The Way of Product with Caden Damiano Ep #127 Navigating Self-Employment and Personal Promotion with Trevor Nielsen -Founding Designer at Kleo
Hey Listener,
I'm excited to share my latest conversation with Trevor Nielsen, the design mind behind the popular Chrome plugin for LinkedIn: Kleo. Listen now on Apple and Spotify.Trevor's journey from a traditional nine-to-five job to successful self-employment is inspiring.
This episode dives deep into the nuances of personal branding on LinkedIn, designing a fractional design career, and being a founding designer for Kleo, which just launched its pro plan.
Building Kleo - Fueling Success for LinkedIn Content Creators
In our discussion, Trevor shares his experiences of replacing his previous income post-layoff and nearly doubling it with strategic client work. He's also developing Kleo, a tool designed to assist regular LinkedIn users to get more active on LinkedIn.
Highlights:
00:00 Starting Content Creation for Personal Branding
00:44 Transition to Freelance and Building Kleo
01:36 LinkedIn Personal Branding and Self-Employment Wins
02:42 Journey from Layoff to Self-Sustaining Business
04:16 Challenges and Epiphanies in Freelance Work
08:31 Consistency and Strategy in LinkedIn Posting
19:26 The Importance of Content Creation and Overcoming Barriers
23:47 The Myth of Creativity
24:37 Connecting Ideas for Niche Markets
25:34 Content Creation and Audience Engagement
26:26 The Power of Video Content
27:36 Building a Personal Brand
31:34 Leveraging Community and Feedback
41:29 Final Thoughts and Takeaways
Listen now on Apple and Spotify.
Building a Sustainable Career Path
Trevor has created a blueprint for freelancers who aspire to build a sustainable and rewarding career path by diversifying income streams while working on passion projects. His insights into balancing side hustles and main gigs highlight the importance of planning and perseverance.
Highlights include:
💪 Trevor’s tactical steps in creating a stable income stream post-layoff
🔥 The exponential benefits of engaging consistently and meaningfully on LinkedIn
✌️ The vision behind Kleo and its potential to transform how creators interact and grow on LinkedIn
Actionable Takeaways
1. Embrace Client Work as a Core Commodity:
"Client work should not be viewed as supplementary to a full-time job but can be structured to be full-time through strategic partnerships." - Trevor Nielsen
Action Tip: Methodically assess part-time opportunities to ensure a stable recurring income, equating to a traditional full-time salary. Prioritize recurring partnerships for stability.
2. Utilize LinkedIn for Personal Branding:
LinkedIn isn't just a job board. Developing your personal brand through consistent posting and interaction can open doors you never expected. - Trevor Nielsen
Action Tip: Start posting regularly. Begin by sharing insights from your professional journey, and gradually engage with your network by commenting on posts and joining relevant conversations. The highest impact is providing relevant comments on the people’s posts you follow. Post for exposure and comment for opportunities.
4. Transform Setbacks into Opportunities:
“Following the layoff, I turned to freelancing, redefining my career and turning what could have been a setback into a successful voyage of self-employment.” – Trevor Nielsen
Action Tip: In career transition or upheaval, view unexpected changes as opportunities to pivot and innovate rather than setbacks.
Thank you for tuning in, and I hope you glean as much insight from Trevor’s journey as I did.
Best,
Caden Damiano
caden@hey.com
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com