6 Figure Creative

You probably got into the freelance world based on something you were passionate about, however, you likely know by now that it takes more than passion to create a real income.Making the move from passion-led freelancer to "6 figure creative" takes a brand new set of skills, beliefs, and character traits that no university or trade school will bother teaching you.One person who's successfully navigated the entire journey from "broke to millionaire" is Graham Cochrane.Graham started out as a passionate young musician who failed to achieve his dream of launching a successful band. From there, he sank into an unfulfilling day job while trying to build a freelance career on the side.Along the way, through many ups and downs, he's actually used all of his accumulated skills, experiences, and lessons to launch two separate 7-figure businesses.Graham came onto the podcast to share some of these lessons with us in an incredible interview.In this episode you’ll discover: Why passion isn't everything Elements you need to succeed in business Listening to Gary V? Don't. (sometimes) How you're over-optimizing your business Separating you from your job Where to get the next 6FC favorite book For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/191

Ever had an off day where you just didn't feel creative? What about an off week, or an off month? Where things can get dangerous is when our income depends on us being creative on-demand, but we're just...off.The great thing is that there are certain actions we can take to stay consistently and brilliantly creative for a long, long time.This week we interviewed Toddy Henry, author of the best-selling book "The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant At A Moment's Notice". We discussed how creatives can create consistency in their work so that they're able to consistently put out their best work.In this episode you’ll discover: The three most important things in your life as a creative entrepreneur Taking a step back to think Where to look for inspiration Forming healthy habits Reacting vs. thinking Setting (and respecting) boundaries Being aware of our shortcomings For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/190

Want to know the secret that separates failing freelancers from 6 figure freelancers? It's this one concept:6 Figure freelancers constantly solved their business bottlenecks. If it sounds stupidly simple, it is, but it's definitely easier said than done. Let me break it down real quick...There are 5 main parts of any real business (freelancers included). Here they are: Part 1: Lead generation - This is the part of your business where new people find out you exist and that you offer a (hopefully) valuable service. Part 2: Lead Nurture - This is the part of your business where you're staying top-of-mind over a long period of time until the lead is ready to hire you. According to studies, only about 3% of any market is ready to buy "now", so nurturing them until they're ready is crucial to getting hired. Part 3: Sales - This is where conversations turn into clients (i.e. dollars in the bank). Part 4: Fulfillment - This is where you're actually doing what you've been paid for. Part 5: Lifetime Value - This is how much one client is worth to your over your lifetime. It can be determined by how much you charge, how often they come back for more, how many people they refer to you, etc. The issue is that ONE of these five areas is your bottleneck right now. Until that bottleneck has been fixed, there's no point in improving anything else in your business.The freelancers who make it to $100k/year are the ones who constantly solved their ONE bottleneck, took a step back, re-assed their business to see what the next bottleneck was, and dove all-in on that bottleneck until it's solved. Rinse and repeat.This week's podcast episode dives into each of these 5 areas and what you can do to solve the bottlenecks in your own business.For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/189

If you run a freelance business, there is no real separation between you and your business. That means any personal issues you have are guaranteed to affect your business.There are actually 4 specific "personal bottlenecks" that act as single points of failure as an entrepreneur. No time "Dirty Fuel" Lack of skills Blindspots If any of these 4 issues exist, your business is 100% guaranteed to suffer.In this week's episode, we discuss each of these 4 personal bottlenecks in detail...In this episode you’ll discover: Why expensive gear doesn't matter if it isn't earning you money How personal bottlenecks are choking your business Superheroes to save you from your bottlenecks Clean fuel vs. dirty fuel – are you doing things for the right reasons? Creating a step by step plan to tackle your bottlenecks Why time won't let you go When to ask for help with your bottlenecks Handling your blind spots For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/188

If you're stuck in a dead-end job, about to turn 30, and thinking, "I wish I could open my own business... But I'm too old to start..." then listen up.You're not too old – it's never too late to start your freelance career or open a business.World-renowned designer Lisa Congdon didn't even start designing until her late 20s, and she didn't even start gaining traction until she was nearly 40. In the decade and a half since starting her business, Lisa has grown it to multiple six figures.Listen now to hear about Lisa's journey from struggles and setbacks, to ultimate success as a creative.In this episode you’ll discover: Why it's not too late to jump into a freelance career How Lisa began her creative journey Giving yourself permission to be alone and its effects on your mental health Why it's important to have diverse income streams (but still stay on-brand) Selling physical products as a creative Building your team: don't start too soon Growth and mental health in a creative field For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/187

Last week we introduced the first of a two-part series about "The 6 Levels of Freelancing". The 1st level was "yes mode" and the 2nd level was "the generalist".This week we're walking you through what it looks like to move up the ladder into levels 4-6. If you feel stuck and you're ready to move up a level or two, fire up your favorite podcast app and let's dig in...In this episode you’ll discover: How good systems will avoid Chris' Poopocalypse 2.0 Avoiding survivorship bias: don't always listen to the "old dogs" The word-of-mouth death trap Your hourly rates aren't your actual rates Why Disqualifying bad leads to focus on good leads is great for your income The difference between systems and automation What the best automations have in common Why experts focus on one specific area rather than learning everything Growing your business the smart way: using SOPs How to remove yourself from your business For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/186

Most freelancers have no idea what they are doing and end up stuck in a low-paying, dead-end job because their business never gets enough clients to pay the bills.In this episode, we discuss the levels of your freelance career, and how to move from one level to the next so you can earn more money and work with better clients.If you want to learn how to become an expert in your field, get paid well for your work, and want to work from home on your own schedule, this episode is for you!In this episode you’ll discover: Everyone starts on the same level Why you're not special if you take every job that comes your way How to learn what you want to do with your life Listening to the market: your clients will help you pick an offering Why you're shooting yourself in the foot if you offer two drastically different services Automation: is it helping you or harming you? What common business advice is actually bad for your business Imposter syndrome: what to do when it rears its ugly head Why the generalist never wins For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/185

You FINALLY get someone to reach out to you asking for your rates. Wooooo! 🥳🎊🎉You rack your brain to come up with a price for the project and send it off.Days pass… you don’t hear back. So you send a follow up. Weeks pass… now you’re trying to figure out where you went wrong. The would-be client has just ghosted you.The worst part is that you have NO idea why…Was it pricing? Scheduling? Did they decide not to do the project? Did they hire someone else?Did they even SEE your message? Ghosting SUCKS. So we set aside an hour of our time to create an entire episode dedicated to the topic. In this episode you’ll discover: Why your clients are ghosting you How to not get ghosted Building a connection with your customers so they don’t want to ghost you Why you need to get on the phone How to create natural scarcity and urgency Why you should never give your pricing out quickly How to get help growing your business For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/184

Here's a list of the most common reasons someone might hire someone else instead of you:  They don't trust you They forgot you exist They felt like you were manipulating them  They felt misunderstood  They’re not confident you can give them what they want/need They felt no connection to you What’s funny is that this list is nearly identical to the reasons a new romantic relationship might fail. My point? It’s pretty simple…If you start dating someone brand new, you’re likely going to put SOME sort of effort into building that relationship. Right? You’d text/call them. You’d go on dates to get to know them. You’d try to figure out if you’re compatible by having meaningful conversations. You wouldn’t simply leave them alone and hope they propose to you later, right? You’d intentionally nurture that relationship. It’s the same thing with your potential clients. They reach out to you…but wtf do you do in the days/weeks/months between the first conversation and the point they hand over their hard-earned dollars? Most freelancers do a whole lot of sitting around and smoking Hopium. You’re just waiting for that phone call where the person finally “proposes” to you.On this week’s episode, we dive deep into the process of intentionally nurturing your leads.For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/183

It’s the beginning of 2022 and I recently completed my end-of-year retreat where I went off the grid to dig deep into my own businesses and plan for the year. During my retreat, one of the things I did was dig into my analytics to see what’s been working, what’s not working, and what needs to change in the future. This week’s podcast episode is the direct result of one of my most interesting discoveries when diving into my analytics across everything I do. In this episode you’ll discover: What you’re missing out on if you don’t follow the 6 Figure Creative YouTube channel Why word of mouth is not the solution for a new business How to get more clients without word of mouth You’re a creative who is averse to marketing: now what? Six ways to bring traffic to your website How to get your business ranked by Google Using affiliate marketing in a freelance business When it’s appropriate to use ads for your business 182 reasons you should subscribe to our YouTube channel in a Blink For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/182