10 years into freelancing I had to face a harsh reality. I’d gotten a bit spoiled. 

When I started, I chose my niche well. Too well. (A bit on my story here.)

I chose so well that marketing was relatively easy. Yes, I had to keep up good habits and weekly effort, but as a writer, I was selling a service that people knew they needed but didn’t really want to do themselves. And if they didn’t understand all that? Well my market was broad enough where I could simply choose not to teach them. Trust was almost instantaneous since I grounded my freelance business in my employed experience. 

Great right? In a certain sense, yes. That’s ideally what you want. 

But about 18 months ago, I decided to step into consulting as the top layer of my service structure. 

I’d been feeling burnt out on writing. 

COVID was shifting the nature of my industry. 

AI was looming on the distant horizon. 

The threat of a second Trump presidency (which we now know is the actual future) meant I needed a skill that had broad reach, potential international appeal, and that let me work at the top of my education and skill set. 

The thing is…consulting is something people don’t necessarily know they need. They definitely need education on it and building trust is an uphill climb. This means that marketing for me now is more than just introducing myself and keeping a good follow up cadence. 

The (free) tool that’s leveled up my marketing

I’ve had to step up my game in multiple ways. Doing that well has meant bringing on the right tools. 

The most important has been HubSpot’s free CRM. It’s been so useful, it’s now what I recommend and give advice on in the BlackFreelance Mastermind. 

So what’s that got to do with employment? Well, employment today is so much harder than it used to be. From ghosting employers to a minefield of fake and even scam job postings, the burden is on the job hunter to figure it all out. 

One reliable way around this is moving like a B2B freelancer—focusing on key accounts (companies you want to work for) and looking to individual people for signals of opportunity. Those signals are what a CRM helps you track and stay on top of. 

So whether you’re already a freelancer or just thinking about it, as you’re rolling into 2024, download the CRM and play around with the features. Start with a couple of old coworkers or network connections. Build it out with new prospects or potential job contacts. And don’t stop. Get in there weekly (Set a repeating reminder) at the very least to check in, follow up, and update. 

Wishing you a strong close to 2024 and an amazing 2025. See you on the other side!

Megan

Want to get the most out of your employment experience? Grab your free Employment Value Extraction worksheet here.

Looking for freelance inspiration? Check out some of my favorite Black freelancers here.