Treat Your Business Like Math Class and Show Your Work

One of my favorite features on Facebook is when they show you what you posted last year or 2 years ago on a particular date. I had a moment this weekend that showed me where I was at this time a few years ago. I had recently moved to the city I’m in now. As I reflected on how far I’ve come and what some of the lessons were that I’ve gained along the way, something interesting stood out. I was finally at a financially-stable place in this city like I had already been in a previous city. In essence, I had finally clawed my way back to square one and beyond.

As a freelancer, I love the fact that I can do this type of work anywhere with virtually the same infrastructure. All I need is a laptop, access to the internet, and my camera equipment. The biggest challenge to my business over the years though, was how to get clients in a new city where no one knew, liked, or trusted me.

For years I had been doing quality work, but couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I was constantly starting over. I’ve lived in 3 different cities and had to “free work” my way to customers every time. My business development process usually looked something like this: