I’ve Made $29,999.96 as a Self-Taught Video Editor. Here‘s What I’ve Learned.
Like any other young, ambitious, self-motivated entrepreneur on the internet today, I had only a handful of goals when first starting my business.
- Make money
- Help people
- Make money
- Do something I enjoy doing
- Make money
Of course, as the story usually goes… I started working my a** off and teaching myself a brand new skill that I had no experience with, only to reap very little benefits for the first few years.
I am ashamed to admit that I am now five months out of college, and still have not made my millions with this little creative agency I’ve built on the side for the last three years.
I have, however, learned a lot about sales, project management, marketing, content creation, and so on… and I wanted to write this article to share my biggest lessons with you on how to grow your own small business from home, and in essence, make more money. Even if it is only for some side income.
1.) Focus on the customers you have, and the opportunities right in front of you.
I’ve been there.
Scrolling through Upwork for what could be hours sometimes looking for the best opportunities to increase my client base, and boost revenue with my side hustle.
The problem is that Upwork is generally not where you will find the most dedicated clients… especially when you are doing graphic design, video editing, or any other creative work.
When you are first starting out as a freelancer, freelancing sites like Fiverr and Upwork can be a HUGE help to get your business off the ground, but once you get 2–3 clients under your belt… it is time to change your approach.
Early on in my freelancing career, I was able to get myself to a point where I was making around $1,200/month editing podcasts and videos for just a few clients.
I stayed at that mark for a long time, with the occasional $50-$100 project I would find here or there on Upwork.
Then I suddenly found a way to turn my $1,200 months into $2,000 or even $3,000 months…
That was by focusing on the 2–3 clients that I already had.
What I found is that while I was searching through Upwork, sending emails, and looking around on social media for new leads… I was leaving a lot of money and opportunity on the table with the clients that I already had.
Once I started focusing on giving the best service I could to the few customers I already had, I found them reaching out to me to ask for help with other projects they were pursuing (transcripts, social media posts, blogs, etc.).
So what’s the moral of the story?
While looking for new opportunities, new leads, and gaining new clients can give any young entrepreneur a major rush… a lot of the real opportunity early on is going to come from the first 2–3 people you can find that have an actual plan to grow in the areas where you can help them the most.
2.) Don’t be a full-time employee without a full-time salary.
In the online marketing/entrepreneurship/freelancing/whatever you want to call it space, it is common to find folks talking about the need for high-quality customer service.
When I first started I heard A LOT about how important it is to go “above and beyond” for your customer and to make an irresistible offer which isn’t bad advice per se… but there is a HUGE problem that it leads to. A huge problem that nobody told me about.
That problem is simply that you can easily end up becoming a full-time employee for even just one client… and you will not be getting ANY of the benefits of being a full-time employee anywhere else.
For a long time, I found myself working for maybe 25–30 hours per week while making about $1,200-$1,500 per month, out of which I had to pay for my own taxes, healthcare, subcontractors, etc.
The gig economy is real, and it can be dangerous.
If you are looking to start your own business, side hustle, etc. by all means, I would encourage you to do it.
Just let me be the first to tell you that you do not want to end up creating your own full-time job for some other online business person who only hires 1099 contractors because it is much cheaper for them, and much more of a hassle for you.
If you are going to end up working more like a W2 employee than like a business owner… then I would encourage you to go and find a part-time or full-time job. It is actually better. Regardless of what the “escape the rat race” people say.
3.) Don’t be afraid to let your side hustle be a side hustle.
While it could be on its way out the back door now… the “hustle culture” really picked up steam for a few years again and we had everyone thinking that the way to live a happy life was to get out of your job, own your own business, and spend all of your time traveling… I guess.
For better or for worse, this sort of hustle culture has motivated a lot of us to start our own side hustles, but it also caused us to lose the value that comes with having a side hustle without it needing to turn into a full-time business.
After spending around two years working on my “business” full-time and living off of that low income, I personally have decided to pick up a full-time job again… and it may or may not be the best choice I have ever made.
Doing so has granted me the opportunity to have a stable income I can live off of, while still doing my side hustle on the side.
The lesson here is to not be scared away from working a job. From what I’ve been able to see, most businesses that end up taking off are started as side hustles anyway.
Most of the “realistic success” stories I’ve seen have been from folks who worked diligently on their business around their working hours at their full-time job.
For the vast majority of you, this will make the most sense financially and emotionally.
Don’t Be Discouraged.
While points 2 and 3 may seem like they are meant to discourage you from running your own business.. they are not.
These points are to discourage you from starting your own business only to find yourself in a similar situation to what you would be in at a full-time job, except without the stability or benefits that come with a full-time job.
In most cases, you are only going to find more success with a business or as a freelancer when you can scale and when you have control over the work you do.
Always be aware of who you are working with, and don’t fall into the trap of doing anything and everything to satisfy your customer.
When starting a service business, have clarity about what the service is you provide, what results you can help drive, and what your goals are compared to what your clients’ goals are.
A lot of creatives struggle with clients not allowing them to use their creative muscles, and you end up being an employee that is not treated as part of the business.
