About your business growth mentor
There is something remarkable about people with the ambition to build a business.
Who turn up every day and do the work. You are my people. I stand for you.
The Best Freelancer in the Room Can Still Go Hungry
while mediocre ones with solid business skills eat really well.
It's no mystery once you get it.
The difference isn't talent.
It's knowing how to run a business.
Here's what I know for sure: I'm damn good at helping creative freelancers build sustainable businesses on their own terms. Your values, the time you have available to work, your revenue goals. I say that with complete confidence because I've seen the results — over and over and over again.
Those with business chops eat better. Full stop.
And getting my clients to that place is what drives me.
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That's what I'm here to do for you.
“Amy transformed my wobbly fledgling freelance copy business into one that I am excited about, one that fulfills me on a deep level, and one where I am fully confident in my ability to be a rockstar for my clients.
A transformation like this is priceless, but it also happily comes with dollar signs.
A few hours ago, for example, I just signed a single contract that DOUBLED MY YEARLY INCOME!"
JEFF KIMES
COPYWRITER
Because you are on my About page, you probably want to know a little more about me, right? Fair! 😉
I know what will work for you.
Because I’ve done it six times for myself.
I’ve built six successful businesses over the last 30 years. I know what works and I can teach you those skills.
01
Two of my business were creative agencies. Design, Markeing and Typography in Manhattan and Marketing and Copy outside Seattle. We successfully sold that first agency.
02
My current coaching clients are freelancers who earn between $60,000 and $400,000 per year. I’ve helped many of them double their income and get more satisfaction, and sanity.
03
While I was freelancing as a copywriter, my average first project was $8,500 and my close rate was over 80%. (I'll teach you how.)
04
Now let’s talk about what I can do for you.
Real results I’ve helped my coaching clients achieve
Because you have a client-getting system that works. Right-fit clients who understand what they’re buying and pay you for the value you deliver.
It’s how you set yourself up for sustainable success, instead of buying into the latest new idea, over and over again.
Here's what that looks like for some of my clients:
Delia Monk dramatically increased her freelance income from $2-3k months to $10k months with one client booking her for over $50k in just six months alone. “It’s crazy. I’m also booked out three to four months at a time with clients and continue to steadily increase my rates.”
Chris Collins increased his income from $5k to $9k a month leveraging a quintuplet increase in his LinkedIn followers and his new podcast
Eman Ismail shifted her freelance business to a multi-thousand dollar VIP service, generating enough revenue to cover her 7-month maternity leave and set up a client pipeline that delivers constant high-value clients.
Anna Hetzel focused on a core value that led to their creating an “entirely new branch of their business that has since become the thing people invite me to talk about on podcasts.”
Paul Melrose turned a client request for subject-line testing into a $17k+ multi-part project that got him instantly rehired when the project wrapped.
Barney Meekin went from floundering to having the tools to build a sustainable consultancy business.
Erika Fitzgerald closed her biggest contract to-date, within three months of working with me.
Steph Jouppien raised her rates to 4X what she was charging, and gained high-quality clients AND her confidence back.
Regan Breeden increased her rates 300% and started building a business that lined up with goals, needs and perspectives.
Systems, Frameworks and Old-Fashioned Business Sense
I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all formulas or “do what I did” advice. What worked for me – or anyone else to become successful, might not work for you. That’s why my coaching and mentoring always starts with understanding what you want.
Then we wrap that around proven business principles. Principles like these:
Arrive with undeniable value
Over deliver
Build systems, not one-shots
That’s why I use frameworks.
Unlike a formula wrapped in a $1,997 course, frameworks don’t tell you what to do and bury you in checklists. Instead, they give you a repeatable way to solve your problem on your terms.
My frameworks have been developed over years, some of them decades of working hands-on with people. Whether you’re new to running a business or seasoned - these frameworks meet you where you are. If you want to see for yourself what that looks like in practice? You’ll find it all in the article just below.
The $1,997 course approach
ｘ Tells you exactly what to do
ｘ Buries you in checklists
ｘ Based on someone else's path
ｘ Works until it doesn't
ｘ One lucky outcome, not a system
Developed over years — some of them decades
✓ Starts with what you want
✓ Repeatable, on your terms
✓ Grounded in proven principles
✓ Meets you where you are
✓ Builds systems, not one-shots
One-size-fits-all
Built around you
formula
framework
Why I’ll use Frameworks to build your freelance business
“When I first started working with Amy, I had no idea how insanely valuable her coaching would be - for my business and for me personally.
As a small business owner, there are times when I have no idea what to do next. But having Amy as a thought partner helps me make confident decisions that keep me moving in the right direction.
But having Amy as a thought partner helps me make confident decisions that keep me moving in the right direction.
KAYLEIGH MCHALE
MARKETING
I believe so strongly that building a business around what you want in life is the one of the most rewarding things you can do (outside your personal relationships and whatever else matters to you on this crazy journey of being human).
It’s an unequalled personal-growth experience and I recommend it to anyone who has the courage. Here are a few lessons I learned along the way that I like to share with my coaching clients.
The Three Biggest Lessons I Learned Building My Own Freelance Business
How I built a $200K+ a year copywriting business
01
Don’t chase money
Where repeatable business success comes from
I don’t believe there’s some magic universal number that equals success. My definition of success is making the money you want, on your terms. If you want that iconic six-figure business? To work six months a year and travel the rest? Or maybe work two days a week to earn a nice side income?
It’s all possible. But don’t chase the money. Instead, build systems that bring the money to you.
You need three core systems:
A lead-generation system
A discovery-call-to-proposals system
A projects system
The first will get you on the radar of the right people. The second will convert interest and intention into a signed contract. The third will make you a profit that will pay you well and build a reserve fund to try new ideas and weather storms.
systems
02
Find the right buyers
Why the right buyers make your freelance business so much easier to run
There are people who buy what you sell because they have a pressing need. You know the ones. Their site was built way back when Web 2.0 was a thing they see hiring you as a cost.
Not ideal clients.
Not bad people and in your early days they might fill a gap in your calendar, but they don’t see you as a revenue driver and don’t exactly understand the value of what you do.
You want people who see you as someone who makes them money and ideally, have ongoing needs. They hire you and pay you well because you grow their business.
Because you add value, and they get that.
When you build systems to find and work with these clients you're well set. up. Because you only need a handful of clients to secure your income.
clients
03
Take a stand
How your process signals your expertise to your ideal clients
Savvy buyers will pay more for expertise than others will pay for a deliverable.
You signal your expertise by showing up as a leader who has clear boundaries and a well-defined process.
Your process is your professional standard. When you explain the why behind what you do and how you do it? Smart clients not only understand the value of your expertise, but they feel relieved to be in good hands. And people pay well for that level of care and knowledge.
expertise
These three lessons are simple, but not easy (it was easy, ChatGPT would actually be useful in solving this).
Running your freelance business is a constant series of choices and decisions – which can be ridiculously stressful. You make a decision and you’ve got no idea if it’s brilliant or going to set you back months.
So you start. You perseverate. You change course, and lose time (truly our most valuable commodity).
Here’s the reality for all of us: you’re going to make bad decisions. That’s normal, and right. it’s how you learn. It’s hard to be new at something as an adult – it’s awkward and uncomfortable. With a handful of good business principles in your pocket to guide your thinking, it’s so much easier to make good decisions. And you only need a handful.
I’d have seven more of those to share with you. They’ll help you make better decisions, find better clients, and do more of the work that feeds your soul and fills your wallet.
You can read them here:
Becoming a Successful Business Owner
WHY ALL YOU NEED IS A FEW SOLID WINS
My grandfather was an immigrant. And like so many ambitious immigrants, he built a business. My dad worked there, eventually my mom did too. I worked there summers and holidays.
When you run a high-end men’s clothing store in New Jersey and sell European clothing, you can expect a certain type of customer to walk in the door looking for a suit.
I spent a lot of time in my parents store, and I saw how well, and respectfully he handled those Wise Guys and how well they treated him. I’ll never forget what my dad told me about that.
No one comes to us because they want a suit, he said to me. They come here because they’re ready to pay more for the experience of being well-looked after and walking out looking better.
They respected my dad because he had genuine expertise and knew exactly what they wanted. And because my mom matched and color coded outfits for them, complete with instructions on what went with what.
(Years later I read a story about how the old-timers who worked in Vegas casinos said the Mob were better bosses than the corporations who took over.)
And they weren't the only customers. But...
That’s where my business journey began. Hearing stories over the dinner table most nights about who came in, what they wanted and how they resolved all the weird things that happened.
I can tell you stories about my dad chasing thieves down the street and the employees who stole inventory and worse.
Selling Suits to the Mafia
I thought I wanted to be a lawyer (I was accepted into nine law schools). My impetus was to be an advocate for the underdog. Then I realized the week before starting that I really didn’t want to learn the minutiae of the law. At all. In fact, I’ve always been a bit of a rule breaker. Just not a great fit.
So, I walked away. (You can imagine that conversation with my parents).
Instead, I did what my grandpa and parents did and went into business. It wasn’t long before I left that first business. It’s still going strong today, and I’m still really fond of my partner in it.
Saying NO to nine different law schools and learning to walk away
Next up was joining with a typographer and designer as the marketing partner in a NYC agency. I learned so much, including the real power of being able to build a business: Being able to walk away.
We sold, bought a boat, and lived aboard and sailed the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.. It was a dream and I lived it for 18 months.
Because once you understand how to build a business, you know you can do it again. And that’s just what I’ve done. I love the creativity and chutzpah it takes to build something. I’ve built six businesses and used them to live the life I want, whether that’s sailing, spending months at a time in other countries (pre-digital nomad days), volunteering a lot of my time, or relocating to Washington State to live on the Puget sound and have Mt. Rainier in my back yard.
When I tell you you can have the business you want, and live your life in a way that matters to you, that’s not a pitch. That’s why I think you should build a business in the first place.
It’s been a long time since I left New Jersey, and it still has a place in my heart. I met my very best lifelong friend there. I have family there still. I’ve seen a lot, done a lot and, thankfully, learned a lot.
And I’ve gotten to share it with some amazing people.
It’s incredibly cliched, and my dad talked about this a lot. Your wealth is your health, family and friends. But money matters. It did to him, and it does to me.
Because in truth, money can’t buy you everything, but for what it does buy, or how you can use it to help others? Nothing else is a close substitute.
From Jersey to Puerto Vallarta
With coaching clients on weekend retreat in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Being in business has allowed me to have all of that. I’ve been surrounded by wonderful humans I enjoy spending time with, have enough money to live my life, and when I needed it, could afford what I needed to protect my health and help the people I care about.
Let me be clear. I’m not a materialist. You won’t see me driving some extravagant car or living in a big house (though I do live on a beautiful piece of property), or doing flashy things. Just not my style.
I tell you all of this to tell you why I’m so deeply committed to helping others build a business that serves them the way mine have served me. I know what it can do for your life, and honestly, I just want to hang around with more incredible creatives like you.
My best buddies, Pi and Lucca keep me amused with their poodle-y antics.
I’m here to help build that business for you
Reach out for a conversation about coaching, or plug into my newsletter, the Freelance Field Guide.
Let’s work together on building a business that feeds your soul, fuels your life and takes care of your bank account, too.
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