Welcome to The Loaf - a weekly newsletter sharing money & business tips for creators & freelancers​
Creative Business: 7 Steps to Growing a Massive Die Hard Fanbase [article]
Everybody wants a loyal audience. Imagine being able to release a product or service and it sells out immediately.
This article is focused on music artists, but the concepts can be applied to almost any creative career.
The steps highlighted are:
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Money: I Run a 6-Figure Freelance Business, But Now I Want a Pay Cut [article]
Kat Boogaard is one of my favorite freelancers to follow. She shared this post last week and it resonated a lot as I've personally been trying to discover my "enough".
It's easy to think that more money always equals more happiness and life success. But when more money is also tied to more time spent working, it may not always be worth it.
In this article, Kat shares why she's deciding to scale back and lessons she's learned in doing so.
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Topic of the week: What invoicing tool should I use for freelance work?
New freelancers are often surprised at how much 'business' actually goes into their day-to-day.
From discovery calls with new leads to following up on invoices, there’s a lot to stay on top of.
When collecting payments from clients, there are many different tools you can use but the most important thing in my opinion is to use something that gives your clients different payment options and requires minimal effort.
I personally use Stripe and love it. I connected my business bank account so that when payments are made, the money is deposited in my account shortly after.
You can send your client an invoice with a custom payment page simply by entering in their email, invoice amount, and payment terms.
The nice thing is that it gives your client different options to pay - such as credit card or ACH - and they don't need to create any accounts to submit payment. It can also be helpful for international freelancers as it supports over 100 currencies.
You can also set invoices to be a subscription that automatically sends out each month, which can be useful for retainer clients.
Lastly, I love the amount of data and reports that Stripe provides - it gives you good insights into your business which lets you make better, more profitable decisions:
Some other ones that I've often seen used are: Bonsai, Quickbooks, and Wave. The accounting softwares that have built-in invoicing tools can be freelancer-favorites because all of the data is already integrated, making bookkeeping just a little bit easier.
But overall, you want as little friction as possible when accepting payments (for both you and the client).
Don't overcomplicate it - find a tool that fits with your workflow and stick with it.
💰 Have a question about money or creative business? ​Submit it here
Stefan Palios has successfully built a 6-figure freelance writing business and now, he's on a mission to help others do the same.
He's the creator of the Freelance Growth Blueprint and has put together several resources to help freelancers build better businesses.
This week's Money Matters:
For a growing freelancer, what’s one step you would take to start working with higher-paying clients?
Instead of approaching a client with "what do you need me to do?", you need to start by positioning yourself as an expert and strategist. Ask about their project, their business, and their goals. With this you'll start seeing the bigger picture and what they're ultimately trying to accomplish. You can then suggest different service offerings & packages that help them achieve their goals.
If you help the client understand what they need to be doing, you can charge more because you're helping steer the project and leading them to results rather than being someone waiting for a list of tasks.
What does financial independence mean to you?
Financial independence means security, choice, and luxury. In that order.
It starts with not needing to work for a living, which is living frugally. It’s the classic FIRE definition: enough to live a decent life purely off investment income.
Then it becomes about the “nice life,” which is adding optionality into my life even if it makes life more expensive. Some choice is inherent to having enough money to not need to work. But I mean choice in terms of choosing quality food rather than the cheapest I can buy. Or choosing to travel more even if that makes my life more expensive.
Then comes luxury, which is valuing my time more than money in all areas of my life. Fancy things, higher end fashion, nice hotels, etc. The things I don’t need to spend that much on, but I do because I like the experience or the specific item.
What actionable steps did you take to start pursuing financial independence?
The first thing I did—the thing I did for seven years—was set up a robo advisor account and deposit as much money each month as I possibly could into my registered accounts. I’m Canadian, so that meant TFSA and RRSP (in the US, that’s a Roth IRA and a 401k, respectively).
The second thing I did was try to deposit more every month than the previous month. Then more every year by the previous year. Now “more” could literally mean one more dollar. It’s not about going from 0 to 100 in a month (or year). Just “more.”
The third thing I did was take a “double up” mindset on non-essential items.
That fancy Starbucks coffee that cost $10 with all the customizations (compared to the $2.50 drip coffee I could have bought)? Great. It now cost me $20—with $10 being deposited into my investments.
This gave me a couple benefits: first, I could enjoy luxuries today without sacrificing my tomorrow. And second it made me think twice about the more stupid impulse purchases knowing it would actually cost me double.
(Bonus) What’s your favorite thing to spend money on?
On an everyday / micro level: good coffee.
On a bigger / more occasional level: hotels.
đź’¸ When an influencer couple breaks up, what happens to their brand deals?
✍🏼 5 daily habits of successful creators
❌ Why I'm taking a 2 month break from "creating content"
🎥 Watch: How music artists can make more money with content & marketing
✍🏼 Freelance Finds: 5 templates every freelance writer needs
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Keep creating,
Treyton DeVore
