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#44 The only x3 ways to make more money as a freelancer

There's only x3 ways to make more money as a freelancer. But one of them is much easier than the others. This week I'll show you how to earn more while working less.

  • A process to systemize any part of your business.
  • How to design yourself out of your business
  • How to earn more while doing less

Over the last few months I’ve been working 1-1 with Ivan.
He’s putting less hours into his freelance motion design business,
yet he’s earning more.

And today I’ll share the same system I taught him to work less and earn more.

I’ve actually been pretty quiet over here…
Since I stopped….
It’s actually been better!
I don’t stress!
What I realised:
When I don’t focus on too many things
I actually earn more money AND have more time!
I’m not putting any pressure on myself.
Just narrow down and go slowly.
– Ivan, Motion by Staki

image 6

There’s lots of ways to make more money as a freelancer.
But one of them is much easier than the others…

1️⃣ Work harder.

Chase more work, Get more leads, work with more clients.
This will work at first, but there’s a low ceiling to this.
If you just work harder to grow now,
You’ll be working even harder when you get more clients.

2️⃣ Charge more.

Learn sales
Raise your prices,
increase value or your perceived value,
Speak to better clients with bigger budgets,

3️⃣ Work less

Achieve the same result with less input.
Half the work for the same money = double the profit.
This means you can double your money,
or half your workweek.

So now you know the x3 ways to make more money.
But “Doing Less” is the easiest by far.

I’m not talking about cutting corners.
I’m talking about achieving the same output, with less inputs.

If you can achieve the same result,
with half the time,
You’ve just doubled your profit.
But now you have spare time left over.

So how do we get more done than other freelancers,
Whilst working less?

We start by clawing out a little bit of leverage, by turning your skills into money..
Once you have enough money, then you can free up your time.
Once you have enough time you can start working and living at a higher level.

The first step in this is to build systems to do the work for us.
We automate the business fundamentals
We build leverage, so our inputs have more outputs

systems diagram

If you keep doing things the same way as every other freelancer,
the only way to get MORE
is to work harder.

If you want to build a 6 figure lifestyle business….
without burnout

We need to achieve the same results
with less input

If you want a solo business without burnout
Your most important job
is to design yourself out of the business

image 7

This is what I call a lean, leveraged lifestyle business.
So this week, I’ll be sharing how to systemize your freelance business,
optimize processes,
automate your admin,
and avoid overwhelm

I’m giving away a free workshop with a repeatable process you can use to systemize any part of your business.
It’s the same process I used to build a multi 6 figure micro design agency that I run on 24 hours a week.

blog 24 systemise a freelance business with SOPs

Want your freelance business to run without you?

Subscribe for instant access to my masterclass on systemising your one person business.

❓ 0:00 Why you can’t scale a solo business without SOPs
🧱 1:10 A system for building systems
🔨 2:40 tools & apps don’t matter
📃 4:20 1 document
⚙️ 5:00 2 Systemize
💠 5:50 3 optimize
📁 6:20 4 template
🤖 7:00 5 automate
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 7:30 6 delegate
♻️ 8:20 7 review and revise
🥅 8:40 capture your process AND your thinking
📊 9:20 Project management for designers
📈 10:30 Start simple, and add to it
🤯 11:30 Don’t overthink it, your process will change
💥 11:40 Your SOPs are a reusable asset and resource

P.s
I’m super proud of everything Ivan’s achieved over the last few months.
If you feel like your one of those frantic freelancers, always jumping from task to task, no time to enjoy your freedom,
Let’s have a chat, there’s lots of ways we can get you off that hamster wheel.

Subscribe for instant access to my masterclass on systemising your one person business

💡 Key Insights for solopreneurs

If you keep doing things the same way as every other freelancer,
the only way to get MORE
is to work harder.

If you want to build a 6 figure lifestyle business….
without burnout

We need to achieve the same results
with less input

🛎️ Daily reminder for solopreneurs

Want your business to run without you?

  • Document
  • Systemize
  • Eliminate
  • Optimize
  • Template
  • Automate
  • Delegate

💥 How to take action in the next 5 mins

Pick a process in your business,
and try to automate as much of it as you can.

😍 Something I'm grateful for this week
Picture of Nicholas Robb

Nicholas Robb

Founder, Design Hero
Author of Life by Design

Ready to...
 Win your freedom? Put life before work? Grow a solo business? Redesign your life? Systemize your business? Gain back time? Quit the rat race?

I'll audit your solo business with you 1-1.
I'll show you simple systems you can use
to redesign your business for maximum profit & freedom

Book call
Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design

More issues of Life by Design about Systems or Leverage or Productivity

Jul 11, 2024

#36 4 strategies I use to make success feel effortless

  • Productivity
May 23, 2024

#29 Stoicism for Solopreneurs

  • Burnout, Mindset, Productivity
May 02, 2024

#26 5 essential consistency systems for solopreneurs

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Apr 25, 2024

#25 Social content strategy for time-poor solopreneurs

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Apr 18, 2024

#24 How to systemize a solo business with SOPs

  • Systems
Apr 04, 2024

#22 Boundary-setting emails to streamline your solo business

  • Productivity
Mar 28, 2024

#21 How to overcome procrastination on important tasks

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Mar 21, 2024

#20 Complete management system for a one person business

  • Productivity, Systems
automatic reviews
Mar 07, 2024

#18 A system to get good reviews every time.

  • Systems
How to 10x your life & work through focus
Feb 15, 2024

#15 How to 10x your life & work through focus

  • Boundaries, Mindset, Productivity
Feb 01, 2024

#13 Schedule of a 6 figure Solopreneur

  • Lifestyle Design, Systems, Time
Jan 11, 2024

#10 Automated appointment booking system for solopreneurs

  • Systems, Time
Dec 20, 2023

#8 Open sourcing my annual review….

  • Mindset, Systems
Dec 15, 2023

#7 fundamental systems for a lifestyle business

  • Systems
Dec 08, 2023

#6 figure automated referral system

  • Lead Generation, Systems
Nov 09, 2023

#2 A fully automated sales funnel for designers

  • Lead Generation, Systems

FAQs from solopreneurs about Systems or Leverage or Productivity

I’d liked more examples of deep work because I don’t quite know how to differentiate yet (I’ll check out your article to see if I got more understanding)

I know coding and designing and systemising is deep work, but as a solopreneur that has to be do everything I’m not sure if working on my CRM or content creation would be shallow or deep(Edited)

thanks so
Deep work is not about the task itself,
Deep work is more about a pattern of working that is extremely focussed and proofed against distraction.

The tasks that go into the deep work block are your choice.
It should be your most important work that grows the business.

Shallow work is the opposite:
stuff that drains you, that maintains the business.

Here’s a few resources which might help you with that:

Goals to actions framework for freelancers

Deep-dive on building focus as a freelancer

examples of deep work from the past few days

  • Condense Lifestyle design workshop
  • Write Life by Design #45
  • bug testing and feedback for Emerdentist
  • rewrite welcome sequence for Life by Design
  • Build reminder system for networking and outreach
  • call back Hot enquiries

examples of shallow work from past few days:

  • work through emails (daily)
  • catch up with team
  • minor website changes for client
  • deal with support tickets
  • book Subaru in for MOT

Was nice to meet you!

So at the summit, we were talking about giving your day structure, about getting back free time so you can work ON the business instead of IN the business.

If you have to work longer hours to grow your business,
then you will ALWAYS be working longer hours.
You need to systemize your business to multiply your outputs without putting in more time.

SOPS are the first step to build leverage in a solo business.

Here’s how to systemize your business:

You write down your processes,
Then you improve them,
Then you automate, delegate, or eliminate everything you can do you have more mental space and more free time.

If you want a step by step guide for writing SOPs. Theres a box at the bottom where you can put in your email and you’ll get sent a video walkthrough of how to do it all

I go on and on about consistency being key.
I’m pretty consistent about it 🥁😂

But the gurus are right about x1 thing:
Consistency IS key to growing a solo business…
IF you want to do it without burnout.

like most of us,
I’m easily distracted.

My daily world is full of shiny objects, hacks, distractions.

If you want to grow a 6 figure freelance business there’s a lot of stuff to do.

But the more you add to your plate,
the less you’ll get done and
The worse you’ll about it

The only strategy that works for me?

I’m easily distracted.
The only strategy that works for me?

↘️ Take a big project,
↘️ Break it into steps,
↘️ Turn steps into habits you can repeat daily
↘️ Put it into your daily schedule
↘️ Do daily, weekly and monthly reviews to make sure I’m on track

This keeps me working on the important things everyday,
Instead of whatever cr💩p comes up in my inbox

___

If you feel like you need to get better at consistency,
On Life by Design #26 I share x5 consistency systems for freelancers,
that helped me double my revenue every year for ten years..

The key is to let go of the idea of getting everything done.

Draw an actual line on your list.

Everything below doesn’t get done.

Plan weekly.
Triage daily.

Read my full guide to how I manage my todo list without overwhelm.

I used to be obsessed with productivity hacks.
Then I read 4000 weeks, you read it?
I’d also read The 80/20 principle

Here’s a 5 second summary of time management that goes beyond “productivity hacks”

The better you get at your job, the more things you’ll have to do.
You think by being more productive you’ll be able to complete tasks quicker and clear your plate.
But here’s the secret:

Tasks lead to tasks.
The more productive you are, the busier you get.
There will never be enough time to do all of them.

You need learn to focus,
and do only the 20% of stuff that makes a difference.
And get ok with letting the rest slide.

It’s easier said than done though hahaha
As a completionist myself, this is hard.
Welcome to the joys of solopreneurship.

Get in.
Do the important work.
Get out.

I’m a terrible overthinker.

Sometimes it’s a superpower, which helps you brainstorm ideas

But often it’s a crutch which has you cycling through the same problem over and over with no progress.

  1. If it doesn’t need actioned now, write it down in a braindump list. Your mind is designed to hold onto unfinished tasks. braindumping reduces mental overwhelm
  2. If it’s a relevant problem, then try to work through it.
  3. Pick a habitual task that requires a little thought with movement like mowing the grass or walking the dog
  4. Process the problem while you do that
  5. If mind wanders bring it back gently to the problem
  6. Write down any insights that occur for clarity. Writing helps your process and define your thoughts.
  7. Notice when you’re “stuck in a loop” covering the same thoights over and over. Jot it down and move to the next stage of the problem.
  8. At the end tidy up your notes into an action list with microsteps that you can do now or later.
  9. Store it in your second brain or personal knowledge system for Solopreneurs that you can access later, and let go of for now .

Good Q man. There’s quite a few parts to it…

🔵 Eliminate, Systemize, Optimize, Automate

Before I automate I’ve already cut a lot of stages out that don’t add any value to the project.
Most of the stuff I’m automating is admin and busiwork.

Instead of calls I do Looms.
The client sees my face & gets the personal touch, but without the small-talk.

🔵 Email

Emails are a major time sap for projects.
Many freelancers waste a lot of time emailing back and forth.
Every email generates more emails.
I’d say 80% of emails aren’t needed.
Emails are an art.
Spend 50% longer on every email you send.
Use conditional statements, offer multiple A/B/C options, pre-empt the next step, the next question, make sure you have all the needed info to progress.
Spend longer now, to eliminate future emails.

🔵 Comms

Make sure all your comms are on one channel.
Use apps and  tools to gather the info you need in one place in advance to speed up the timeline.
I have an onboarding system that means I get all the info I need collected upfront, which skips a lot of emailing throughout the project.

🔵 Templates

You find yourself saying the same things over & over.
Never do things twice.
Create email templates for the FAQs.
Write guides for the complex topics.
Record Looms with SOPs.
When asked you can simply paste a link to your client so it looks like you’re going the extra mile with advice.

🔵 Feedback

Many freelancers still emailing designs and drafts across.
You can’t get quality Feedback over email.

I do fewer, in-depth 1-1 zooms at key milestones.
Zooms take longer than emails, but there’s less rounds of revisions,
Plus the client gets to feel ownership over the project.
In the long run it saves time to spend a bit longer with clients.

🔵 Always get a happy ending.

People only remember the beginning & the ending.
The lasting impression they have of your service is based 80% on the end.
Most people fuck up the end.

I do “offboarding” to get feedback, improve my process, get a video testimonial, so the last thing the client sees is my face.

I go the extra mile.
I put together a “superhero pack” for my Design Hero clients and post it to them. It’s go some merch, sweeties, a superhero outfit, some lego. Each pack costs me about £30.
But it leaves them with a next level experience, and it sticks in their head, for the next time they get my referral email they are more likely to pass my name on.

There’s no way to automate these special touches.
Sometimes going that extra 10% manually pays off in the long run.

So that’s how I do Personal touch + time saved.

 

the best time to start automating is yesterday. The second best time is now. 😂

Lol seriously though, start as soon as you can so you can buy back your time.

The only caveat:

Automation multiplies your inputs
If you automate a bad process,
you multiply the bad outputs.

Make sure you’ve done the messy manual work first,
So you can optimize the process before you automate it.

When to automate a solo business

Rule of thumb:  If you’re going to do it more than once a week, try to automate it,
or at the very least build a template.

Example: even the smallest things like LinkedIn connection messages can be templated, and saved as a snippet in your notes.

It may take you an hour to build an automation for a 5 minute task.
Most people aren’t willing to do this.
But those 5 min tasks are going to continue to pile up, and a good automation quickly returns your time back to you.

Ok, Here’s what I would tell you if you were one of my team.

Lifted directly from my team SOPs

Here’s the Deadline Policy

I want you to take the time to do good work, I don’t want you to feel rushed.
But timeliness is very important.
It’s critical that we show clients regular progress, especially in the early stages after a project, when money has just been exchanged.
So don’t wait until the deadline to start the project.

As soon as you are given a job, start it.
Set your own internal deadlines to be proactive.
Things will come up, feedback will be delayed etc.
So always be as far ahead as you can.

Time only runs one way,
so if the client comes back with feedback late, we adjust the timeline to give us more time to work on the project.
But if client comes back with feedback early, we don’t bring the deadline forwards.
The client gets the results earlier, but the timeline will stay the same which buys us time for future unforseens.

We make sure the client knows we are ahead of schedule.
But we don’t squander this extra time by waiting;
We move ahead with the project and build ourselves a safety buffer.

Agreeing Deadlines

We will agree deadlines that work for both of us at the start of a project.
All tasks and subtasks will have deadlines set in Clickup.

I will try very hard to make sure that you are not rushed in your work, that you have plenty of time to think about things, and that the pace is relaxed. Good work can’t happen in a rush 😊.
Once a deadline has been set we need to meet the deliverables for that deadline.

Client Deadlines

Please note deadlines in Clickup are client deadlines.
“due dates” are the final dates by which the phase should be complete, so includes feedback, mistakes, revisions etc.
You should be working to “review dates”.
Internal review dates are about halfway between formal client review dates.

Review Dates

The review date is the date by which you should have progressed as far as you can,
and then you share the work with me for internal feedback.

There may be informal reviews or feedback needed before that deadline, so please factor this in, and don’t leave work until the client deadline, as this may be too late.

If you’re working by yourself, you can set internal dates for yourself to keep yourself in check:

  • Pretend you are the client
  • set your own internal review date ahead of the deadline your aiming for.
  • Self critique your own work
  • Roleplay and ask yourself what I’m going to say, and fix them in advance.

Changing Deadlines

If you think a deadline is too tight
Please tell me so I can factor this into my communication with the client. I don’t bite. 😁
I would much rather you told me a task will take 4 weeks and complete it in 4 weeks, than tell me that a task will take 2 weeks and instead take 4 weeks to complete it…

If things are running behind schedule

Sometimes the client is slow to respond, people get sick, and you might have creative block.
If you feel you will be unable to meet a deadline or feel you are falling behind.
Please let me know as far in advance as possible so I can adjust my response to the client, and adjust any future deadlines to suit.
The earlier I know, the earlier we can find a solution or manage client expectations. 😊

The Key point

If you plan well, optimize your process,

and set internal deadlines well in advance of the actual deadline then you should rarely miss a deadline.

Unforeseen stuff comes up. Always make sure the client knows about it, why, and what the new timeline is.

This way you’ll always be ahead of schedule.
Always underpromise and overdeliver.
That’s how you get happy clients that keep coming back for more.

A bit of both….

When I started DH whenever a client asked me if I offered a service, I would say yes then quickly go learn how to do it and offer it to other clients:

Mastering a skill takes time, but I find if you focus properly, you can usually learn the broad strokes of most skills pretty quickly.
You only need to learn enough that your better at it than the customer.

But now that I run my own business I don’t have time to do that anymore.
Nowadays I find someone better than me and pay them to do it.

 

Things I can do well.
Web design,
coding,
IT,
networking,
brand strategy,
brand design,
copywriting,
email marketing,
social ads,
google Ads,
sales calls,
team building,
lead funnels,
automation,
offers,
finances,
public speaking
Things I talk about
Marketing.
The benefits of a lifestyle business.
Solopreneur mindset
6 figure Business Systems
Things I sell
Design services for solopreneurs.
Business coaching for solopreneurs
See how it narrows down?
Freelancers and solopreneurs wear a lot of different hats.
Successful solopreneurs are usually good at a hell of a lot of things.
It’s tempting to learn everything.
But when it comes to your personal brand, and your content, try to maintain focus.

My goal for you is to become the owner of your own business,
the only way to do that is to eventually get “off the tools” and onto higher-value work (sales, managing clients, setting up systems, lead generation)

I try to reduce my core services to offer 3 basic services which complement each other. Brand => website = SEO.

When it comes to tools…

I stick to ONE platform or ONE tool and get really familiar and quick with it.

Example, for web design, some people use Shopify, some Webflow etc.

Personally I use WordPress and Elementor and I’ve mastered those.

So if someone wants a E-commerce website or a booking website I know exactly how I’ll achieve that, what plugins to use, how they work etc.

HOWEVER skills are different.

Marketing nowadays is complex.

It’s absolutely essential that you pick up the basics of other fields that complement your niche.

You don’t need to master them but being good at copywriting is going to aid your website design.

Knowing a bit about SEO and keywords is going to help your websites rank.

Knowing a bit about email marketing will help you create a good E-commerce website and so on.

The best strategy is to try to be a T-Shaped marketer ;

Be a master at a few skills, and a novice at multiple skills that amplify the benefits of your core skill set.

The short answer is you do have to do a hell of a lot of learning.
At the start, you’ll need to learn all the skills that a business normally has staff for.
You’ll spend half your time doing the work, half the time on “support tasks” that run the business and find the work.
So there’s the project work itself, having some kind of marketing strategy (which you’re always improving), sorting out background admin like contracts and invoice etc.
Once you reach a certain level of retainer income you can invest that regular income to get a VA.
This is a game changer which will free you up to focus on big-picture thinking instead of “doing”
In the meantime systems and automation are the way.
If you’re going to do something more than twice, then spend a little extra time to figure out a system or a way to automate or reduce the steps.
Use templates for everything.
Create template emails for onboarding, feedback request etc.
I’m going to expand this later…

frantic freelancer → systematic solopreneur

Subscribe for x3 systems you can use right now
to grow a profitable solo business
on a 3 day week

Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design

Life by Design

systems for solopreneurs

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