Podcast

[Coaching: Maia #11] Effective Hourly Rate, Lead Gen Focus + Starting a Podcast and the Importance of Time Tracking

By Zach Swinehart

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:

  • How time tracking has helped effectively pricing services
  • Exploring different channels for lead gen, including starting a podcast
  • Choosing which tasks to simplify or delegate

Coaching highlights from today’s episode:

  • The importance of tracking time for profitability
  • Testing higher price points for different services
  • Creating a monthly recurring revenue stream

Original coaching call recording date: 08/09/2023


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 series, focusing on Maia’s journey from a beginning freelancer to earning a six-figure income.
  • 2:00 – 4:00 — Zach mentions the format of their meetings and promotes the DIY accelerator community for coaching.
  • 4:00 – 6:00 — Maia shares her positive experience with time tracking, leading to insights on project pricing and focusing on more profitable projects.
  • 6:00 – 8:00 — Discussion on Maia’s effective hourly rate for different client types and the profitability of coaching clients versus other projects.
  • 8:00 – 10:00 — Maia and Zach discuss the importance of consolidating service offerings and Maya’s recent success in confidently pitching a new service.
  • 10:00 – 12:00 — Maia and Zach discuss aligning time tracking with her brand voice and client interactions.
  • 12:00 – 14:00 — Zach guides Maia through reviewing her time tracking data, focusing on her work pattern and project categorization.
  • 14:00 – 16:00 — Discussion on Maia’s work hours distribution between client work and her own business development.
  • 16:00 – 18:00 — Maia and Zach explore the specifics of categorizing different types of work in time tracking.
  • 18:00 – 20:00 — Analysis of Maia’s potential income based on her hourly rate and work hours, including the impact of non-billable tasks.
  • 20:00 – 22:00 — Maia discusses the time it takes to set up client dashboards and considers delegating some tasks.
  • 22:00 – 24:00 — Zach suggests delegation of certain tasks, comparing it to a doctor’s office workflow.
  • 24:00 – 26:00 — Discussion about delegating the creation of client reference materials to Maia’s junior designer.
  • 26:00 – 28:00 — Exploring potential savings in time and cost through delegation and focusing on tasks that require Maia’s expertise.
  • 28:00 – 30:00 — Maia reflects on the tasks she enjoys and their impact on her energy, considering automation for other tasks.
  • 30:00 – 32:00 — Maia considers automating certain tasks and Zach cautions about the potential pitfalls of self-built automations.
  • 32:00 – 34:00 — Discussion about identifying tasks that are recurring and worth automating versus experimental tasks.
  • 34:00 – 36:00 — Maia reflects on her service decks being a key factor in her business success, using them to prime rather than close clients.
  • 36:00 – 38:00 — Zach suggests making service descriptions more evergreen to reduce the need for frequent updates.
  • 38:00 – 40:00 — Maia acknowledges her tendency to get absorbed in design work, considering delegation to avoid time-consuming tasks. Zach introduces the concept of tracking time spent on non-essential tasks.
  • 40:00 – 42:00 — Zach and Maia discuss delegating design tasks to maximize time efficiency.
  • 42:00 – 44:00 — Maia explains her various service offerings, including Basecamp, content strategy, and coaching.
  • 44:00 – 46:00 — Maia considers focusing more on creative mentoring and coaching rather than just content strategy.
  • 46:00 – 48:00 — Zach suggests optimizing Maia’s work process and exploring new channels like podcasting.
  • 48:00 – 49:36 — Discussion on increasing rates for services and tracking time spent on different projects for efficiency.