I'm thrilled to announce my NEWEST online course, available only to UX 365 Academy students (enroll at learn.givegoodux.com). My wife Eli and I are here to tell you everything you ever wanted to know about making the leap from employee to entrepreneur. Whether that means a solo gig as a freelancer or consultant, or starting your own company with employees, we’re going to walk you through every single thing you need to do and consider in order to succeed and grow.
We've both been self-employed for the majority of our careers, and we designed this course to be full-blown, all-out comprehensive; no stone unturned. We'll share everything we know about building and maintaining a successful career, especially through the challenges, struggles and low times. Which we’ve had more than our share of ;-)
The work is hard - but the rewards are great. No part of working for yourself in any way is easy. It’s not ever going to be and you shouldn’t it to be. But as I’ve said many times before, the only thing that is ever going to stop you…is you.
We are living proof of that - and we are here to give you everything we know about starting, building and running a successful business.
We're going to launch a module every month (several hours' worth of video content). Here's the full rundown of each module and what you'll be learning:
01: Upfront legwork/what you must consider
- Reasons to DO it (work for yourself)
- Reasons NOT to do it
- Self-test: is going independent for you?
- Thou shalt have a plan: business planning made simple
- Getting started: what you’ll need
- What’s in a name? What to call your business and how to legally protect it
- Choosing the form of your business: Sole Proprietor, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp
- Secrets for Success: discipline + management
02: Transitioning from your 9-5
- Freelancing vs. Entrepreneurship: which is right for you?
- Creating a realistic plan of action
- Managing the transition: think progress, not perfection
- Keys to choosing the right business model
- Finding and focusing on your strengths
- Building strategic partnerships
03: Pricing, Collecting + Taxes
- Ground rules: making friends with money (myths, attitudes and advice.)
- How much to charge
- How to (and how not to) estimate work
- Negotiating price + scope with clients
- Keeping more of what you make: being smart with taxes)
- Protecting yourself financially
- Invoicing clients (and ensuring they pay you)
04: Getting work and landing clients
- Should you be a generalist or specialist?
- Targeting clients and industries
- Marketing strategy: what, who and how
- Promotion/visibility: what works (and what doesn't)
- Proposing, pitching and presenting
- Responding to cost objections
- Contracts: Dos and Don'ts
- Building and maintaining solid client relationships
05: Marketing and promoting
- Understanding your business life cycle
- How the sales process works
- Getting clear on your true differentiator
- Identifying the problems potential customers need YOU to solve
- Pros and cons of Niche positioning
- Positioning yourself as an expert
- How to come up with your unique offering(s)
- Selling services vs. products
- How to strategically price your offers
06: Making money consistently
- Making yourself Sellable
- Creating sales pages that convert
- Proactively generating leads
- Having a great sales meeting/call
- Handling your potential client's objections
- Follow up and closing the sale
07: Running an agency/multi-person studio
- Planning: structure, profitability and viability
- Staffing: partners, employees and contractors
- Managing: coaching, delegating and leading
- Operations, profitability and pitfalls
08: Form downloads
- Startup Expenses Worksheet
- (Informal) Business Plan
- Client Contract
- Letter of Agreement
- Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
- Proposal(s)
- Estimating worksheet
- Employee Performance Evaluation
As you can see, we've left no stone unturned here. And everything we'll give you here didn't come from empty academic theory - it came from hard-knock experience with what works and what doesn't.
The first module will launch the second week of August, 2020, and a new module will go live each month! You'll also have the opportunity to ask us questions and get answers in the Q&A section attached to each lesson.
We're looking forward to helping make your self-employment dream reality. Until then, stay healthy, stay safe and stay strong -
Joe & Eli