this money on the table. No one will wanna hire me. Um, if I don't offer this, if I only offer this one service and actually the opposite happens because you become known as that expert, you become known as that person that are going to be referred to so many people. So now you're not having to do all that forward facing marketing. Like people are doing that for you, which is a really great place to be in your business. And also for you, it takes a lot of pressure off of you and you are able to focus your energy as opposed to trying to divide it between all these different things. You're able to focus your energy on one thing, get really good at it.
Aubree Malick (29:39):
Get really solid systems in place, get really great results for your clients. Um, and just be in that place where you are the go-to person for that. So that's really where I like to recommend people. Once they got started and started to dip their toes into what they enjoy, what they don't enjoy, really starting, I call it the, their signature service and really starting to hone in on that one thing so that they can become the go-to person. They can get really good at it. They can charge higher rates. Um, and then they're not having to be everything to everybody. They can just be that expert person.
Kim Rittberg (30:07):
So for all the people out there who are journalists or content, creators, or writers, how do you recommend growing a freelance business for them?
Aubree Malick (30:13):
Yeah. So I would really start to take notice of what kind of writing do you enjoy doing? Because there's so many in the online space, there's so many different types of writing and so many different types of styles. So like something for Instagram is maybe not the same thing that you're going to put, like in your email newsletter that you send to people or the type of writing that will be on a sales page or be on a website. So really starting to get an idea of where do you feel like you shine? Um, even, you know, if you're really great at writing blog posts or writing that type of content too. So really starting to get an idea of where, where do you feel pulled and called to and where do you feel like you have strengths that you can start to lean into that?
Aubree Malick (30:51):
Um, that would be a really great place, cuz there's so much copy that goes into an online business. I know that you, you are loving the video stuff and that's really great too. But even that like even writing the scripts or writing the talking points for people, like if that's somewhere where you feel like you shine in interviews and even with podcast, podcast, scripts and show notes, there's so many different types of writing out there and starting to think like, where do I feel like I could fit in and add my own flare or add my own expertise to really help a business owner to shine through their words.
Kim Rittberg (31:21):
Ugh, I love, I love those tips because I, I love that at the, your, one of your main messages is really what you have and what you can do can apply to a lot of other things. And often we feel sort of trapped in our office or our box or our classroom or whatever, but our skills that we have are so transferable and I love your reminder about blog, post podcast, show notes. And then there's like branded content and all these companies that need writers. Like there's all these companies. I, I remember I had a friend, I think they were writing for a way that travel luggage company. They were writing content for them. And I wouldn't have assumed, you know, you're a journalist, but there's so there's so much out there. Make sure to check out aubreemalick.com and subscribe to her podcast, freelancer to CEO. This pretty embarrassing parenting story comes from Emily Newman, the co-founder and CEO of Newman carpenter. They are a creative agency that serves healthcare organizations whose work impacts health behavior change before starting her company. Emily was an award-winning television producer and she lives in North Carolina with her two kids.
Emily Newman (32:29):
Okay. So my four year old son who has taught himself to ride a bike at two and a half is still in diapers. He's committed to staying in diapers until I quote, I am big like daddy, right? So that means that three of the five people living in my household right now are currently in diapers. My four year old, my eight month old son and my 78 year old father who we take care of. And let me tell you it stinks. So when my son expressed that he would need a poop party to celebrate getting out of diapers, whenever that happens, sometimes even referring to it as his poop parade through town, we agreed, whatever it takes, just make the diaper stop. Right? So we're at the grocery store yesterday, right after preschool, which I admit is a somewhat dangerous choice on my part. Since we all know what toddlers are capable of right after school, but we're at the store we're discussing, I don't know, different kinds of broccoli.
Emily Newman (33:21):
Things are going great until he sees a giant chocolate cake across the store. Now, listen, I give my kids sugar, not a ton of it, but I haven't gone down the shreded wheat path in my own childhood. So he knows he can have cake. Sometimes. In fact, I think a pops skull was on our list that day, but the broccoli goes down. Now my son is attempting to buy this entire chocolate cake and immediate tantrum battle begins. No, we are not gonna buy an entire cake meant for 20 people, more screaming, more crying, more negotiation. Even when a peacekeeping cupcake is offered, my son doubles down, demanding both the entire cake and the Popsicle blows are thrown. It's time to go. So I don't know. We've all been there, right? I abandoned my cart. I pick up my eight month old. I grab my distraught. Son's hand. Who's likely pooping in his pants as we speak head for the door. And now I'm the mom with the kids screaming. No, it's my poop cake. It's my poop cake. I want my poop cake as we dramatically exit this store where I calmly and gently wait until we're all piled into the car to promptly lose my shit. And these are the joys of parenting, right? I will see you all at the poop parade invitation, hopefully coming soon. Bye.
Kim Rittberg (34:38):
That's pretty funny. Thank you, Emily. And again, that was Emily Newman of Newman, carpenter.com. I'd love to hear from you about what resonated the most with you from this episode, go to moms, exit interview.com and drop me some feedback. Plus you'll find our show notes there and sign up for our newsletter, which has all of the great learnings from the show. You can also follow me on Instagram at Kim Rittberg. This episode was produced by Henry street, media edited by John Haitz with producing and publicity assistance from Aliza, Freelander. See you next time.