Now there is a place freelancers can call 'home'. Once enrolled, you have unlimited, lifetime access to this material.
Here, we understand what its like to be you. For some, self-employment is a choice, for others it’s a financial necessity. Either way, freelancing can be the ideal solution to earn a little (or a lot) more. To follow your true passions. Or simply to scale back on your hours so you can enjoy a more active non-work life. And, when you know how, freelancing is actually more secure than being in a fulltime job these days.
For new freelancers as well as battle-weary ones, this online resource will show you everything you need to learn in order to attract clients who are prepared to pay your full fees.
This online resource has a clear focus: to help you attract more business, with better clients, so you can earn more. It is practical and is based on the REAL world of freelancing in this increasingly competitive and cash-strapped economic environment.
If you are a typical freelancer, you are probably sceptical about whether such a course would be worth your time and the cost. We fully understand all that.
So, think of it as practical support when you most need it, not as a 'training course' (even though it has been organised that way).
Traditional classroom training costs freelancers double: the course fee, PLUS the fees you lose while you attend! Because this is online, this help and support is available whenever you are!
Roy Sheppard is a hugely successful freelance conference facilitator, speaker, trainer and author. He is here to help you. If you have any questions, please submit them - the best questions will be included in future updates and podcasts.
Roy has earned his living as a freelancer for 40 years! Check him out at www.Facilitator.expert. And his LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/roysheppard/
When it comes to freelancing in all its forms, he knows what he’s talking about and cares deeply about the high-quality of this support.
He really knows what it is to be you; the insecurity and the stress. Not knowing how or where the next jobs will come from, how to negotiate higher fees, when to say ‘no’ and so much more.
Who will benefit most from joining
- Anyone who is looking to go full or part time as a freelance. Whether that is to earn a living, or just to supplement their income.
- Freelancers who are extremely good at what they ‘do’, but struggle when it comes to finding clients or ‘hate’ the idea of selling themselves!
- Battle-weary, long-term freelancers who recognise they need some fresh ideas to re-invigorate them and refresh their ‘tired’ client base.
- Experienced, skilled and successful freelancers who want to reach their full business potential.
- People over 50, or approaching 50 and are exploring the viability of a self-employed freelance future. Perhaps because you want to leave your current employer, are being made redundant, or want to build a part-time freelance practice to improve your work/life balance. Or you want your work to fit in with family commitments.
- Retired individuals who want a part-time second income.
Are you any of those people? If so, study the course curriculum below and the large number of testimonials from freelancers who attended this course before it went online.
Course curriculum
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1
Meet your instructor Roy Sheppard
- 2
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3
Module: Preparing a solid base. Building your 'Freelance Foundation'
- The changing world of work. How it affects you. And challenging questions such as "Are you currently too 'in love' with your craft or expertise?
- Why you need to plan and build a 'Freelance Foundation' for yourself
- Is it time to create a work portfolio for yourself?
- The link between your reputation and your income.
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4
Module - Networking for freelance success
- Introduction
- Meet Greet and Prosper ePub
- Download a free copy of Meet Greet & Prosper for Kindle
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5
Module - Referrals
- The awesome potential value from every referral
- The amazing benefits of developing a 'referral' mindset.
- Download a free copy of Rapid Result Referrals (ePub)
- Download a free copy of Rapid Result Referrals for Kindle only
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6
Module - Giving talks to generate enquiries - coming next.
- What you'll learn in this module.
- Why you need to consider giving talks
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7
Module - Testimonials
- The Power of Testimonials - introduction
- 4 step process for collecting testimonials that will attract new clients.
- Using video to create testimonials that will reassure new clients to book you
- Advice from a professional videographer on how to use a smartphone to create video testimonials with a smartphone.
- Additional tips and techniques for filming video testimonials
- How to brief an interviewee for video testimonials
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8
Module - The avoidable (and potentially expensive) mistakes new freelancers tend to make
- Being too afraid to ever say 'no'.
- Issuing the 'wrong' type of contract.
- Opening yourself up to unnecessary risks.
- What is more valuable than your time?
- Thinking like this type of employee.
- Asking for work.
- Putting yourself in a box.
- Why a lot of freelancers don't tend to have a promotion or marketing budget.
- Are you charging enough?
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9
Show me the MONEY! For those who may hate talking about it!
- Demo - Why you are possibly not charging enough.
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10
Module - The latest technology to help freelancers - more coming soon.
- Introduction to this technology module
- Technology productivity ideas
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11
Q & A Archive - HUNDREDS of questions with video responses.
- Why should anyone consider freelancing as a career option?
- What should people think about before they decide to go freelance?
- What are the potential perils they need to be aware of?
- How do you negotiate fees?
- Do I need to issue a contract to a client?
- How important is it to create a paper trail?
- How do you deal with the insecurity of freelancing?
- How do you deal with competitors?
- How do you identify potential customers and clients?
- How do you avoid leading a hand-to-mouth existence?
- How much does it cost to work as a freelancer?
- How do you organise yourself to be able to operate as a professional freelancer?
- Why do you need to keep financial records?
- What are the most basic financial records you need to keep?
- What must you not do when it comes to financial records?
- Do I need an expensive brochure?
- What are the biggest mistakes people make when designing promotional material?
- How do I get paid more quickly?
- How do I know if there's a market for my services? FREE PREVIEW
- Clients won't pay enough for my services - what can I do?
- I HATE setting my fees. It makes me feel so awkward. How do I resolve this? FREE PREVIEW
- What can I do to overcome the loneliness of freelancing?
- What are the advantages of freelancing? FREE PREVIEW
- What are the disadvantages of freelancing? FREE PREVIEW
- I've heard so many people use the word, but what is 'marketing'?
- What are the main critical success factors to succeed as a freelancer?
- Should I be a sole trader or limited company for tax purposes? What are the pros and cons? (for UK)
- What should I be doing about my pension?
- How can I get more of the right sort of clients?
- How ethical or professional is it to work for a competitor of a client?
- When is it is acceptable to work with the clients’ competitor?
- In which ways can clients rip you off? And what can you do about it?
- How can you help your clients save or make more money?
- What, if any, are the circumstances for 'firing' a client?
- How can freelancers improve their chances of being awarded work?
- As a client, what do you like to see freelancers do less of?
- As a client, what do you like to see freelancers do more often?
- When is it advisable to say "no"?
- What do you do if you've quoted your fee, but things change and you have to charge more?
- How can I make sure that the client doesn't query my invoices?
- As a client, what do freelancers tend to get wrong when they approach you initially?
- As a client, why do you choose one freelancer over another?
- Why set false deadlines for yourself?
- As a client, what do you worry about the most when taking on freelancers?
- What can you do to reassure clients that you’re on top of their project?
- How do you ensure that there is always clear communication between you and your client?
- I plan to go away for a break. Do I need to tell my clients or not?
- What information do I need from clients in order to do a great job for them?
- How can I make clients believe that I’m busy and in demand? How can I create that illusion?
- I have a life outside work too, how available must I be to clients?
- How often should you back-up your data?
- Where should you store your back-up computer data?
- I’m not always able to respond to e-mails immediately. What can I do about this?
- How quickly should you return messages?
- When is it OK to not answer your phone?
- What potential disasters do freelancers need to have contingency plans for?
- What can I do to overcome my chronic procrastination?
- Do you need office premises or can I work from home?
- What are the benefits of working from home?
- What are the disadvantages of working from home?
- I work from home, is it unprofessional to have client meetings at home?
- I'm embarrassed about working from home-how can I overcome this?
- I'd like to find a small office away from my home, how do I go about finding an affordable one?
- How do you set ground rules to ensure that family members don't distract you during your working day?
- When is it worth considering moving out of a home office?
- Where else is it possible to work?
- What are the advantages of creating a time log?
- What should you build into each working day?
- How can you increase your productivity when working alone?
- Why do I need to calculate my living expenses?
- What can you do to benefit your business if you're lucky enough to exceed your income projections?
- Why is it important to create dedicated workspace in your home?
- How do you ensure that you escape being put on the payroll of a client?
- What if I can't afford to put money aside for tax?
- What potential risks do you need to be aware of and take action to minimise them?
- What can you do to make sure that you have enough cash to pay your taxes when that time comes?
- In what other ways can you start a build a cash reserve or a "rainy day" fund?
- How do you calculate what your combined taxes could be?
- Where must you NOT deposit money for your tax?
- What's the difference between gross income and net income?
- How often should you bring your accounts up-to-date?
- What can you do to help stand out in the minds of prospective clients?
- How can you get potential clients to talk well of you behind you back?
- Where can you get to meet a lot of potential clients?
- How important is networking to most freelancers?
- Why is it so important to know a lot of people?
- Why should anyone hire you rather than someone else?
- How do you reduce the risks associated with hiring someone new?
- What is a USP and why do you need to understand the ideas behind it?
- What goes through the minds of prospective clients before they decide to engage a freelancer?
- Why do people hire particular freelancers but not others who might actually be more experienced or talented?
- What would you say to any freelancer who doesn’t contact clients or potential clients because they don’t want to appear a nuisance?
- What perceptions do you want clients to have of you?
- You claim it is a mistake to put yourself in a box – what do you mean by that?
- Why do you believe it is so important to do more than you are charging for?
- Why is it a mistake to ‘ask for work’?
- If I can’t do a project for a client – whom should I recommend – someone who’s less experienced than me – or someone better?
- How do you go about persuading other freelancers to put you forward for jobs they can’t do?
- How would you go about sub-contracting work to other freelancers?
- What drives freelancers to accept nearly any deal they are offered?
- How do I work with larger, more prestigious clients?
- What, in your opinion is the most common mistake new and experienced freelances make?
- What is the economic cycle?
- Why is it important to understand where you work within the economic cycle?
- What can you do about being in the wrong part of an economic cycle?
- Why is it so difficult for freelancers to say ‘No’?
- Can you give an example of someone who has a portfolio approach to working freelance?
- Why is it worth creating a portfolio approach to freelancing?
- What would you say to any freelancer who claims not to have enough time to create a business strategy for him or herself?
- What are the different ways you can gain from a portfolio way of working?
- How much is it possible to earn as a freelancer?
- Surely pricing is basically – get what you can?
- Why do so many freelancers have such low self-esteem and self-confidence?
- In your experience what mistakes do freelancers make with regard to the hours they work?
- How can you get away with charging more?
- How can freelancing be a viable option when it’s worrying, insecure, low fees, no paid holidays, poor working conditions and no perks?
- I don’t want to be a bookkeeper or accountant – why can’t I leave this entirely to a relevant professional?
- Why is it that I see some freelancers who aren’t that good, but they charge and get paid higher fees than people who are actually far more talented – this isn’t fair is it?
- How do you organise your day?
- I am really good at what I do, surely clients will find me?
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12
Final words
- Some final words in closing
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13
Module - Resources and downloads
- 100+ ideas to attract new clients via referral
- Freelance Survey FREE PREVIEW
Testimonials
from freelancers just like you
“… a must for anyone who is a freelance or is thinking of becoming one. You will realise that all your doubts and concerns are shared by everyone else, and come away with so many good ideas, that you will never find yourself stuck down a blind alley again! I have been freelancing (reasonably) successfully for seven years … Too many courses are built on theory, but you know where you are with Roy as he has been there himself. No hype, no bullshit, but sometimes a little close for comfort! Word of mouth recommendation is meant to be the most effective form of advertising. I am encouraging every freelance I know to book on Roy's next seminar as a matter of urgency!”
Imogen Matthews
“Three months after attending … I have achieved some remarkable results from following the marketing strategies you revealed ….Basically my commissioned work has trebled. I now find myself in the enviable position amongst my fellow Photo Journalists of being constantly booked with quality well paying on-going work. Thank you so much. Your well researched marketing gems are exactly what talented, yet impoverished Photo Journalists need to turn their freelance careers around.”
Paul McBride
“I am writing to say how much I enjoyed the course. Enjoyment is one thing - but I really felt that I got an enormous amount out of the day on all levels...the actual day was packed full of 'goodies'. I have been a freelancer for almost 12 years..... After attending the course I found myself raring to go and really looking forward to finding new clients and catching up with previous customers. I do not usually write letters like this - I often mean to after a particularly good course but never get around to it. See the difference attending your course has made! I am sure that prospective freelancers would benefit enormously by attending one of your courses.”
Annetta Powell
“Excellent. Inspirational! Condensed what seems a complicated and daunting and sometimes depressing topic into a simple, systematic and positive experience.”
David Wood
“I have to say that it was possibly the most useful course I have been on for some time - it certainly gave me confidence as I begin a freelance career.”
Paul Heinrich
“Your seminar was, without doubt, the best, the most useful and relevant short course I've ever had the good fortune to attend.. Thank you so much for sharing all those comprehensive, practical and effective ideas with me! I am putting what I learned into immediate effect. I've been enthusing widely ... I want everyone to be in on them!”
Mitch de Faria
“Roy Sheppard has refined a multi-purpose tool-kit of ideas, skills and systems which are essential to the freelancer. ... very well balanced and catered for the emotionally battered as well as the hardened battlers" ”
Gordon Loncaster
“It was a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and to discuss the problems (and potential problems) that we all commonly have. Your ideas will, I'm sure prove immensely useful (as well as profitable) in the future.”
Julie Buck
“I was very impressed by the whole day and thought your approach to the audience and the subject was very effective. You achieved this wonderful blend between giving lots of practical advice whilst making it practically feasible.”
Peter Morris
“Being more focussed and professional, with clear goals, will help me be more positive about the future. For me, the most concrete result from attending the seminar has been to re-focus attention on the need to look again at my direction and USP. ”
Stephen Bartlett