Celebrating and supporting Black independent workers...
Podcasts are the reason I’m 10 years into my freelance journey and doing better than ever.
Way back in the early 2010s, I was sitting at a job where I was knowledgeable, well-paid, gaining responsibility…but I was also stressed, sick, unhappy, and feeling like there was no way I was gonna make it to retirement with that kind of life.
I wasn’t the type to start a podcast or YouTube channel and I wasn’t like all the entrepreneurs I saw, so I decided to do something else.
I immersed myself in podcasts, communities, and newsletters…and this was WELL before I ended up getting laid off and then starting my own freelance business.
I want to invite you to do the same, because I WISH there was a platform like this when I was sad and tired of the routine in my 9-5. I wish there was a place where I could get a look into strategy, lifestyle, and execution from people who’d already walked the path…from the safety of my employed life.
That’s what the BlackFreelance Academy is for people like you. Connection to not just me, but to a community of freelancers who know that a better life is out there.
Even if the idea of getting out of a 9-5 is only a sparkle in the back of your mind, you need to keep reading. Because the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.
A vision of your future…
…An enterprise software sales rep who became a commercial writer
…A business school student turned marketing cartoonist
…A healthcare project manager who works as a content strategist for tech companies
…An architect’s daughter turned content creator for architecture firms
These are all stories of people who turned their experience in and around employment into successful freelance businesses—businesses that give them flexibility, steady income, and more control over their lives.
They’re all people I’ve run across since I started freelancing in 2014 (can you guess which one is me?), and they’re examples of a pattern I noticed…
I’ve met plenty of broke, frustrated freelancers, but I learned something. Freelancers in “struggle work” just tend to be the loudest voices.
…and then I learned about the quiet ones.
I started to meet a LOT of happy freelancers who were out-earning their employed counterparts—traveling when they wanted to, spending extra time with their families and communities, and living healthy, balanced lives.
Wanna know what the happy ones had in common?
All of them were using knowledge and experience from employment to “supercharge” their freelance growth.
They weren’t burning time re-inventing their career wheel or grinding their way in a brand new “passion” space. They were leveraging what they had…finding need in the spaces they already knew…creating a new way of living with less work, less time, and less stress.
That’s what I want to talk to you about today. (But if you want to check out the plans already, you can do that here.)
“Part time? You’re going to cap out at around $225K a year”
He said it so matter-of-factly that I had to just sit in silence.
When I started freelancing, I’d never considered that that schedule and income was a possibility for my freelance business as a B2B copywriter and content strategist.
But today I’ve seen it—my coach was right. And it was for one, really significant reason.
Using clues from employment was the key to higher-earning, more sustainability, and more flexibility.
For some people this means translating their job straight to freelance work (a lot of web designers do this). Sometimes it means using industry knowledge to find a place for another skill (like me, I’m the healthcare tech writer). Sometimes it means listening to the clues from people employed around you to launch into something completely new. (I think there’s a lot of opportunity here for Black people who understand education, government, or a particular region or culture.)
That’s what’s so beautiful about using employment as your guide.
You can leverage the stability of tested markets and skills…and still have a ton of options in how you shape your work life. (Speaking of which, make sure to grab your Employment Value Extraction Worksheet here.)
But I also realized something else. Most freelancers and even people who are employed? Are missing out on huge opportunities for more career control, lighter schedules, and increased income. (Did you know that skilled freelancers out earn most employees?)
Those opportunities are possible at all experience levels…but unfortunately people are missing the opportunity even though the first step is simple…
Taking responsibility for grasping the freelance and lifestyle possibilities in front of you.
You know how they say everybody’s the CEO of their own career? Well it’s true. And freelancing is one of the best ways to take action.
Problem is, when it’s just you, out there alone and disconnected, it’s extremely difficult.
Especially as a Black freelancer…we have fewer professionals to emulate and fewer connections in the freelance space. It’s easier to get caught up in exploitative industries and career trends that will have you grinding and overworking more than you would in a traditional job.
It’s hard to ask the right questions, hard get the right answers, and hard make sure your freelance business is doing what it should be — improving your life.
That’s where the BlackFreelance Academy comes in.
This is where your big results are born.
We’re going to do things a little different and talk price right here…no more scrolling or clicks or pages of sales pitches. That’s because I want you to be able to consider the value I know you’ll get here at BlackFreelance in very specific ways…even if you’re currently employed and only just considering freelancing.
You have options that are subscription and non-subscription (because I know you’ve got enough monthly payments) and they average around $7-10 a month.
I want you to make that investment back with ease.
I want you to chuckle when you ask your accountant about writing that membership off as a business expense every year because you know you’re making exponentially more than you’re putting in. I want you to see ridiculous ROI on this investment in your long-term career health.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about why you need to consider joining the BlackFreelance Academy…
You ever try to hit a fitness goal alone?
I have, and I did it!
…but it didn’t stick.
That’s because as soon as I hit a bump (a short but extended illness) all that will power…all that passion that was running on nothing by my personal grit and drive? They faded away.
I needed a more sustainable energy source. I didn’t find it until I found my people.
I didn’t see long-term, sustainable lifestyle change until I built deep connections with a community.
The same thing goes for freelancing.
As a full-time freelancer who out-earns her employed salary (even after taxes…while working part time) I give most of the credit to one thing — the fact that years before I made the “jump” I had freelance friends who were building the same kind of balanced approach to business that I was.
No Grinders, no Hustlers, no influencers…no “Team No Sleep” — just people who wanted full lives and businesses that contributed to their lives…and who knew that following the tides of employment was the key to sustainability and security as a one-person business.
I want to invite you to get the same leg-up in your freelance business by joining the Academy.
The BlackFreelance Academy is built to keep you connected — consistently refining a freelance life that works for you…because you don’t just set and forget your freelance business. It isn’t a microwave.
This is the framework we use. Think of it as a layer you place over your business to simplify your decisions and direction…making sense of all the thousands and even millions of options you have in coaching, books, podcasts, courses, and business possibilities.
Your business is continuously being impacted by your decisions, market forces, laws and regulations, even your client choices. All those changes mean a constant flow of new challenges and a wide world of new opportunities.
The Academy is set up to help you navigate and take advantage of all of those. So what’s it look like?
- Self-Coaching: Weekly “check ups” in your in-box based around three, driving “roles” in your freelance business — CEO, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), and Chief Operations Officer (COO). Every week you’ll step back, take an objective look at your business, and decide what you need to do to make the progress you want.
- Community: We’re here with you every day, every week, every month, to talk freelance strategy, frustrations and insecurities, client management, investment/savings/retirement, choosing good coaches/educational programs, major jumps in income, sharing extra work…everything for freelancers who are ready for something better.
- Influence: This platform is always growing to meet the needs of Black freelancers! Academy members have a front seat in directing how things progress.
So how much does it cost again?
To make sure you’re always seeing ridiculous return on your investment in your freelance business, it’s as low as $7 per month — less than you pay for Netflix.
That means if you sign just one client that you wouldn’t have on your own, you’ve already paid for months, if not years of your subscription.
I know you’ll get a return on your investment every single month in time saved on trial and error alone, and want you to know the same thing.
You’re probably a little curious by now, so let me tell you a little bit more about what goes on here…
There’s a basic set of values that everything we do in the Academy is built around. You’re going to get pushed in these all areas, and that’s to help fill in the holes in our businesses that employment used to support, but that we all tend to miss when we’re out here alone on our little freelance islands.
- Reality and Numbers: I don’t want you out here playing a guessing game or “feeling” your way through freelancing. This life is a lot of trial and error, but you want to go at it with the best information possible. I’m going to encourage you to read market reports, get your skill game competitive, and even study some basic business concepts (which isn’t hard to be honest…people just like to make it sound like it is.)
- Money and Law: We don’t have enough honest conversations about freelance finances and legal questions — I’m talking retirement plans, corporate structure, reinvesting in our businesses, cashflow challenges, how much we really spend on coaching. This is a private place to do that.
- Cooperation and Support: This site isn’t just about me. Sure, I’ve got perspective and insight, but you do too. We all do. We have a collective wisdom that more of us need to be tapping into. That’s why we have a forum and group chats to share what we all know and learn along the way, and to support our self-coaching efforts, (even in finding our way to great traditional coaching).
- Sustainable Habits: You know how crash and fad diets don’t work? Same thing for freelancing. You’re going to get sick of hearing me talk about habits (and niches too, btw), but that’s because when you talk to those freelancers who’re happy, making 6- and 7-figure salaries, launching passive income projects, and developing new software products based on what they’ve learned in their careers…they’ll all talk about habits…habits that they’ve kept up over years. Freelancing is a long game. Good habits are good, but sustainable good habits are even better.
- Content Marketing: If you don’t know what that is, that’s ok (for now), but it’s something everybody, and I mean everybody running a business should at least understand. You can read a bit more about it here on Forbes, but know that you might already understand it (it’s probably why you’re reading this), and, if you invest in it now, it can pay off in the holy grail of great clients that come to you in the future. (And if you’re a writer…bonus…you can even learn to sell it as a service.)
- Finding Peace: Ultimately, I want you to put together a business that improves your life, not one that has you out here grinding and hustling for their own sake or for show. I want you to make more money for less work and have more freedom to do what you want.
If you’re still not sure though, no worries! You get your first month free on a subscription plan.
And, there’s no commitment...stay only as long as you want. Leave when you’re ready, no questions asked. There’s even a quick and easy cancel button so you don’t have to worry about emailing me (unless you want to contact me about anything. That’s connect@blackfreelance.com if you ever do.)
Here’s the thing about the Academy. I don’t want you to need it forever. Eventually, you should get to a point where you’re ready to either move on and stretch those freelance wings, OR stay because of the support you’re getting and giving to other up-and-coming freelancers.
Either way, work is changing.
Employers aren’t looking out for anybody the way they used to and you don’t want to wait until a layoff or health issue to try to play catch up. (I did both and let me tell you…it’s not cute.)
Don’t put off controlling your income and work-life any longer. Take a step to invest in your life and protect your career — join the BlackFreelance Academy today!
(while you’re here, check out some of our member’s successes here )
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