Trying to earn a living as a designer Can be really really difficult and it Can be frustrating and lonely especially If you're relying solely on freelance Work and so if this is you if you're Struggling to make the kind of money That you want to make and this video is Going to be perfect for you because I'm Going to break down the four phases that You need to follow in order to get to Where you're making ten thousand dollars Per month and Beyond and I'm going to Break this down into these four phases So you can identify which phase you're Currently in and then what you need to Do to ramp up your income start earning More Landing more projects and a lot of These things are things that you might Not have thought about that are going to Make a massive difference for you so With all that said let's jump into phase One so phase one is the getting started Phase and I want you to imagine that you Have been plopped down on an island You're the only one there you're Stranded you've got no food no water no Shelter and you're just all alone with No idea what to do and this is what it's Like when you're in the getting started Phase you you really don't don't know Where your next move is where your next Meal is going to come from and so a lot Of times you just end up eating whatever You can you end up eating bugs a lot of
Times and that's what it's like as a new Freelancer you just take on any project That you can it doesn't matter how much They pay or how miserable the project is Or how annoying the client is you've Just got to do whatever it takes to eat And this is not a fun phase to be in Right but we all have to go through it And in this phase our primary objective Is to of course do whatever we can to Survive and to pay our bills but also to Get experience at all costs and so again This might mean taking on projects that Aren't fun or are stressful or clients That don't treat you right and that's All part of the gig but the hope is that You can push your way through this Getting started phase as quickly as Possible to get to phase two now during This first phase you want to do Everything possible again to get Experience to hone your skills to get Better and to push forward and Accelerate your learning so you can Reach the point where you're ready to Actually think like a business owner Rather than just an underpaid freelancer Now during this first phase you're also Going to want to practice on raising Your rates and charging different rates And seeing what people are willing to Charge and improving on your negotiation Tactics all of this should improve Consistently throughout phase one so if
You're in Phase One still and you're not Increasing your rates or you're having a Hard time finding new clients you've got To just get down and dirty this means Reaching out to family and friends and Opening your mouth in any situation that You can and being annoying and just Trying your best to land projects and Yes you might be seen as the annoying Designer but if you can just get a Couple projects under your belt you're Going to push through phase one a lot More quickly and you're not going to Have to sit in this phase where you're Just eating bugs alright so now you're Moving into phase two now phase two is a A lot more fun to be in because you're Starting to get the hang of things so Let's take you back to our example of Being stranded on an island when you are In phase one you were just eating bugs You were just trying to survive day to Day and you weren't thinking much about What was going to happen tomorrow or Next week but now in phase two you're Starting to get more comfortable you're Getting the hang of things and you've Decided that you're sick of just eating Bugs all the time and so maybe you go And find a new fishing hole and you Start eating some delicious fish and Seafood and maybe you're starting to Cook it and life is getting a little bit Better you can start to select the types
Of food that you like and that's what Phase two is like for you as a designer Projects are rolling in more Consistently and you can start to pick And choose maybe the projects that You're best at or the clients that are Most enjoyable to work with and you're Going to see that your day-to-day work Gets a lot less stressful so in terms of Taking on projects during phase two you Can start to be a little bit more Selective but there are three things That you need to think about when taking On a project because there are really Just three things that will determine How much you earn as a designer there is Of course the price of the project right The more you charge for a project the More you're going to make but also there Is the quantity of projects having just One high paid project doesn't do you a Whole lot of good if you don't get any Other projects after that so having a High quantity of projects is going to be Really necessary and then the third Thing is turnaround time and how quickly You can start a project and finish that Project and so all these things go into Play on how many projects that you can Get done how much you get paid for each One and the more you can do of course The more you're going to earn and so you Need to start to calculate what is my Balance and what works best am I going
To be the designer that just has one Source of income from one client or Employer and I am completely reliant on That or am I going to be the person that Has quick turnaround times and I can Pump out one thousand dollar websites Every other day and I'm going to be a High quantity business and so it really Just depends on what meets your skill Set what type of workflow you want to Have but considering these things is Going to make life a lot easier and it's Going to help you narrow in on the types Of projects that you're going to take on Moving forward now the second thing you Need to consider when you're in phase One is how to raise the floor of your Mrr or in other words your monthly Recurring Revenue because mrr really is The thing that's going to dictate how Consistently you can make good money so When I say mrr this does not mean just Taking on one-off projects for a big Rate but instead what this means is Having clients or employers that pay you A monthly rate every single month month After month without fail so for me I've Got a couple different things that bring In that monthly recurring Revenue we Offer SEO and advertising we maintain People's sites we we do a lot of Different things just to get those Recurring payments and it's really Really nice to see that your base pay
Goes from being zero dollars and Completely dependent on the next project That you land to having a guaranteed one Thousand dollars and five thousand Dollars and ten thousand dollars from These recurring services that you are Offering and so right now you want to Focus in on again the price turnaround Time and quantity of your projects and Then also which projects or Services you Can offer that will increase your base Monthly recurring Revenue because Reaching ten thousand dollars per month Is going to get way way easier if every Month you have a guaranteed seven Thousand dollar recurring base and then You just have to find an extra three Thousand dollars in website projects and You're there you've made your ten Thousand dollars per month now you're Headed into phase three which is Exposure so let's take you back to the Example of being stranded on this island And things are going pretty well you're Starting to get even more comfortable And you're hitting your same fishing Hole every single day for food you know Where that food is going to come from But but there are still days where the Fishing hole comes up dry and you don't Get to eat that day and you're hungry And so you decide hey I need to increase My reach increase my exposure and reach Out to additional fishing holes
Throughout the island and so rather than Just having traps and fishing in that One hole all of a sudden on the other Side of the island you've got three four Five different spots that you're pulling Fish from and all of a sudden you've got Guaranteed fish not only tomorrow but Two days from now and two weeks from now Because you've got all of these Different spots set up and your chances Of Landing more fish go way up and so That's exactly what phase three is for You as a designer you just need to get Seen by more people and increase your Chances of Landing that next client and So what this means is you need to be all Over social media you need to be sharing Your work you need to be doing Everything you can to guarantee that Every single day multiple people are Seeing your face they're hearing your Voice they're seeing your work because If nobody's seeing you you're gonna be The best kept secret if people can't see If they can't find you they're never Going to hire you and so during this Exposure phase you need to make sure That you're still focusing on Fulfillment of your current clients make Sure that you're getting clients today And tomorrow but also start doing things That are going to guarantee those Clients one week from now and one month From now and as your exposure reaches
You can reach the point where you've Just got too many clients wanting to Work with you that you have to be really Selective and you're going to have a Lineup of people waiting to work with You next months and six months from now And it's a really great feeling knowing That all of a sudden you're dominating This island like you've got to figure it Out and you're living a pretty good life Now you've reached phase four which is Diversify and this is the hardest phase To reach many people never make it here But this is the phase that not only will Help you stay at ten thousand dollars Per month but it's going to help you Accelerate to 30 50 70 000 per month so Taking you back to the island again Sample again let's say that things are Going pretty well you're catching fish Every day but you are getting a little Bit sick of fish because while it is a Consistent way to eat it's exhausting It's time consuming and so what you Decide is I'm going to Branch out a Little bit I'm gonna spread my wings and I'm going to start setting traps to Catch land animals and then I'm going to Start foraging for fruits and vegetables And I'm going to plant them and start a Garden and all of a sudden you've got All of these different Avenues to eat And you're not solely reliant on Just Fish anymore and you can pick the things
That bring you the most Joy you can pick The things that bring you in the most Resources and food and by diversifying You're going to live a much more Well-balanced life and your risk goes Down even further and so I put a list Here of all of the different ways that You can diversify your income or the Ways that you eat as a designer and so a Few ideas that I had were working with Multiple clients having part-time Employment and then still freelancing You can work as a part-time consultant Which is becoming more and more common Where someone will pay thirty thousand Dollars a year to have you come and Consult with them every couple weeks you Can offer Consulting calls to individual Businesses or other designers you can Offer paid feedback to designers where People pay you a one-off fee to look Over their work and give them feedback You can build and sell templates Processes assets checklists whatever That you use that's useful you can Resell that you can build your own Businesses or own Brands whether that's An e-commerce store or whatever it is You can start a blog you can start a YouTube channel to get ad Revenue you Can create a course to sell to other Business owners or other designers you Can offer paid speaking gigs you can Learn new skills to offer as services to
Your past clients the list goes on and On of ways that you can diversify as a Designer so now when we zoom out and we Look at your journey as a Castaway you Went from being a alone and scared Without anything to eat your first days There you're eating bugs you're living a Terrible life to starting to learn how The island Works to starting to dominate The island and finding multiple ways to Take advantage of its resources and all Of a sudden now you're diversifying you Get to eat whatever you want you've got Great shelter you've got no worries About where food's going to come from Tomorrow and at this point you can go When you can sit on the beach and enjoy The sun knowing that all of the Processes that you put into place are Going to bring in that food bring in Those resources that you need and it's a Pretty good lifestyle and so what I Would encourage you to do right now is Drop down in the comments which phase do You believe that you're in right now and By acknowledging that you're going to Know what the next steps are to reach That next phase and to start increasing Your income to where you can reach ten Thousand dollars per month so if you Enjoyed this video also be sure to hit That like button that really helps me Out I appreciate you and we'll catch you In the next video
