How to start freelancing or consulting, but don’t know how to get started?
We have a fantastic human case study for you today from Courtney Cormier! She left their job just days before I interviewed her to start freelancing as a social media manager and community activator for local businesses.
In our conversation, we discussed the first 3 actions she took to get her freelance business off the ground:
1) Assessment of her work needs and her marketable skills.
2) Her process for pricing her services in alignment with her values, needs, abilities and circumstances.
3) Her plan for attracting clients.
She has years of writing, social media management, and digital marketing experience. Most recently, she worked as a marketing manager for two hotels in Minneapolis and has held digital marketing positions at Wayfair and Honest Tea.
We’ll also discuss two major triggers for why she’s making this transition now to self-employment and strategies for tackling her biggest business challenge: time management.
Check out some of her work at Life After Chemo.
Life Skills That Matter In This Episode
- Self-awareness and self-reflection.
- Energy management.
- Building community.
- Start freelancing.
How Courtney Works and Thinks
- Wake up time: 8-9 am.
- Core work habits: Connecting with people, writing, and reading.
- Definition of success: Making her clients happy and having them refer her.
- Favorite social media platform: Snapchat.
- Book recommendation: Yes Please by Amy Poehler.
- Regains focus by: Writing something that is not related.
- Favorite productivity tool: Pen and paper.
- 90-day goal: Have a website with content and a second client.
Inspirational Quotes
“Any huge connection I ever made in business, I did it because I thought they were cool and I wanted to be friends with them.”
“Building community is all about getting the friend recommendation.”
Coaching Advice
Drawing on her experience as a social media expert, here are Courtney’s tips for creating an engaged community online:
1) Be real and authentic.
2) Involve yourself in chats on social media.
Resources + Bonus Materials
My previous interview with Courtney on my old podcast UnStuckable: