Freelance Career Advice

I have made Over 1 CR as a Freelancer. Years ago, I was struggling to find clients, sending out pitch after pitch with no success. After trial and error, I discovered the strategies that turned my freelancing journey into a 7-figure success story. Today, I'm sharing my top pitching techniques with you. ✅ Strategy 1: Comment Strategy How to Use: Engage with top creators on LinkedIn, DM them, share resources, nurture relationships, then pitch. Benefit: Builds strong relationships and trust. ✅ Strategy 2: Video Pitches How to Use: Create personalized video pitches. Benefit: Personalization increases engagement. ✅ Strategy 3: Value Ladder Offers How to Use: Start with a low-commitment offer like a free audit. Benefit: Eases clients into your services. ✅ Strategy 4: Exclusive Insights How to Use: Offer exclusive insights or industry reports. Benefit: Demonstrates expertise and adds value. ✅ Strategy 5: Success Stories Follow-Up How to Use: Follow up with a success story from a similar client. Benefit: Provides social proof. ✅ Strategy 6: Free Tools or Templates How to Use: Share free tools or templates, then pitch comprehensive services. Benefit: Demonstrates value and expertise. ✅ Strategy 7: Social Proof Landing Pages How to Use: Direct clients to a landing page with testimonials and case studies. Benefit: Builds credibility and trust. ✅ Strategy 8: Follow-Up with Added Value How to Use: Follow up with additional valuable content related to the client’s business. Benefit: Keeps you top-of-mind and adds value. ✅ Strategy 9: Personalized Case Studies How to Use: Create case studies tailored to your potential client’s industry. Benefit: Shows clients how you can solve their specific problems. ✅ Strategy 10: Niche-Specific Content How to Use: Develop content highly relevant to the niche of your potential client. Benefit: Positions you as an expert in their industry. ✅ Strategy 11: Client Education How to Use: Educate clients on industry trends and solutions before pitching. Benefit: Builds trust and positions you as a knowledgeable resource. I've excelled at pitching potential clients and succeeded in sealing 99% of deals to date. I've taught my 5000+ students all the secret strategies of getting high-paying clients, and today, I see them making 50K-1Lac a month easily. 📌 If you're interested in learning from me & my 6-figure team, DM 'Freelance' for details. Question: Do you find it helpful?

How do you build a long-lasting career as a freelancer, instead of it being a stopgap or short-lived side hustle? For starters, optimize for interesting, focus on financial longevity, and diversify your offerings. Passing the decade milestone as a freelancer, I’ve identified what’s helped to sustain my interest in the work, continue to drive demand from clients, and other insights that have made self-employment a viable, rewarding path. In my latest for Fast Company, I explore lessons in building a long-term practice based on what’s proven effective for myself and other freelancers. ➤ Niche down strategically so it’s clear what you offer, the types of clients you serve, and what’s unique about your expertise. You can’t be everything for everyone, get specific instead. ➤ Consistently share your ideas publicly, whether through podcasting, a newsletter, or otherwise so clients find you based on your insightful ideas and solutions. ➤ Craft a deployable network. According to Lola Bakare, build relationships with colleagues across sectors, and when the time is right, deploy their willingness to support you. “Be very willing to not just ask for help, but surround yourself in help,” she suggests. You can’t just rely on yourself to make it happen. ➤ Secure social proof. “Over-index on social proof. Early in your career, it's essential to ensure you're being taken seriously,” advises Dorie Clark. “The best way to do this is to gather as much social proof - i.e., easily understood and verifiable symbols of your competence - as quickly as possible.” ➤ Prioritize reliability. “This doesn't mean you have to perform perfectly. It means that you need to show that you value the relationship, and have appreciation and respect for clients who've hired you. That means doing what you've committed to doing, when you've committed to do it, and ensuring open communication around that process,” says Melissa Doman, M.A. ➤ Commit to yearly growth by setting aside time annually to go in-depth on a new learning opportunity that allows you to explore a new area of your business or expand upon an existing offering. ➤ Learn from missteps. “We will all make mistakes, and in my early years, I made a costly error when I relied on a verbal agreement with a friend. That experience taught me the indispensable value of contracts. By clearly defining what our services include—and do not include—we eliminate confusion and potential disputes. It's a preventive measure that has saved me from challenging clients,” added Nicte Cuevas. ➤ Pass on misaligned work. “Many freelancers burn out by working for difficult clients at low rates and then quit. They do this because they need the work — any work. If you can help it, don’t go full-time until you have enough savings to confidently turn work down. Even better, don’t go full-time until your business is threatening to interfere with your job,” suggests Josh Garofalo. Read the article below for all the lessons in more detail. ⭐

In 27 months, we grew Retention.com from $1M-$13M ARR with only 1 salesperson (me) doing 1,000's of sales calls. Here are my 10 biggest pieces of advice for any startup who wants to book and close more sales calls: 1. Ask for 15 mins, but book 30 When booking a meeting outbound, you have a better shot at getting a meeting by asking for 15 mins than 30. You may have piqued their interest but with a busy schedule, they are going to weigh learning about your business vs their time. Ask for 15 but send a meeting invite for 30.  If they can’t do the full 30, they will let you know, but from my experience, this rarely happens. 2. Tell your story People remember a story more than a product  Figure out your short story that you can tell prior to getting into the product pitch. How does your story connect to your business / product? 3. 5X5 Pitch Keep your product deck for your initial call to 5 slides / 5 minutes and make sure you answer any of the common questions you get from prospects. You can always book a follow up call to share more detail once you hook their interest. 4. Always Be Pitching Take control of the call and the sales cycle. You will only learn what does and doesn’t work by actually pitching.  5. Tell a customer story Again, people remember stories more than they do stats. Tell a story of a customer before implementing your product and the business outcome after implementing it. Don’t just talk numbers. Talk about how people felt, what they said, etc. 6. Create Urgency Attach an incentive if the deal is done by the end of the week or month.  (Example: 20% more credits or a 15% discount)  This also sets you up well for follow up as it now makes them feel like you are on their team to try and help them get the deal in for their benefit. 7. Land and expand We all want to close the big ACV deals, but the truth is most buyers don’t want to make a big commitment without seeing how your product works. Find a way to get them on for a small $ amount, with the plan to expand if the product meets their expectations. 8. Opt-Out Period Reduce buyer friction by offering a 90 day opt out period if you are trying to close 12 month agreements. It shows confidence that your product will drive the results you say it will. 9. Deck Recap Create a 1-2 pager highlighting the most important parts of your sales deck that you can send via email after every call (even if they don’t ask for it). The prospect won’t remember all details from the call, so this gives them something to look back on and will help sell internally if other stakeholders are involved. 10. Video for FAQs Create short form talking head video answering all FAQs. This will add value in your follow up, show you listened to the questions they had and that you care about making sure they understand the answers. It also helps internally as others will likely have the same questions as the person on the phone. Have questions about how to book/close more calls? AMA anything 👇

3 years ago, I was working 16+ hours a day. I was handling college classes, an internship, freelance projects and content creation all at the same time. I even looked at everything on my own, from design to revisions to client calls. But what nobody tells you is this: There’s a ceiling to solo effort. You can only scale so much if you're doing everything yourself. Today, I run a design agency with a team of 15 designers in Mumbai. We’ve worked with 200+ clients across industries, and our systems now run independently of me. The key difference that happened was that I shifted my mindset from being a designer to being a leader. Here’s what I learned: 1/ Delegation is a skill you must learn, not just a decision you make.  2/ You don’t need to be the best designer to run a successful agency. You need to be good enough to identify and hire people better than you. 3/ Systems outperform talent. Great creative work needs structure, checklists, timelines and quality control, which most freelancers ignore. Most freelancers stay stuck not because of a lack of skill, but because they fail to make this mindset shift. If you’re feeling stuck right now, ask this question - Are you operating as a creative or as a business? Both are valuable but only 1 of the two can scale. #entrepreneurship #graphicdesign

2 years ago, if you’d told me I would be working from my offline office in Bangalore, I would’ve laughed at you. Back then, I was building The Growth Square from scratch - no team, no office, no roadmap. Just a laptop, a spare bedroom, my cofounder and a crazy obsession with building something meaningful. Fast forward to today, we have a beautiful office and a 20 member team that’s growing faster than I could’ve imagined. And if you're trying to scale your freelancing practice or agency, these 5 lessons from my journey will save you years: 1. Don’t chase profit in the beginning. In Year 1, I poured every rupee back into the business — team, software, systems, setup. It felt risky then. It feels like a cheat code now. 2. Pick one niche and go deep. We didn’t try to serve everyone. We found one problem, solved it really well, and built repeatable case studies. Focused service = faster sales. 3. Ask for referrals (shamelessly). If a client loves your work, don’t just say thank you. Ask them: "Who else do you know who could use this?" This one line has brought us our best leads. 4. Expand from the inside. Talk to your existing clients. Understand where they’re stuck. Then build offers around their pain points. You’ll increase revenue without chasing new leads. 5. Get out of delivery. If you're still writing captions, editing reels, and sending invoices, you’re not building a business - you're running a job. Delegate fast. Your job is to build the company, not just fulfill the service. The best part? You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be consistent, coachable, and a little shameless. If you're building something from scratch -  I'm rooting for you.

Let's get real for a moment. You know those months where your inbox is eerily quiet? When you start wondering if your last client was actually your last client? Yep, as someone who used to be a lone freelancer, I've been there. More times than I'd like to admit. Freelancing can sometimes feel like you're on the world's most unpredictable rollercoaster. But over the years, I've crafted a strategy to not just survive, but thrive during those 'no income' months. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea, if that's your jam), and let's dive in. 🌺The Rainy Day Fund: First things first, always have a safety net. You know those days of abundance right? Instead of spending the money on things you only want (not need) , set it aside. I set aside a portion of my income during the good months. It's not just about paying bills; it's about peace of mind. 🌺Upskill Time: No clients? No problem. I use this time to learn something new. Whether it's a course on a new design tool or brushing up on marketing trends, I come out more marketable than before. In fact, my first portfolio as a freelancer (which gave me my first $1,500 here on Linkedin) was borne out of one of these dry spell days. 🌺Network, Network, Network: Remember that coffee date you kept postponing or that webinar you bookmarked? Now's the time. Opportunities often come from the most unexpected chats. Human beings can't function well alone. You need other people. Which makes me wonder if the phrase “Self-made” is actually correct. 🌺Re-Evaluate and Pivot: I take a step back and assess. Is there a service that's not getting traction? Maybe it's time to pivot or repackage. Use this period to get expert feedbacks and improve on something. Innovation is the only way to stay ahead in the world of today. 🌺Self-Care Isn't Selfish: It's easy to spiral into anxiety. But I've found that a walk in the park, spa dates, a good book, a weekend getaway or even a Netflix binge can recharge you and take your mind off things for when the next client comes knocking. 🌺Reconnect with Past Clients: A simple 'Hey, how's it going?' can lead to repeat business. It's not about being pushy; it's about staying top of mind. 🌺Golden Nugget Alert 🚨: The Portfolio Revamp: This is my secret weapon. I take this downtime to polish my portfolio, update with recent work, and sometimes even do mock projects. It keeps my creative juices flowing and often attracts new clients who see my updated work. Portfolios are extremely important and if you don't have one, you're missing out. A well-crafted portfolio can be the difference between a 'maybe later' and a 'let's work together now!' If you're wondering how-to get started, you can find a curated list of optimized portfolios through the link In my bio or comment section. In wrapping up, remember this: Dry spells don't define your worth or talent. They're just a part of the freelancing or even entrepreneurship journey. So, tell me, how do you handle the quiet months?

I know it is a new month, and many are scrolling through their phones looking for inspiration to push through the final stretch of the year. But I want to pause and address something that has been on my mind for a while. Too often, when young professionals are asked for progress, the response is, “we’re working on it.” If you believe that is a professional answer to give, I'm sorry, but it is not. It communicates the opposite of what you intend. When someone asks for an update, they already assume you are working. What they need is clarity. What progress has been made? What challenges have you encountered? When can delivery be expected? A vague response signals avoidance, incompetence, or worse, a lack of accountability. If there is a challenge, state it clearly. If there is a delay, be proactive about it. If things are on track, provide specifics. Keeping people you work with informed is not just good practice; it is how you build trust, reliability, and long-term credibility. The people who rise in their careers are not those who simply say they are working on it. They are the ones who take ownership, manage expectations, and communicate with transparency. Delete vague updates from your vocabulary. Own your work. Communicate with precision. That is how you stand out, and that is how you grow.

My candidate landed her 12 LPA dream job after a 2-year career gap… Most recruiters and job seekers treat career gaps like a red flag. Every week, I see talented professionals sabotaging their comeback because they hide, apologize, or downplay what those years actually taught them. A gap on your resume is not a gap in your value. If you’re still letting your “break” break you, you’re missing out big time. Here’s how my candidate turned her break into a breakthrough: 1. She Flaunted the Gap, Not Hid It Instead of shrinking away, she owned her story: “During my sabbatical, I upskilled in data analytics, freelanced for two startups, and volunteered to build digital processes for an NGO.” Recruiters at top companies love candidates who show initiative even off the clock! 2. Quantified Every Achievement She replaced generic lines with hard numbers: “Automated reports, saving 15 weekly hours for a non-profit.” “Managed 6 campaigns as a freelancer, boosting client traffic by 40%.” Resumes with quantified impact get 2x the recruiter callbacks! 3. Nailed Her Story in the Interview We practiced a clear, honest narrative for the “career gap” question. Example: “I took time to care for my family and during that time, I built digital workflows and launched a side project that solved a real problem. Those skills are relevant for your team at Deloitte.” She shifted focus from absence to VALUE. 4. Used Smart Networking (not just applications) She reached out to former colleagues working at her dream companies, attended webinars, and asked for informational interviews. Result? Insider referrals and warm intros, no “cold” interviews. 5. Upgraded Her LinkedIn for 2025 Profile before: “Looking for opportunities.” Profile after: “Data Analyst | Delivered digital strategy for non-profits. Passionate about driving impact with numbers.” She also shared a short post about her upskilling journey (which got recruiters DMing her!). 💡 My top pro tips for candidates returning after a gap: ➡ Add a short “Career Break” entry in your resume. ➡ Highlight any freelance project you worked on, or courses you completed during your gap. ➡ Prepare a 60-second, positive story about your break. ➡ Focus on what you bring NOW, not what you “missed.” Your career gap is only a problem if you let it be. It can be your power move — the proof that you’re adaptable, proactive, and resilient. It’s not about the time you took off. It’s about how ready you are to grow next. #career #careergap #careerbreak #interviewtips #jobsearch #interviewpreparation #linkedinforcreators

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥." I've encountered this truth countless times throughout my career, and it never fails to sting—until you realise what's actually happening. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: Those who won't benefit from your success, those who are envious of your potential, and those who are genuinely scared that you will succeed because it forces them to confront their own limitations. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬: 1. 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 "𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫" 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦. Before taking any feedback to heart, ask yourself: "Does this person have the life I want? Are they where I'm trying to go?" If the answer is no, their opinion is irrelevant data. 2. 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞. Keep a record of every small win, positive client feedback, and personal milestone. When doubt creeps in, this becomes your arsenal against negativity. Hard evidence beats emotional manipulation every time. 3. 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐭. Join communities, attend networking events, and connect with professionals who are thriving in your desired field. Their success stories become your roadmap, not your competition. 4. 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. Sometimes negative comments reveal exactly what you need to work on. Use their doubts as a checklist—prove them wrong point by point. 5. 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. Stop seeking approval from people who don't understand your vision. Your results will speak louder than their predictions ever could. 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓: 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔. Which voices are you choosing to listen to today? #IgnoreTheNoise #AchieveYourGoals #OvercomeNegativity #PersonalGrowth #SuccessMindset #ProfessionalDevelopment #SelfBelief #MotivationMonday

6 practical tips for aspiring freelancers ✏️ 1️⃣ be comfortable with being broke first of all, brokeness is a mindset—one i do not claim. i prefer to say my funds are ✨temporarily unavailable✨. that said, life be lifing, and stability is never guaranteed. you have to accept that you won’t always know where your next check is coming from—and that’s okay. once you release that fear, you’ll move a lot freer. 2️⃣ freelance while having a full-time job why people act like you have to choose, i’ll never know. just so we’re clear—you don’t. in fact, having a full-time job and one or two freelance gigs as a side hustle is actually really smart. if you have the capacity and it doesn’t conflict with your employer’s work, do it. 3️⃣ diversify your offering one service offering? in this economy? nah. i provide four: strategy, content creation, creative direction, and (occasional) consulting. doing a little bit of everything allows me to take on more projects and meet different client needs. sometimes the work overlaps—and i like that. 4️⃣ keep trialing and erroring the more you freelance, the more you’ll learn what kind of work you enjoy, who you enjoy working with, and how you like to work. in the early stages of my business, i worked with creators and small brands—then realized i didn’t love it. now, i focus on offering my services to agencies, and i’m really enjoying it. 5️⃣ establish hella boundaries your clients will absolutely play in your face—if you let them. my boundaries have evolved, but the consistent thing is that they’re designed to protect me, the work, and my clients. i keep the scope tight, contracts tighter, and make sure we’re aligned on deliverables and payment terms. 6️⃣ shoot your shot yes, i’ll keep saying it. you can’t wait for gigs to land in your lap. be proactive. i’m always sliding in dms or tapping my network for connections. if there’s an opportunity you want, go after it.