#393: Most Pure Creatives Are Selfish (Here’s Why That Matters)

Pure creatives are selfish. They create art for themselves. And your potential clients don’t care about your personal creativity. They care about what's in it for them. So as a creative, we can't just be selfishly isolated in our little rooms creating art for art's sake because it fulfills us. When it comes to actually being a business owner, we have to create real value for other people, which means we can't be selfish when it comes to our creativity. We have to share it with others. As it says on the wall behind me in my office, “It takes more than passion.” If you’re running a freelance business, don’t forget - you’re running a business. And that takes entrepreneurial skills that may not come naturally for many creatives. This week’s episode is about finding the sweet spot between creativity and entrepreneurship. Both the creative and the entrepreneur are essential elements of your freelance business… And there are good parts and bad parts of both. In this episode you’ll discover: Balancing the creative and entrepreneurial sides of your brain What entrepreneurs understand that creatives don't Using people, processes, and systems, to create value Keeping your creative spark alive Scheduling time for creative and entrepreneurial tasks Expanding your horizons by joining communities and finding mentors For full show notes, visit ⁠https://6figurecreative.com/393⁠

You know what's wild? I had three of my coaches (Richie, Dennis, and Rob) on the podcast this week to settle the organic vs. paid ads debate once and for all. Combined, they've spent tens of millions on paid ads and generated hundreds of millions in revenue for clients. And here's what they said: If you're doing organic without paid ads, you're playing marketing on hard mode. Organic takes 90-100+ videos before you hit an inflection point. Each piece takes 3+ hours. And you're competing against dopamine-engineered content designed to keep people scrolling. Meanwhile, our clients spend $5-10/day on ads and get 5+ booked calls. But the weirdest part? The #1 objection we hear from freelancers about running ads is: "I'll look desperate." Especially music producers. They think if people see them running ads, everyone will assume they're struggling for work. Which is... completely backwards. We break down why in this week’s podcast episode. We also cover: When organic actually makes sense (and when it's a waste of time) Why choose YouTube over Instagram when creating organic content The real reason ads + organic work like rocket fuel together How one client spent $900 and brought in $40K For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/392

I need to tell you something you probably don't want to hear. You don't have a marketing problem. You have a leads problem. Let me prove it to you: You're generating less than 5 new leads per month Some months you get 10 leads, some months you get 1 That's a 1000% variance from your best month to your worst Meanwhile, my business generates 1,974 leads per month on average Our variance from lowest to highest month? Only 30% See the difference? When you only have 1-10 leads coming in, you're basically starving. You take whatever clients you can get. You can't be picky. You can't raise your rates. And you're one bad month away from panic mode. The answer? Uncomfortably simple: You need more at-bats. More opportunities. More people in your pipeline who could potentially become clients. And the best way to fix that? Paid ads. In this week's episode, you'll learn: The real root cause of feast or famine for 95% of freelancers (and how to fix it for good) What a niche photography studio doing $50M/year knows that you don't The exact number of ad variations you should be testing (hint: it's 100X more than you think) Most freelancers aren’t “bad at sales” - they just don’t have enough leads coming in to make their business model work. Let’s fix that. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/391

Just because you're making money doesn't mean you're thriving as a freelancer. And if you're NOT making money? You're definitely not thriving. Here's what a thriving freelance business actually looks like: stable income, financial runway so you can take a hit without panicking, no constant fires to put out, and you actually enjoy what you do. Sound like your business right now? Yeah. Didn't think so. The second you started taking money for your skills, 12 critical roles appeared out of thin air in your business: Fulfillment, sales, marketing, operations, accounting, project management, IT/tech, legal, client relationships, creative direction, management... and CEO. In a big corporation, each of those has a department head, managers, and entire teams. As a freelancer? That's all you, baby. And if your business isn't where you want it to be, you're failing at exercising one (or more) of these muscles. So how do you fix this? That’s what this episode is all about. You’ll discover: The "treat it like the gym" framework for consistently working on the hard stuff you've been avoiding for months (or years) How to identify which muscle is your biggest bottleneck right now and start strengthening it one hour at a time Why emotions make you a great creative but a terrible business owner (and what to do about it)… Can you make this work? Wrong question. The right question is: How can I make this work? "Can I" is for dabblers. "How can I" is for people who actually succeed. So pick your mountain. Set your gym time. And start climbing one hour at a time. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/390

You know that massive to-do list in your head? All those things you're "supposed" to do as a freelancer? New website. Social media content calendar. Cold outreach. Warm outreach. Lead magnets. Funnels. Pricing revamp. Recurring revenue package. Portfolio update. It's overwhelming as hell. And oh by the way, 99% of that list doesn't matter right now. Because your income isn't capped by all those things. It's capped by ONE thing. One bottleneck. This is something called the Theory of Constraints, and it's the simplest framework I've ever seen for giving yourself a raise as a freelancer. Your business has exactly ONE constraint holding you back right now. Maybe it's time (you're booked solid but can't take on more clients). Maybe it's lead generation (nobody knows you exist). Maybe it's sales (you get inquiries but can't close them). Maybe it's your average client value (everyone's worth $1,000 when they should be worth $5,000). Maybe it's fulfillment (clients leave unhappy and never refer you). Once you identify that ONE constraint and fix it, you get a raise. Sometimes a massive one, like 20%, 30%, even 50%+ in a year. Then a new constraint pops up. You fix that one. Yay, you just got another raise! It's literally whack-a-mole with your income, except every time you whack one you make more money. In this episode, I walk you through: The exact framework for identifying YOUR constraint The five core functions every freelancer needs to master (in order) The most common bottleneck for six-figure earners The "Hormozi Holy Trio" that holds most freelancers back How fixing one simple number can give yourself a 4x raise This is one of those episodes where if you actually apply what's in it, you'll look back in 6-12 months and realize it changed everything. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/389

You can spend years building a wildly successful six-figure (or multi-six-figure) freelance business... Only to watch it crumble to dust. Not because you sucked at your craft. Not because you weren't talented enough. But because you didn't defend yourself properly against a handful of silent killers. One of these silent killers once cost me five weeks of work I had to make up for free. (Could've been prevented. Wasn't. Sucked.) So in this week's episode, I'm breaking down the five hidden dangers that can wipe out a six-figure freelance business (and more importantly, exactly how to defend yourself against each one). Here's what we're tackling: How to prevent burnout (you know, when you basically hate your clients and want to burn down your entire business) and recognize the warning signs before that happens. The “give-a-mouse-a-cookie” problem that sucks away your profit (and one simple phrase that stops it). The simple systems that keep you safe from the tax man (no, you can’t outsmart the system. Don’t try). Legal essentials that protect your business (rare, but when they strike, they can wipe you out completely. Here’s how to stay out of the danger zone). And the #1 completely preventable “silent killer” - payment issues. You've worked too hard to build your business to let it get taken down by something completely avoidable. Let's make sure that doesn't happen. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/388

Most freelancers think: "The more work I show, the more clients I'll attract." But if you have a level 10 skillset working with level 5 clients… Your portfolio is gonna look level 6 at best. And it’s hard to level up your clients if your portfolio doesn’t match. Is your portfolio all over the place? Not showcasing work at the level you want to attract clients? This week’s podcast episode will fix that. You’ll learn: How to beef up your portfolio if it’s still light or you’re just starting out How to curate and uplevel your current portfolio to attract higher level clients The secret ingredient that instantly makes your work look 10x more impressive For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/387

“Raise your gosh darn rates.” I literally have a podcast episode with this title. But that advice is not for everyone because raising your prices isn’t always the answer. Every freelancer has a “Goldilocks sweet spot” for their pricing. The perfect balance of rates that keep you booked, profitable, and sane. Charge too much? You've got the "luxury mirage"… premium prices, but an empty calendar. Charge too little? Welcome to the "bargain bin trap"… a packed calendar full of soul-sucking projects where you resent your clients and can barely keep your head above water. This week’s episode is all about finding that pricing sweet spot that keeps you booked with better clients. I’ll give you… 4 steps. and 3 important metrics. I break it all down on Episode #386: The Goldilocks Pricing Rule for Freelancers (Not Too High, Not Too Low) For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/386

The vast majority of freelancers want one thing: more clients. But what if that’s not your biggest problem? What if you’re booked solid… And now the “good problem to have” is that you can’t ever take a vacation because your income is tied to the hours you work? It’s a dollars-for-hours trap. No work = no money. Vacation? You're not making money. Get sick? Not making money. In the hospital? Not making money. Your income is handcuffed to the hours you work. And there's a ceiling. A theoretical maximum. You can inch it up by raising your rates, but eventually... that's it. That's your max. Some people are cool with that. If you’d like a future where you’re making great money NOT trading dollars for hours… Where you “outgrow” freelancing and transition your expertise into something more scalable… This episode is for you. Should I start an agency? Sell software/products? Or - should I start teaching what I know and build a coaching business? In this episode, I talk about the pros and cons of each, and why I think creating a scalable coaching offer is the way to go (spoiler alert: it’s the one I’ve gone all in on, which is why you’re reading this). For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/385

We all get the same 24 hours in a day. So why can some people get more done in that 24 hours than others? It’s not ALWAYS about doing more. In many cases it’s about doing the RIGHT things consistently (at the right time of day). My day starts at 5:30 AM with 15 minutes of reading and straight to the gym for a workout. It’s a non-negotiable for me, whether I feel like it or not. So my advice for you: Set aside “power hours” to work ON your business every day - as a non-negotiable. Just like going to the gym, it’s a “business booty bootcamp” that directly adds junk to your trunk (aka revenue to your bank account) when you do it consistently. (Oh, and DO NOT check emails first thing in the morning. Ever.) This week’s episode is all about how to know WHAT to work on and how to prioritize it so you can actually have the business and the life that you want. Things like: Micro-routines that help you knock out the important stuff quickly How I structure my day based on my energy levels, and my best “hacks” for creative focus The “hate-charity” trick that helps me accomplish my goals The 3 biggest issues that keep you from prioritizing (even when you want to) Listen now to Episode #384: The “Power Hour” Method (How Smart Freelancers Work) For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/384