Coaching series: Can Zach get this beginner freelancer (Maia) to a 6-figure income ($8,333/mo) within 6 months?

Follow their journey through the ups and downs and watch them grow!

Milestones from today’s episode:

• Finding the balance between fair pay for her team and maintaining scalability in her business model
• Difficulties in managing finances and team costs as her business grows
• Vision for transitioning from service provider to focusing on leadership and product development

Coaching highlights from today’s episode:

• The need for a more predictable, scalable compensation and business model
• Targeted outreach strategy to potential clients by offering specific improvements for their business
• The importance of having a financial safety net and careful budgeting during scaling

Original coaching call recording date: 09/15/2023

Want to get one-on-one coaching from Zach?

The DYF Accelerator community includes weekly live 20-minute one-on-one Zoom coaching with Zach that follows the same format as you saw here.

You’ll also get access to our huge library of all past coaching calls, along with a text-based community and weekly accountability check-ins.

Click here to learn more »

AI-Generated Summary:

• 0:00 – 2:00 — Zach introduces the podcast focusing on freelancing success and discusses Maia’s goal to improve her social media strategy and marketing efforts.
• 2:00 – 4:00 — Maia shares her mixed results from marketing efforts, mentions launching a workshop, and feels good about her content strategy despite not converting leads.
• 4:00 – 6:00 — Discussion on Instagram marketing strategy’s effectiveness and Maia’s need for a more predictable and scalable approach, along with her emphasis on personal creativity over strictly business-focused content.
• 6:00 – 8:00 — Maia expresses concerns about scarcity mentality, the importance of her team, and the alignment with her vision, despite financial uncertainties.
• 8:00 – 10:00 — Zach advises on business scaling and cost management, highlighting the benefits of having a predictable cost structure for projects, and Maia explains her strategy for compensating team members based on project percentages.
• 10:00 – 12:00 — Zach suggests adjusting compensation models to prepare for rate increases and avoid tying costs directly to revenue percentages, emphasizing more predictable and scalable business models.
• 12:00 – 14:00 — Zach warns against percentage-based compensation as it may lead to unsustainable costs as the business scales, advocating for fixed rates for clearer project cost management.
• 14:00 – 16:00 — Maia shares her payment satisfaction for specific projects and discusses her desire for team growth and investment in Blank Page, alongside personal contributions from team members.
• 16:00 – 18:00 — Zach proposes alternative compensation models focused on project fulfillment and strategic bonuses tied to business growth metrics, aiming for clarity and strategic alignment in expenses.
• 18:00 – 20:00 — Discussion continues on aligning team incentives with business growth, exploring efficient client acquisition strategies, and the challenge of establishing a new social media presence.
• 20:00 – 22:00 — Maia considers the need for business restructuring amidst her client work, and Zach empathizes with her situation, emphasizing the growth pains in scaling a business.
• 22:00 – 24:00 — They discuss financial strategies and assess Maia’s business expenses and personal savings as a safety net for the business’s operational costs.
• 24:00 – 26:00 — Zach suggests a proactive outreach strategy for acquiring clients through identifying and offering solutions to potential clients’ visible problems, though Maia expresses concern about the authenticity of this approach for her brand.
• 26:00 – 28:00 — Maia is hesitant about the proposed outreach strategy, feeling it may not align with her brand’s approach to working with personal brands and individualized service.
• 28:00 – 30:00 — They explore immediate and low-effort strategies to generate work, such as utilizing Maia’s existing email list, while Maia shares her longer-term vision of moving away from service provision to a leadership and product focus.
• 30:00 – 32:30 — Zach advises a deep dive into the profitability of Maia’s projects to understand the financial health of her business better, and Maia commits to getting detailed with her numbers for their next discussion.