5 tweaks I made that more than tripled my solopreneur revenue in one year

Blog #141: 5 tweaks I made that more than tripled my solopreneur revenue in one year

Tea Gardens at Munnar, Kerala, India. Photo by Vivek Kumar on Unsplash

How I went from $32K to $100K with these five adjustments

Running a solopreneur business is challenging. Every challenge you overcome in your business often reflects an inner transformation that has taken place within you.

So if you are on this one-person business journey, you have my awe and respect. And if you are struggling to hit your revenue goals despite working on all cylinders, I know exactly how you feel.

I was three years into my freelance web design business and aspired to make my first $100K in annual revenue. However, I was barely making $32K for the year even while working nights and weekends. I wanted to hit my desired revenue goal but was struggling to move the needle in any substantial way.

It was obvious that there were key things that were not really working in my business. I needed to change those if I were ever to get out of my revenue stalemate.

That’s when I decided to take a closer look at how I was running things and make some hard decisions. If you are in a similar boat as a service-based online entrepreneur, solopreneur, or a one-person business wanting to break through your current income ceiling, I wrote this article for you.

In this article, I will share with you five things I adjusted that led to a breakthrough and finally delivered me a $100K annual revenue for my one-to-one web design business. Here’s a summary:

1. Cut down your offers to two

2. Stop doing custom quotes

3. Prime your consultation calls to convert leads into clients

4. Offer a no-brainer package option

5. Invest in a tool for easily getting paid and getting contracts e-signed

Let’s dive right in!

1. Cut down your offers to two

Not an easy task but highly profitable!

I had begun my freelance journey with ConvertKit email marketing services. And as my skills developed over the course of time, I began offering all kinds of services. For instance, I did project management, social media planning, email marketing for Mailchimp, Mailerlite, ConvertKit, tweaks, and updates on Squarespace along with my signature web design services. I was diluting my offers with things that I was capable of doing but with each new offer, a new workflow and system had to be developed. Managing all those systems created clutter and crowded out the area where I wanted to focus: Squarespace Web Design. Plus, I was also launching a couple of courses, had online workshops on offer, and was creating blog posts and videos for my YouTube channel.

That’s when I cut out all my offers down to two:

1. Squarespace Web Design Packages

2. Hourly Maintenance Packages for clients for whom I have already built a website

I decided to say no to any projects that did not fit into my two main offers, even if the clients were amazing and they were willing to pay my prices. I also put a pause on conducting online workshops and content creation to focus on this one $100K goal.

If you find your freelance business bringing in revenue but you are starting to feel stagnated, think of how you can streamline your offers. You may have to let go of your most popular offers if they are too time-consuming or do not bring in much revenue. Reduce your offers down to one or two main offers and see your revenue begin to skyrocket.

2. Stop doing custom quotes

This is a controversial one since many in the service-based industry rely on custom quotes. In my view, custom quotes are hugely time-consuming. My consult calls were often long and drawn out and then I would spend 3 to 4 hours preparing a customized quote. Half a day went into client acquisition and then often these specific clients would not choose to work with me.

I knew I had to change this. I decided to craft a couple of design packages where I would deliver a set number of deliverables which clients can choose from if these packages fit their needs. I would determine the time it would take to complete these tasks and how much I would feel good to get paid for it all.

This one decision saved me a ton of time and actually led to closing more projects as clients knew exactly what they were signing up for even before they met me on the call. My prices were transparently listed on my website. So regardless of what your net worth is, my packages don’t change based on your wallet size! I liked the democratic feeling of that and that’s how I would love to be treated by people I hire as well.

Consider creating custom quotes in your freelance business. Whether you are a copywriter or a graphic designer or a fitness coach offering 1 to 1 services, create attractive packages instead of doing custom quotes. Price them well and then blow your clients away with awesome value.

Take this approach for a test drive. If you don’t jive with it, you can always go back to custom quotes. But if you do it right, packages will change your business for the better and you will see an increase in time, flow, and revenue in your business.

3. Prime your consultation calls to convert leads into clients

One of the problems I faced was converting interested people into clients for my web design packages. I realized that these potential clients were faced with information overload during the hiring process. First, there are many designers to choose from and then each one has their own, often, complicated system. Then the client speaks to me and hears one more business model that they had to now understand in order to decide if we were a right fit. Often my consult calls would drag on for an hour or an hour and a half and still not help the client to make a decision. So I decided to change how I conducted the consultation calls.

I implemented these changes:

1. Reduced the consult call to 30 minutes (if they wanted to chat more they could pay a consult fee)

2. Broke down my call into three main parts:
   a. the client’s problem/goal,
   b. info about my packages,
   c. getting booked, and next steps.

3. Changed how I presented my offer and added price anchoring to make it easy for clients to choose working with me

Having a structured consultation call has been a game-changer. If your calls are dragging on without clients deciding to hire you on the call, then you need to revise what you say on your consultation call.

To help you do just that, I have written out a minute-by-minute playbook of what you should say during your 30-minute complimentary call. I call it my 100K Consult Call Script and you can get it here — my gift to you.

Change your consult call structure, reduce the call down to half an hour, and present your offers using price anchoring. This will create a thrust in your airplane of a small business and your business will take off!

4. Offer a no-brainer package option

My design package at the time was priced at $3500 for a two-week website build for 5 pages. I was meeting a lot of clients who were just starting a new business for whom that was a high budget. Now my two-week design packages are at $9800 and may even be more by the time you read this. And yes, I enjoyed working on two-week websites. Clients were fun to work with and the website content was interesting to build.

But I didn’t like the feeling of turning away clients who clearly loved the idea of working with me, only if there was a better financial fit. However, I didn’t like the idea of reducing my prices on the two-week package for just those clients who could not afford my packages.

Enter: Website In A Day Package

Instead, I decided to reduce the time and deliverables. I came up with a Website In A Day package which I would deliver in a single day. It would only be a three-page website at US$1500 (later $1800) This pricing is likely more by the time you read this article or the package may no longer be on offer in the future).

Over time, I perfected this day-long design process. I made it super streamlined with me knowing every task that needs to get completed and by when. Clients loved the affordability and the fast turnaround aspect, plus they loved that they could get to work with me at a price point better suited for their new business.

This one offer was exactly what folks were looking for. In 2022, I booked 28 Websites In A Day which made for 42% of my annual revenue goal.

If you are a web designer or freelancer service-based business owner wanting to hit the $100K mark in your business, such a streamlined no-brainer package will help you get there.

5. Invest in a tool for easily getting paid and getting contracts e-signed

This one investment has had an immense ROI (return on investment) in my business because it made it super easy for clients to hire me. Before this app, I would send my clients a digital contract in one email from an app. Then I would send them a payment link or an invoice from another app. Clients would either sign the contract but not pay on time or pay but not have the contract signed on time. This caused unnecessary delays and confusion.

When I invested in Honeybook, this changed overnight. Honeybook have a brochure feature which I have not seen anywhere else: it allows you to send one email that has both the payment button as well as the e-contract for e-signature.

One. Single. Email.

I created a template for this which I would then customize for each new client project — so creating the contract and payment email would take about 20–30 minutes vs several hours before Honeybook.

Honeybook* (affiliate link) is just one example. There are other tools and if you find one you like, go for it. My point is: find a system/app that makes the hiring process easy for your clients so you can get to work and focus on the creative part of the design business.

On a side note, I do want to mention that I have always gotten paid in advance by my clients, either online or in person. Having the money question out of the way has opened up my creativity and focus so that during the project I am not worried about whether or not I will get paid. I highly recommend getting paid well before the project starts so you too can unleash your creativity and serve your clients in the best possible way. Clients have had no issues paying upfront, it’s only a mental hurdle in the mind of the freelancer that folks won’t want to do it. This is a topic for a whole other article but I wanted to mention it here briefly.

So there you are. Five changes that helped me hit my coveted goal and actually more than tripled my revenue from $32,171.30 in 2021 to $106,375.28 in 2022. I invite you to consider these changes in your business and see what happens:

1. Cut down your offers to two

2. Stop doing custom quotes

3. Prime your consultation calls to convert leads into clients

4. Offer a no-brainer package option

5. Invest in a tool for easily getting paid and getting contracts e-signed

Let me know in the comments how you would apply these 5 points and whether you have them implemented.

PS: For more tips and invites to trainings on how to grow your freelance online business, join the Abundant Creative Newsletter here.

Content Creation & Overcoming the Pressure For Excellence

Blog #140: Overcoming the Pressure For Excellence

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

Being an expert on a topic is great. And hopefully, you are on the journey to becoming good at whatever it is that you want to do.

But right now, if you don’t consider yourself an expert, let that not stop you from starting. How?

You do that using three specific ways of thinking that I will share in this article.

The Excellence Pressure & The Heavy Mental Cost
There is a real drive for excellence in our culture. Whether it is getting straight A’s, being multi-disciplinary or well-rounded in all subjects, and earning a high income, the emphasis on being really really good is tremendous. It comes from our parents, our friends, from pop culture and media at large. Some of it is also self-created, of course.

Although creating excellence in any field is a worthy aspiration, the pressure when not handled right starts killing our spirits and our creativity and unfortunately, also literally killing us. It can show up in being prone to illness, becoming unhealthy in our food intake, and postponing movement. It shows up in emotional distress and the inability to deal with setbacks we face in life such as heartbreak, job loss, or other types of hardships, and sadly, shows up as countless people of all ages succumb to the pressure that leads to suicide.*

The need to be good, nay, excellent at something even before one has begun is something I have felt every time I write a blog or Medium article. I feel it before I post on Linkedin or begin to create content for YouTube.

These are some thoughts that fly through my mind:

I am not an expert. This exact topic has been written about by people before. And they have written better pieces of work. Plus, they are Stanford or Harvard professors who have written books and taught the subject for decades.

So the conclusion I make is:

Whatever I say or write will be irrelevant, will not be excellent, and cannot be of value as a result. Thus, no one will watch it or read it. I should just give up, curl up in a ball, and go hide under a rock.

Yes, I know. It’s intense!

This is something I have often felt; far too often. I felt it before writing this article.

And I share this because there is a false sense of perfection that we feel the need to present to the outside world. How many times have you put your “game face” on right before a client call on Zoom, having just cried your face off a few minutes before? I have. Plenty of times.

While researching for this article, I came across this article in the New York Times* about the “practice of acting happy and self-assured even when sad or stressed”. The article presents this description of students on college campuses who feel the pressure to put up a positive front even when they are facing hardships:

”In 2003, Duke jolted academe with a report describing how its female students felt pressure to be “effortlessly perfect”: smart, accomplished, fit, beautiful and popular, all without visible effort. At Stanford, it’s called the Duck Syndrome. A duck appears to glide calmly across the water, while beneath the surface it frantically, relentlessly paddles.”

The Duck image says it all.

Translate the above to the pressure of perfection in writing and creating content and you get the point.

To break this chain of thought, I then, have to actively remind myself of a few very healthy, wholesome pieces of advice:

1. “What a terrible conclusion!”

First, “What a terrible conclusion!” This makes me laugh because it’s a line from one of my favorite SNL skits ( see 1.48 seconds into this clip or watch the whole 5 min! The Nuni’s (Natalie Portman) new boyfriend Geoff (Jason Sudeikis) asks whether Gorillas were killed to make the “hair chair” he is sitting on. Then the mom, Nuni (Maya Rudolph) responds, “What a terrible conclusion!” in the most funny way, at least to me. And it makes me laugh each time. My husband and I say this line to each other whenever we have a misunderstanding of some sort and we break into laughter.

This is a scene at our home: One of us says,” The cats look hungry. It seems that no one fed them.” To which one of us replies, ”What a terrible conclusion!” We both break out in laughter.

Okay, I digress.

So I remind myself that because I am not an expert or don’t have degrees or decades committed to the subject, doesn’t make my writing any less valuable. “That’s a terrible conclusion”, I say to myself. By that logic, no one would ever say a word or write a thing until they had already reached excellence. This of course doesn’t mean I don’t work towards excellence. But on the path to it, I can still be making a difference.

2. Make a Contribution to the Conversation

Denise Duffield Thomas of the Lucky Bitch books has a piece of advice that I want to share with you. She says to think about anything you are doing as “making a contribution” to the conversation. She is a money mindset author and coach. When she was starting out, she understood that there were other money experts out there like Suze Orman. But instead of letting that discourage her, she decided to contribute to the conversation of improving our money mindset - sharing her angle, her thoughts, her experiences.

I love that. Because now, with that kind of approach, the pressure is off. You are contributing to the conversation not necessarily having to be the last word on any topic.

3. Be an Enthusiast
Another way to think about it is how Gary Vee puts it: Be an enthusiast.

Create content and in doing so, show your enthusiasm about a topic, you get to learn about yourself and what you are curious about. Share your enthusiasm on the topic and you don’t have to be an expert.

Don’t claim to be an expert. Simply share your enthusiasm!

So whether you remind yourself of “what a terrible conclusion!” you are making when you count yourself out or to contribute to the conversation or be an enthusiast on a topic, remove the pressure on yourself that is stopping you from creating and bringing your gifts to our world.

This is a surefire way to remove the fear of not being perfect in what you are creating. Let there be typos. I have seen typos in best-selling New York Times books that had a team of editors and years of production time. Allow yourself to be human! This advice is for me as much as for anyone reading this article.

All of this will help you to create, innovate, and move forward. It will remove the hurdle of waiting until you are great at something.

Start now.

Do this now.

And the fruit of this process might just be you demonstrating excellence.

Share your experience with this in the comments. I would love to know what goes on your mind when it comes to creating.

PS: For more tips and invites to trainings on how to grow your freelance online business, join the Abundant Creative Newsletter here.

Sources:

Robinson Ph.D., Bryan. “Grappling With The Rise Of Work-Related Suicide During The Pandemic: How To Support Yourself And Fellow Coworkers.” Forbes, 5 Sept. 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2020/09/05/grappling-with-the-rise-of-work-related-suicide-during-the-pandemic-how-to-support-yourself-and-fellow-coworkers/?sh=6aa65bf548d2 Retrieved on Feb 6th, 2024

Scelfo, Julie. “Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection.” The New York Times, 2 Aug. 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/education/edlife/stress-social-media-and-suicide-on-campus.html Retrieved Feb 6th, 2024

SNL. “The Art Dealers: Their Daughter’s New Boyfriend” YouTube, 1 Feb 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqagvk7dLw

GaryVee. “A Rant That Will Destroy Your Imposter Syndrome On Social Media” YouTube, 9 Aug 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpVX4jJNu4k

24 Tools I Use To Run My Freelance Web Design Business

Blog #139: 24 Tools I Use To Run My Freelance Web Design Business

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Recently, I reviewed all the tools that I use in my freelance web design business. I like to take an inventory from time to time to see where I can invest in tools that will help me simplify and streamline my business, and remove those that don’t serve me anymore.

In 2024, it turns out I currently use 24 tools to run my business and deliver my design packages. In today's article, I am breaking them into six categories so it’s easier to follow: client acquisition and communication, payments, design, organization and project management, legal, finances, taxes, admin, content production, and social media.

I. Client Acquisition and Communication

1. Zoom: Zoom for consult calls, and client communication during projects as well as webinars and paid workshops.

2. 9Designs/Squarespace Marketplace: This is my main source of client projects. Many new designers hesitate to go on a freelancer platform because of the fees they charge. But if you are not booked out or making the revenue goal you want, getting a profile set up on a platform like Upwork or others and diligently applying to jobs will make a huge difference. Remember it won’t be forever, just to get your foot into the door.

3. Squarespace (Hosting, Domain, Client intake, online presence): This is where I host my website, purchased my domain, and have an online presence. As a Squarespace web designer, this makes sense.

4. ConvertKit: This is my email marketing platform. Mailerlite is my second favorite as it is cheaper and delivers the key features that Convertkit delivers. But the user interface and ease of use of ConvertKit keep me there for now.

5. Google Workspace (for email): This is where I get my business email from.

6. Google Drive (for client content): I use Google Drive to receive all client content including text, images, logos, and links. They also fill out two questionnaires which are hosted on my website.

7. Keynote: I love using Keynote, mostly for presentation slides for my webinars or YouTube videos. I have also used Google Slides, which I may switch to in the future.

8. Pages: I love Pages for creating PDFs - such as my welcome package, finished website PDF, and my Bio/Testimonials PDF that I send to any new client inquiring about a project.

9. WeTransfer: If I am not sending a recording link of my website launch training on Zoom, I may send the entire video recording via WeTransfer.

10. Acuity Scheduling: This is the app that I got legacy pricing on as I was using it when Squarespace first acquired it. So I have all my consult calls on there. Calendly, and Whereby are my other alternatives.

11. Loom (for client communication): During my two-week design project workflow, I will often use Loom for presenting my design draft or asking a question to a client. This allows for more asynchronous communication and avoids lengthy meetings on Zoom.

12. Honeybook: This tool can be it’s own productivity app. But I primarily use it for sending a single email that has both the payment link and the contract in one. This has saved countless hours of back and forth and got me booked faster.

II. Payments

13. Stripe: Stripe is the tool I use for receiving payments for clients who book me directly via my website or if I have digital products or live paid workshops.

14. Paypal: Paypal is the payment processor that I use to get paid for my projects via 99Design. Squarespace integrates with both Stripe and Paypal, so if you create a product or service there, you can offer both options to your clients.

III. Design

15. Canva: Mostly for creating video clips, documents, and some graphics.

16. Picmonkey: I use Picmonkey for image alterations, enhancement and YouTube thumbnails

IV. Organization and Project Management

17. Notion: This is now my entire business operations. I have my goals, workflows, content creation, everything in Notion.

18. Milanote: Milanote is where my headquarters used to be. I have moved most of my things from Mila to Notion but still have some archives there which I would like to eventually move to Notion and have a single online headquarters.

(See also point 6). Google Drive: (Google Docs and folders for client content) Google Drive is mostly for clients to send me their content inside Google Docs and folders.

V. Legal, Finances, Taxes, Admin

19. Turbo Tax: I use Turbo Tax to pay my taxes.

(See also point 6) Google Drive (Finance Spreadsheet): This is where I track my income and expenses. I find it very encouraging to track income and potential income in here.

VI. Content Production and Social Media

20. QuickTime: Quicktime is what I use for recording my screen and also my face for YouTube tutorials.

21. iMovie: This is my editing software. I am keeping things simple with video editing. I may explore other options like Final Cut Pro or hire a video editor when things progress in my content creation branch of my business or for course creation.

22. YouTube: All my long-form videos are published on YouTube. This is part of my leveraged business model.

23. LinkedIn: Also part of my leveraged business model, LinkedIn is where I post short-form content and link it to my website.

24. Medium: Also part of my leveraged business model, Medium is where I post my long-form content and link it to my website.

These are all the paid and free tools I use in my one-to-one web design business. I have also used Upwork in the past for client acquisition and Teachable/Crowdcast for course hosting and webinars but I don’t use these anymore. I may have a section for courses and digital products here later when I grow that part of my business.

There you have it: six categories and 24 tools to grow and build my solopreneur online web design business. Post below in the comments any apps that are critical to your business or alternatives you think I should consider to those I am currently using.

PS: For more tips and invites to trainings on how to grow your freelance online business, join the Abundant Creative Newsletter here.

Cop-out or Commitment to 10X

Blog #138: Cop-out or Commitment to 10X

Photo by Rohan Reddy on Unsplash

What feels like a commitment to you, may look like a cop-out to others.

That’s what happened recently when I called off a new project even before it began.

The project was a new YouTube interview series where I would chat with web designers, freelancers, and content creators. The aim: to help freelancers build and grow their solopreneur business online.

It was exciting. Four people booked to be guests. But as it got closer to getting things organized, I felt this increasing unease. After a day of feeling a knot in my stomach, I called it off.

From the outside, this looks like a cop-out. I seem unreliable and flip-floppy in my decisions. But on the inside, this took courage. Courage not only to write that message to my guests but courage to stay committed to my Unique Ability.

I was committing to my Unique Ability.

What is “Unique Ability”?

At the start of this year, I learned deeply about this idea in the book, 10X is Easier than 2x by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. They write that your Unique Ability is “where you have superior skills, where you’re intrinsically motivated and are energized and engaged, and it’s where you see a never-ending possibility for improvement.” It’s about becoming familiar and really clear about what you like and dislike and that your judgments about your experience are completely valid. It’s becoming open to your preferences and not letting other people’s opinions about what you do affect you.

”Unique Ability is qualitative and individual, it’s extremely unique value that only you can create…It’s a combination of a degree of skill as well as an extreme degree of uniqueness.” - Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

It’s akin to what I have heard Oprah Winfrey in her talks and speeches mention repeatedly when she said, “I want to fulfill the highest, truest expression of myself as a human being.”

But as the authors write in the book, committing to one’s Unique Ability is the “hardest and most intense thing you will ever do.” It’s about taking inventory of where you are investing your time and what activities are taking up your mental bandwidth.

That takes courage. Saying no to invitations is hard. Choosing to work a 4-day week is not easy. Filling up your calendar with the most important items will lead to very little time remaining for anything else. And canceling projects you asked your guests to join, not just once, but twice, does feel awkward.

“I want to fulfill the highest, truest expression of myself as a human being.”

— Oprah

Facing One’s Ego

Sometimes you’ve got to face your past decisions. The first time I canceled the YouTube interview series was because I had already a very full schedule and I was trying to squeeze-in one more thing into my calendar. I could see that I was moving toward burnout very fast this way. So I dropped the project.

The second time I canceled the project was out of a renewed sense of self-awareness.

"As you develop your Unique Ability...You'll stop forcing yourself to do anything you don't want to do. You'll accept and live by what psychologists call pull motivation, rather than push motivation. When you're pulled by what you want and what excites you, that's freedom and intrinsic motivation. You'll no longer operate based on need, but want." - Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

After taking time to reflect on my goals, I realized that starting the interview series was based on a need, not a true desire or want. I was giving in to this idea that creating a YouTube interview series is something I "should" do because I heard or read somewhere that this is a great way to build an audience and grow my business. Although I was excited about meeting the guests and asking them questions, the whole logistics of conducting the series, editing, and putting it all together was something that had begun to drain me. Sure, I can outsource all of that but the project as a whole was making me feel out of my element. I started to get this feeling that I should dye my hair, buy new makeup, and change who I essentially am so I can be “good enough” to host the show!

Changing myself to be “good enough”! Phew! These are all signs that I was embarking on this project because of some idea that was not inherently mine. It was not an authentic desire driving me forward. It came from a feeling that I “should do” this. And that is not healthy or wholesome.

Questions You Can Ask Yourself When Making Decisions

If you are faced with a decision and don’t quite know which path to take, ask yourself these questions. Then assess if a project or a decision is something you want to embark on and if it’s helping you towards your 10x goals.

1. Is this in alignment with my Unique Ability?

2. Is this something that is fun, enjoyable, or inspiring?

3. Will this project help me explore the edge of my 20%?

Letting Go is Part of Embracing The 20%

One of the ideas in the book is about letting go of the 80% to focus on the 20%. This 20% is the edge where you take what you are really good at and get even better. It’s connected to going 10x which is an ongoing process of increasing the quality and decreasing the quantity of what you do. The 20% of everything you do is where the magic lies, allowing you to focus on the 10x goals, and that requires you to focus on fewer things than many.

Letting go more and more of the 80% that takes up your time is essential if you want to go 10x. This doesn’t necessarily mean eliminating it altogether, of course; it can mean delegating to a new hire or automating the tasks. But it is also about letting go of that which is not serving your 10x goals.

Committing to Your Unique Ability

As I read the chapter on Unique Ability in the book, I realized that if I am not enjoying the things I am doing in my business, then I shouldn’t be doing them. Either eliminate or delegate. As soon as I made the decision to call off the interview series, a knot in my stomach seemingly released. I felt at ease. I felt free.

Diving deeper into what inspires me, I realize that what I truly want to do is write and share ideas, insights, and strategies that can help online entrepreneurs and freelancers succeed. It’s not making YouTube interview videos unless I can tap into it from a true desire that brings joy and excitement and I am open to that happening at a later time.

Letting go of something you’ve started is okay. Even if it seems to others as wishy-washy behavior. You are allowed to re-commit to your most important priorities, to your 10x goals, to your Unique Ability. What others think of how you commit your time is none of your business!

I am committing to my Unique Ability.

…

PS: If you are on LinkedIn, I invite you to ​connect with me​ there for more conversations and connections. If you want more tips and invites to trainings on how to grow your freelance online business, join the Abundant Creative Newsletter here.

Where do I find my very first client? This is my answer

Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash

Blog #136: Where do I find my very first client? This is my answer

Once you’ve decided to start your side hustle or freelance business whether it is web design or anything else, you are likely to have one important question.

”Where do I find my first client?”

Ways to find clients are countless. My advice: Pick one method that feels right. Then follow-through.

My first client came via my network. But I had no network. I had to start from scratch. This is what I did to get started. (In a recent article, I shared the one thing I wish I had done early in my web design career. ​Read that here.​)

Back in 2018, I decided that web design was going to be my path to being financially independent. I was looking for my very first client. I had read that one needs to begin with their network.

The problem: I had none. I had just moved to a new town. I knew my neighbors. I knew the grocery store clerk. That’s it.

So I joined a local writer’s club.

Writing a book one day had been on my bucket list for a long time. This group met every week to discuss writing, publishing, and marketing. So I attended the weekly meets. Each time I introduced myself as a “Squarespace Web Designer”. Anytime someone asked me what I did, that was my go-to answer.

Eventually, I became known as the Squarespace Web Designer.

Then one day, the Ex-President of the club and I were chatting about the recent guest speaker when she said, “You know, we need to update our old WordPress site. It’s stuck in the 1990’s. Can you help? Ah, but we don’t have any funds for a web designer.”

I gulped and with googly eyes said, “Yes, I can build it for you but on one condition: You’ll need to write me an awesome testimonial and give me permission to use this site as my portfolio piece.”

“It’s a deal,” she said and that’s how I got my first client.

Okay, I know, I know. You are saying: hey, that’s not a paid client. Hold your horses, my friend, you’ll see!

Yes, you are right. This was not a paying client but she was a client nonetheless. And I had only made websites for my family and friends so far. This was more valuable as an experience for me than money at the time. Plus, I wanted to add a real project to my portfolio. Besides I was a member of the club which was run by volunteers. This was going to be my pro-bono contribution to the group.

Over the next few weeks whenever she had time in her schedule, we met at a local cafe and we got a beautiful Squarespace site for the non-profit writer’s club completed.

But that’s not where the story ends. (That’s why I asked you to hold your horses!).

At the next meeting, the Ex-President looked at me and announced that the new website was completed. Many members of the club approached me and congratulated me on a job well done. This is what was so powerful. All 500 or so members of the writer’s club (some via email) now knew there was a web designer in the group.

That’s when the Program Coordinator approached me and asked me to do a presentation for the Marketing slot on web design. I made a 45-minute presentation on how authors can use websites to get visible and build an email list that’s their own. I showed websites of leading authors, highlighting what worked well and what didn’t.

At the end of the presentation, several people came up to me and asked for more info on my design services. Out of them, one was super interested. A few weeks later, she hired me to build her website.

This took several months.

But I finally had my very first paying client.

Moral of the story:

1. Get your first client from your network.

2. If you don’t have one, join a group with shared interests.

3. Introduce yourself as the thing you want to get hired for (ex. Copywriter, Graphic Designer, etc).

4. Show up and contribute to the group weekly.

5. Say yes to pro bono work at first, especially, work for the group itself.

6. Because that's how your work can quickly be shown to hundreds of people in that group.

7. Take the opportunity to present or teach your area of expertise as relevant to this particular interest group. Become known as the go-to person on that topic in this specific group.

Again, there are countless ways to get your first client for your side hustle. Eventually, I also added other client acquisition avenues. But this is how I got my first web design client.

Find a way that you resonate with. Then, follow through.

PS: If you are on LinkedIn, I invite you to ​connect with me​ there for more conversations and connections. If you want more tips and invites to trainings on how to grow your freelance online business, join the Abundant Creative Newsletter here.

Don’t move the goal post. The art of being content.

Photo by Mariana Medvedeva on Unsplash

Blog #135: Don’t move the goal post. The art of being content.

Don’t move the goalpost. … for you to be content.

Being content is an art. We weren’t all born with it.

But we can all cultivate this art of contentment.

Recently, I was watching a YouTube video in which Gary Vee is being asked questions by the event participants. One by one they ask their questions until a boy steps up to the mic and asks, “What do I do if I don’t know what I want to do in life?” Gary asked him how old he is and he replied “I am 14 years old”.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Who has not been asked this as a child! Every time this question is asked, a child is zapped out of the present moment and transported into a future that doesn’t exist.

It makes them realize there is something else than being a child at this moment, something to work towards, something other than “now”.

Do you remember that moment for you?

I remember. I was maybe 10 or 11 and visiting my grandmother’s place. A neighbor was passing by and started to have small talk with me. And then she asked me the question, “So, Sophia, what do you want to do when you grow up?” I had not thought about this question before but I felt the pressure to give a “smart” answer. I blurted out, “Hmm, I want to be an environmental engineer.”

This story took place in the 1980s in Mumbai where, like elsewhere in the world, there’s a huge pressure for kids to do good in school and “make their parents proud”. So I said the smartest sounding thing I could think of, not even knowing what an environmental engineer does. She said, “Good, good. I knew you would want to become an engineer or a doctor.”

I never wanted to be an engineer or a doctor. And I had no intentions of becoming either even though I didn’t know what I wanted to major in college. Even when I had a major selected, I was not sure if that was the thing I wanted to do. All the way right into my early 40s I have from time to time asked myself, “Is this what I am meant to do with my life?” And each time I was not satisfied with my current output or contribution to the world.

There were days when people just did the job that their fathers did. A shopkeeper’s son would become a shopkeeper. A school teacher’s daughter would become a school teacher or a professor. And so on.

But in today’s times, changing your career path once or even multiple times is not that unusual. In fact, according to a statistic by the US Department of Labor, the average American changes careers 5-7 times during their working life. (Source: https://novoresume.com/career-blog/career-change-statistics).

I can attest to that statistic in my own path. My first job when I was a high schooler was restocking bookshelves at the local public library and then several small jobs to help during college. After I graduated from college, I worked at the ticket counter at the Natural History Museum in NYC. My first full-time job was as a tour guide at the United Nations headquarters in NY where I worked for 4 and a half years. Then again did some smaller jobs during graduate school. After I graduated, not having found a job in either of my degrees, I started a small business designing photo books. Then, I taught visualization and meditation. After that, I did freelance email marketing consulting for solopreneurs. Then I became a self-taught web designer and started my web design business. And now I am again discovering what my next phase will be all about.

Talk about career changes!

So to think that a 14-year-old should now know what he will be doing for the rest of his life is, to me, pretty insane.

Okay, of course, some were born knowing that they wanted to be a cellist already while in their mother’s womb. Or they know they want to be an athlete. Or they know singing is the only thing they want to do. If you are one of those, fine, this article may not reflect you but it will inform you about the rest of us mortals and our career struggles!

Being a child as a child

Gary Vee in his answer reminded the 14-year-old that with the progress in technology, he might live to about 150 years. And that almost everyone in this room would have wanted in their childhood to have played more, hung out some more, did more of the “childhood” things.

We look back and can see that our time as a child was precious. He then asks the kid to follow his curiosity. See what sparks his interest. What makes him jump up with joy? And he reminds him to try different things before making up his mind. To make a point, he asked his audience, “Who in the audience doesn’t like oysters?” Some hands go up. He then asks, “Of those who raised their hands, how many have not tried oysters?” Some of the hands stayed up. Gary reminded the kid to try things out before making a decision or ruling it out.

As I watched this exchange between Gary and the kid, I felt like this message was for me and a lot of us out there who are wondering about our life path.

Ambition, aspiration, goals - these are wonderful things that keep us moving forward.

And then there are times when those same ambitions, aspirations, and goals keep us stuck, suck the life force out of us, and leave us questioning and doubting ourselves; asking what we are meant to do with our lives.

So that’s the dilemma. We have aspirations and ambitions. Then we have curiosity and finding meaning or leaving a legacy. And then we have contentment. How do we navigate all of that?

I have a couple of suggestions on how to make sense of this. And I want to share two key aspects that tie all of it together.

#1. We need to let our curiosity and delight guide us.

What if you allowed yourself to try new ideas that you were curious about? Things that don’t make sense for your career progression or professional growth but simply interest you. Perhaps, something that sparks joy for the inner child within you. What if you were to take some time and go do that? To see what happens.

#2. We need to learn to be more content with our lives.
Being content doesn’t necessarily mean not having aspirations or goals or being complacent. It means being satisfied and humble about our progress so far. It means looking back and seeing how far we have come.

For instance, if my aim is to lose 15 pounds, and I check to see that I have lost 2 pounds since I started the path of becoming healthy, then I am celebrating and being happy about the progress made so far, instead of bemoaning how far I am from my ideal of losing 15 lbs.

This way of thinking is a new thinking habit. We have to wean ourselves out of the constant future-goal seeking. Yes, the future goal can be motivating and can inspire us to make changes and to take action. But it should not demolish our well-being because we realize we are so far away from achieving the ideal. Every small step is a win. Drop by drop the whole ocean is filled up.

So combining these two ingredients of curiosity and contentment, we can chart our path. Being present to the good that is already here. Being curious about where our next evolution is emerging. Allowing and receiving, observing and growing, creating and sharing.

So, how does one cultivate the art of contentment?

What I have found is that I would set a goal in my life or business. Then, work diligently to achieve it. Once I got there, I was happy for a moment. And then I set up the next goal. This cycle is exhausting, never ending and only brings a fleeting sense of joy or pleasure. Winning feels good. But it’s tiring to always be chasing that goal. And then once the goal is arrived at, I would move the goal further. Phew, I am out of breath just thinking about this.

Don’t move the goalpost and think that’s where your next source of contentment lies. That would be a lie.

This is certainly the case with earning more income. Princeton University researchers have put data behind this statement, “Money can keep buying happiness for already happy people, but among the most unhappy, the money helps stave off unhappiness only to a point.” (Source: https://behavioralpolicy.princeton.edu/news/DK_wellbeing0323) In other words, moving the income goal post higher will only solve some of the unhappiness, and then after reaching a point, its happiness-benefit declines.

I am not saying you shouldn’t aspire to earn more. No, please go ahead, and earn millions. We need more of you to become high net worth individuals and create wealth; generational wealth for our families.

Move your goalpost to get to the next level. But not to feed your contentment.

And if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. That’s okay. Follow your curiosity. Be patient. And try different things. Maybe the trying of different things is where your source of contentment resides.

How do we get out of this cycle that gets us out of breath, out of soul, and out of alignment with who we are?

Decouple contentment from aspiration.

We need to decouple our contentment from our goals and aspirations. We need to recognize what the purpose of goals is and we need to identify what the source of our contentment is. Again, that doesn’t mean letting go of the goals and aspirations. Not at all. Let me explain what I mean.

The goals and aspirations that you have about your life, business or relationships are for one purpose - helping you to determine your actions and your habits. It helps you define what you want to do to experience the fruition of your goals. So if my goal is to lose 15 lbs., this goal determines the key actions and habits that I need to develop: eating healthy and moderately, doing some walking, strength training, or cardio every day. The goals help me craft my plan of action.

However, the goals or the reaching of the goals is not where I get my contentment. Your goals are not there to feed your sense of contentment.

Your source of contentment can come from a combination of things: Gratitude is a great starting point. But if gratitude is cursory, superficial, or forced, then it will not lead you to your contentment. Add these other elements to your contentment recipe, while deepening gratitude:

1. Self-appreciation: appreciating yourself for every action step you take towards your goals.

   So taking the same example of weight loss, I appreciate myself when I do eat moderately or do go and get my 20 minutes of strength training done.

2. Humility: acknowledging that the goal is important and aspirational but you’ve already taken baby steps and are doing the best you can. This includes being patient with yourself as you make progress. Being aware that you are doing your best and have already made efforts and progress despite challenges and setbacks.

3. Enjoying the process: actually enjoying the path towards the goals.

   In my case, enjoying the movement and the experience of the machines when I do strength training. Actually enjoying what I am doing right now, right here.

4. Contextualizing Setbacks: We often look at setbacks on our path as a way of determining that we are not good enough in the thing we want to achieve. But by looking at setbacks as a status report, we can relieve the pressure and the gnawing mental pain and suffering that losing or having a setback can cause us.
   
   So if the goal is not being achieved or you’ve experienced a setback of any sort, assess it, and study it to find the meaning or the lesson within it. The setback is not to be used to define you as a “loser”. But it’s here to guide you to the changes you need to make. This is how you can turn a setback into a winning ingredient and a deepening of your self-recognition as someone who keeps going and perseveres.

5. Assessing from the past, how far you’ve come: Deriving your joy and contentment by looking back and seeing the progress made so far. I can celebrate my efforts and the progress that I have made since I began this journey. It helps me to stop comparing my present results with a future ideal. But look at the past and see how much change I have made. And this looking back is not connected with the results. I may have gained 2 pounds since I started, but I notice the changes I have made, the challenges I have overcome, and the lessons/insights I have gained. This is not about tracking results. It’s about looking at inner transformation and change within.

So we use goals to chart our course forward.
We unlink our contentment from the results.
Not postponing our joy to the future point when we think we will arrive at our goal.
We get clear about our true source of contentment.
Recognizing the joys of the process right now, enjoying the thrill of doing the work now, and experiencing the benefits of your progress now not later.

It’s a practice.
Make the click in your mind of where your true source of contentment comes from.
And then you can still pursue your goals but you experience contentment already now long before the goal materializes as your experience.



PS: If you are on LinkedIn, I invite you to ​connect with me​ there for more conversations and connections. If you want more tips and invites to trainings on how to grow your freelance online business, join the Abundant Creative Newsletter here.

One Thing I Wish I Had Done Sooner for Building My Freelance Web Design Business

Photo by Per Lööv on Unsplash

Blog #134: One Thing I Wish I Had Done Sooner for Building My Freelance Web Design Business

Fix this early on in your freelance business journey.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a manual on how to start your freelance business or side-hustle that was customized to you specifically? Like so many newbies, when I began my web design business in the Fall of 2018, that’s exactly what I was in need of.

I wished for a custom blueprint that fit my personality, my specific goals and aspiration and the exact challenges that I was facing in my business.

There was none.

I did read a few blogs of other freelancer journeys but had not fully found the answer for myself.

So trial and error was to be the path.

I made many mistakes or what I now lovingly call “learning lessons”. This is just one of them:

Learning Lesson: Build a Portfolio of Showcasing Your Skills Early

Had I resolved this sooner, I would have made faster progress in building my $100K freelance design business, a milestone that I reached at the end of 2022, four years after my very first paid web design project.

The biggest challenge in getting a new freelance business or one-person business off the ground is getting hired by clients, getting revenue into your business. As a newbie, having built some websites for friends and for my personal projects, I would be looking for a new project but had no real portfolio of work that really showed off my design skills.

There’s one thing that I had to understand about getting hired for a job vs getting hired for freelance projects:

Clients hire based not on your resume or how many degrees or where you worked previously, but a clear demonstration of your skills.

There are two ways in which you can show that you’ve got the skills:

1. You can do this through content you have online

   You can have blog articles, video tutorials or podcasts showcasing your skills, depending on your niche. For web designers, having a youtube channel with design tutorials or a series of blogs presenting your past works as case studies can be a great showcase of your skills.

2. Or you can show this through a portfolio of work.
   Having a portfolio page that has visuals or examples of your past work where potential clients can see your work is very helpful. For some niches, the actual work may not be “showcase-able” but perhaps you can do a case study of before and after of problem/solution/results.

I did both. I started a YouTube channel with tutorials and talking head videos. And I created a little showcase of my design projects.

But what got me faster results was building a portfolio.

This meant doing pro-bono design work. I built a new site for a writer’s group so that I could showcase their website as my first example.

I got my first couple of clients by showcasing just that one site. But it was only months later that I built 5 more pro-bono websites to add to my portfolio.

Doing this, did 5 things for me:

• First, I got 5 really awesome testimonials

• Second, I had 5 awesome examples to add to my portfolio of work.

• Third, I now had experience working with 5 very different people with very different businesses which boosted my confidence in working with clients.

• Four, I now was able to create a template for my project workflow that was derived directly from these five projects.

• And five, I had a better understanding of some of the common needs of clients despite different businesses and goals. It gave me the fodder I needed to eventually create my first package.

If you don’t have a body of work for which you want to get hired, go out and create a portfolio to showcase. This can apply to most side-hustles and one-person businesses offering services you want to get hired for.

As a web designer, I’d recommend building between 3 to 5 websites for your portfolio.

What about the Catch-22: “I don’t have a portfolio because I have no clients”

That is a valid argument that people have faced before. How did they solve it? In the past, newbies would become an apprentice of a master and learn under them first. In today’s world, you can still do that but you have more options.

One way to do build your portfolio if you are just starting out is to do pro-bono work for real people right from your friends and family circle. The other way is to create demo websites for made up businesses.

If you are already a designer getting hired for projects but are not yet attracting the kind of projects you really excite and inspire you or the type of clients you want to work with, you can also use the above method. In your portfolio, showcase only the type of projects you want to do in the future and leave out the rest.

In either case, add a caption below your portfolio letting your future clients know that these are example sites that showcase your skills and that they are not real client projects. No matter what you do, being integral and honest will bring you better results and let you sleep well at night.

So, get started on this as soon as you can. Building a good portfolio of a handful of sites will increase your opportunities to get hired when you finally speak to a potential client or apply of a possible project.

Once you have your portfolio done of 5 sites, add a link in the comments and let us all know!

Action Task: Build a portfolio of work showcasing the skills you want to get hired for.

You got this!

PS: If you are on LinkedIn, I invite you to ​connect with me​ there for more conversations and connections. If you want more tips and invites to trainings on how to grow your freelance online business, join the Abundant Creative Newsletter here.

118: 7 Perks of Being A Successful Freelance Web Designer

I love being a web designer. I have a design business which allows me to help people with an online presence that they love and that helps them grow their business or spread their message.

I started my self-employed work in 2016 when I was focussing mainly on email marketing with ConvertKit. Then in 2018 that I began building websites professionally. At that time, I tried a lot of different things to get booked. And it was not easy. I had the skills and I knew I could do excellent work. But I didn’t know how to convey that to my potential clients.

Are you relating to that as a web designer? You know you are talented and you really want to run a successful design business. But perhaps, you are not there yet and sometimes wonder when will your dreams and goals become your reality.

I know that feeling very well. There were times when I wanted to quit and in 2019 I actually applied for a full-time job and got hired. But I declined the offer after they explained I had to show up on weekends and evenings and would qualify for a two week vacation only in the second year. I am so glad I kept at it and now grateful for the fruits of that perseverance.

If I knew what I know now just three years ago in 2019, I know that the journey would have looked much different. And I am sharing these with you in a brand new free training. You can see details and sign up for it here: 3 Essentials to Earning $10K+ months (without working nights and weekends).

Today, I am enjoying the perks of being an independent, self-employed web designer which I am sharing as a reminder for anyone who is on the journey and wanting the same. Keep the faith, keep making efforts and believe you can do it.

1 | Creative Freedom

I have creative freedom to try and experiment on new design elements. Yes, in the end, the design is a collaboration with the client but I get to steer the design conversation more freely than if I had to “design by committee” as one of my clients jokingly referred to a team of decision-makers.

2| Location Freedom

Knowing that I can work from anywhere is a definite perk. I have moved homes 21 times through out my life. So even though I am happily perched on my mountain, I love knowing that I can fly anywhere and still be able to bring in revenue (as long as they have high-speed internet). Plus, no lunch bags to pack nor lengthy commutes. (I used to travel 3 hours each day back and forth from New Jersey to NYC during my United Nations job and am so happy I can work from home)!

3| Wear What I Want

I enjoy wearing colorful clothes. And if I had to wear a uniform with uncomfortable heels (like I had to at the UN) or wear only black (as I had to at an upscale home furnishing boutique - I resigned after one week), or not be allowed to wear braids or have other restrictions of that sort, that would be no fun.

4| Choose What Client Projects I Want to Work On

This was not always the case but now I am happy to say no to projects that will otherwise make me depressed. I am acutely sensitive to animals being used for human use and so I passed on to a fellow web designer a project that had to do with leather items. I also cannot make websites for butcheries or farms (not because I judge others but only because I myself don’t want to be part of an industry that deals with animal meats or skin). When one needs to pay the bills, one may take on projects that don’t inspire but eventually you can make such choices with ease.

5| Freedom to Craft A Workflow That Brings Out My Best

My clients are often surprised to hear that I can get them a Website in Two Weeks or a Website In A Day. I have crated a design workflow that brings out the very best in me. As a Sagittarius, I am able to be hyper-focussed and stay with a project until completion but I need to have a clear end-goal. If a project goes on and on, I get impatient and it doesn’t give me the dopamine hit of project completion. I would not enjoy working at a design agency for this very reason.

6| Quarterly Breaks | 4 Day Work-Week | Afternoon on the Hammock

There is no rule that says you can’t be creative on a hammock! I love hammocks and when the weather is nice in the Appalachian mountains, all one wants to do is to sit outside and listen to the song birds. I remember on nice sunny Autumn days back in NYC, I would sit at the United Nations visitor’s plaza and have my lunch. I enjoyed looking at the blue sky and feeling the sun on my face before I had to go back to the dark basement office. I remember dreaming of being able to work from outside, away from a dark office. Now, I am blessed to experience that dream as a reality. Plus, I have designed my business to have 4 quarterly breaks each year, a 4-day work-week and afternoons on the hammock, weather permitting!

7| No Income Ceiling!

This really is an important one. As an independent web designer, I am constantly learning and improving my skills and increasing the value I bring to the market place because I know that I can influence my income. The better I get, the more valued my services and programs will be.

All of these are possible for you, too.

If I had known 3 years ago what I know now, I could have short cut my progress. I could have saved myself from heartache and progressed my business faster and seen these benefits earlier. I’d like to share some of these insights with you, so come to my free training where I share the 3 Essentials to Earning $10K+ Months. Sign up here.

Your Turn:

What perks of being a self-employed, freelance web designer do you want to create for yourself or currently enjoy? Let me know in the comments.

Cheers to you and your abundant creativity,
🦄🦄🦄 Sophia

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Benefits of being an independent web designer are limitless!

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115: What is Your Biggest Business Challenge Right Now?

Hello Hello. Sophia here.

First I want to thank you for having signed up to the Abundant Creative Newsletter, formerly Squarespace Tips. It means so much to me that you welcome me in your prime digital real estate which is your inbox. That shows me that my blogs, videos, course and programs and services are useful for you and you are receiving value from what I am creating.

Free Workshop Coming Up
Speaking of creating, I am working on a brand new free workshop and I want to make sure it is most relevant to you. So I am asking you to help me by sharing what’s the biggest challenge you are facing in your business right now. Or think of this question: What one thing do you need to solve in your business that will make everything start working as you envisioned it.

What can the questions be about?
It can be question regarding your website, it could be about running your web design business, or online marketing. It can be about Squarespace or ConvertKit or some other app you are using right now in your business. The more specific you can get, the better. The more context and details you can share, the better.

I will collect all of your ideas and see what the most common or urgent topic emerges and then help you out in a free virtual workshop very soon. That's why I'm asking your response by 8 PM ET/New York Time on Friday, Feb 18th.

It’s a Win-Win when you help me!
If I don’t use your topic for my free training, I may end by writing a blog or creating a video tutorial for you or email you with my thoughts. So it’s only a win-win.

So go ahead and share with me by filling out the form below and let me know.

Thank you so much for taking the time and I am so excited to create content that’s relevant to you. And remember that no matter what challenge you are facing, there’s a gift within it and the answers you are looking for, are also looking for you.

Much love from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Bye for now! 🐬🐬

Click image below to watch 3 min 22 sec video

What is Your Biggest Business Challenge Right Now?

What one thing do you need to resolve in your business that will make everything easier, that will help you achieve the goals you set out to achieve in your business. Please add as much detail and context as you can.

Please send in your response by 8 PM ET/New York Time on Friday, Feb 18th, 2022

109: How I am simplifying my web design business in 2022

In the course of this year, I will be simplifying my business even further with the aim of streamlining my work, getting more focused on the main priority and being effective during my 4-day work-week. Here are some more details on each so that you know what’s coming up in 2022 and how it will effect you as the participant of the Abundant Creative community, client of my design services or as students of the MWD program.

1| Merge sophiaojha.com and millionairewebdesigner.com websites into one site
You may know my web design services from sophiaojha.com which I have been running since 2016. In November of 2020, I launched my coaching program for web designers along with a new website millionairewebdesigner.com. This is also the website on which I launched the Millionaire Web Designer Directory in 2021 to showcase 25 web designers with various skills such as graphic design, branding, copy writing.

But I continued the blog and offering web design services on sophiaojha.com.

When I created blogs and video tutorials on sophiaojha.com for the coaching program, it seemed more fitting to have those blogs on the millionairewebdesigner.com website. However, the idea of running two blogs was not appealing so I continued to have all articles and videos on the sophiaojha.com site. I started thinking, instead of running two blogs on two sites, how about one blog on one unified site? That’s how I came to the idea of merging the two sites.

So, I’ve now decided to merge the two sites to double the impact of my marketing efforts. I will have both domains go to the same site and I will promote different domains depending on whether I am talking about the Directory or the Coaching Program or my web design services. This way, all traffic comes to one place and I can further benefit the web designers who are on my directory so that clients can find them easily. It will also help me focus my content creation efforts to be all on one site.

Also, I’ve decided to move everything to the new millionairewebdesigner.com site which is built on 7.1 platform while the other was built on 7.0. This is a tall order as I will be moving a blog of 108 articles from the sophiaojha.com site to millionairewebdesigner.com site along with all my supporting pages, service pages and so on. But since 7.1 is where Squarespace, Inc is putting all it’s focus in terms of development, it will be worthwhile to make this switch. I’m carving out three months for this project, as I don’t want to stop all my other client-serving activities to do this. This will be done on afternoons, during my days off.

2| Continue third year of my 4-day work-week but with a different rhythm
Two years ago (Jan 2020), my husband and I chose to follow a 4 day work-week because we wanted to make time for volunteering in our community. This schedule has worked really well for us as we’ve gotten more done in less time, had more time for things outside of our work and also grew our businesses as a result. We would work Monday-Tuesday, take Wednesdays off and then work Thursday-Friday. Looking back, especially in the last six months, I noticed that although it was nice to have a break in the middle of the week, it kinda interrupted the momentum we were creating in our work.

Starting 2022, we will work Monday through Thursday and take Fridays off. It’s an experiment just like the 4 day work-week has been and I am eager to see how this unfolds. Fridays have now been committed to volunteer for the High Country Meditators group where we hold weekly events to help people practice meditation and cultivate positive mind states. Any other free time on Fridays, I will use for merging my websites.

Setting-up the 4-day work-week has not been without its own challenges. There certainly have been weeks when I worked all 5 days or worked into the evenings and weekends as I tried to manage a 4-day schedule. But I have become much better with respecting my own boundaries, being less distracted and more focused. For 2022, we’ve also put into place a hard 5 PM cut-off for ending our work. That’s when we begin taking care of the house and prepping dinner and I am looking forward to seeing how this unfolds as well.

3| 25 minutes for 24 books in 2022
If you are book lover, you need no convincing that books are life-changing. I owe my life to books! But in the hustle-bustle of running my web design business, reading has not been a daily priority. In the last two years, I have made an intentional effort to read 2 books a month but have done it in an irregular manner - squeezing long reading blocks during weekends or on volunteering days.

Now I want to make it a real daily habit. So, I’ve carved out 25 minutes in my morning routine to read. My annual goal is 24 books once again (see the 2021 book list here and for 2020 here), averaging 2 books a month and I think this plan will help me do that.

4| Stick to My Streamlined Offers

As a web designer and and a coach to web designers, I have in the last few years streamlined my service offers. They are:

a. build websites for online entrepreneurs via Website in a Day package or the Two Week Website Package
b. help web designers grow their business through my coaching program
c. teach online entrepreneurs how to build a website in a 90-minute workshop, Squarespace Fundamentals
d. help entrepreneurs migrate their email marketing set up into ConvertKit and help with segmenting, funnels and launch sequences.

I am brimming with tons of ideas for workshops and other focussed offers. So, the challenge will be to stick to my main offers and use all my creative energy to create more resources inside the Millionaire Web Designer program for my web designers. That program is my signature offer for web designers and there's so much I want to share and teach. So I will channel all my efforts into that program.

5| Focus on 1 Social Media Platform Only

You may have read in this blog post how I quit all social media in 2020 and still grew my business. I quit everything but YouTube. Well, later in 2020, I started getting active on Instagram again because a platform (99Designs) wanted to feature my business on their Instagram and then link to mine. So I set one up. Since then I’ve struggled to really maintain a presence there and it’s always a nagging voice in my head that I should publish something for Instagram. It’s simply taking precious brain power and peace of mind so in 2022, I will no longer publish on Instagram.

Instead, I will focus creating content for my website in the form of blogs and videos. The videos will continue to publish on YouTube. This will be my simplified approach to content marketing and keeping my focus on one social media platform. If your social media presence is working for you and your business, I congratulate you. In sharing this, I am in no way preaching that you should do this too. It’s simply what works for me and is a choice I am making for my business. But if it inspires you to reassess your own social media activity, I highly recommend doing so.

6| Focus on the main focus
In 2022, this is what I will be focusing on doing:

a) publishing one video/blog a week
b) serving clients with Web Design and ConvertKit services
c) coaching web designer students

Anything that supports these, I will do. Anything that takes away from these, I will not do.

——

These are the six things I am doing to keep my business and life simplified in 2022. There a handful of other things that will support these six and I am so eager to make that effort this year.

How are you simplifying your life and business? Is simplifying a matter at all for you or do you have other aims you are working on? Please share in the comments and enlighten us all in the process. :)

Peace,
Sophia

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108: 25 Books from 2021

2021 was a really full year. A lot got done. But one of the things that I am most happy about is that I made time for reading - one of my priorities which in the past would get sidelined by money-generating projects. I love to read and the challenge was to make time for it and get it done.

So when I sat down to review all the books I read in 2021, I was delighted that I kept up an average of 2 books a month and have a total of 25 books read during the year. Here they are listed in hopes that you may be inspired to pick one or two of these titles from your local library:

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

2. Profit First by Michael M.

3. Failing Up by Leslie Odom Jr.

4. This is Marketing by Seth Godin

5. Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

6. Chillpreneur Audiobook by Denise Duffield Thomas

7. Hello Habits Audiobook by Fumio Sasaki

8. Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World by Willian Walker Atkinson (1906)

9. Your Invisible Power by Genevieve Behrend (1921)

10. Law & Promise by Neville Goddard

11. The Creative Use of Imagination by Neville Goddard

12. The Bank on Yourself Revolution by Pamela Yellen

13. Playing the Matrix by Mike Dooley

14. How to Win At the Sport of Biz by Mark Cuban

15. If Trees Could Talk by Holly Worton

16. Why not me? by Mindy Kaling

17. We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers

18. The Leveraged Business by Fabienne Fredrickson

19. Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki

20. The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish

21. The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol

22. You Are So Money by Farnoosh Torabi

23. The Next Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and his daughter

24. Deep Work by Cal Newport

25. Ladies Power Up Your Brand by Faith James & Stacey Graiko

Want to know the 20 books I read in 2020? Check this blog for the book list.

107: Inside the Circle Platform for my group coaching program

Recently, I made the switch from Member Areas to Circle for my group coaching program, Millionaire Web Designer. I share the many reasons why I love Circle in the video below and I also give you a walkthrough of what my students will see inside the MWD platform (built on Circle).

You can see Blog 106 for what Member Areas used to look like for my course materials.

Watch the short video below:

Like to try Circle? Get a free trial: https://www.sophiaojha.com/circle (my referral link).

If you have any questions, just reach out to me at so@sophiaojha.com.

105: How to deal with scope creep on web design projects?

In November, we re-opened doors to the Millionaire Web Designer, my group coaching program for helping web designers build a thriving web design business. And I created three live events as part of the promotion for it. Here’s the first one where I share some tips and actual email conversations on how to turn situations when clients want to add more tasks to your list into profitable interactions.

Watch the video below:

104: What to do when a client starts negotiating your prices?

In November, we re-opened doors to the Millionaire Web Designer, my group coaching program for helping web designers build a thriving web design business. And I created three live events as part of the promotion for it. Here’s the first one where I share how to handle price negotiations from a client.

Watch the video below:

103: How do I find my next web design client?

In November, we re-opened doors to the Millionaire Web Designer, my group coaching program for helping web designers build a thriving web design business. And I created three live events as part of the promotion for it. Here’s the first one where I share how I find my web design clients or rather how they find me!

Watch the video below:

098: Millionaire Web Designer Directory has launched

Update: September 2023: This directory is no longer active. After hitting my first $22K/month and then hitting burnout, I had to scale back my activities and refocus. Although the directory is closed, the intention that led to its creation is still alive - Check out the newsletter here.

Hello my Abundant Creative,

Less than a month ago, I had this idea of creating a space online where businesses could easily find a web designer. And now that idea is a reality. 🎉 Meet the 24 Founders of the Millionaire Web Designer Directory (MWD Directory) who are designers from around the world and with a wealth of expertise - including copywriting, branding, graphic design, web design, email marketing and more. Please check it out and find your next project partner in the MWD Directory. I love all your smiling faces, designers; welcome!

How will the Directory be promoted?

1. My email list - which is made up of both web designers but also of online entrepreneurs who are specifically using Squarespace. They will want an upgrade or maintenance at some time.

2. My YouTube channel - I will start promoting the MWD - Directory in new content that I create teaching Squarespace tips.

3. I will promote the Directory on various platforms (such as Squarespace, Inc) where I will be doing presentations/webinars as well as blogs and podcasts where I will be interviewed.

4. My current client feed for my own business - whenever I am asked to do web design projects, the majority of those requests will be passed on to those designers who are on the Directory, as I can only take a certain number of projects per month.

5. The Directory will be the first place where I, myself, will hire from.

Intention for the Directory

I also hope to create a community of designers who can serve each other and whom I can serve with everything I know and have learnt about web design. My intention is that the directory becomes a real source of projects for the designers and where entrepreneurs and non-profits can find wonderful people to collaborate on their projects.

How is this for?

The Directory is for online business, solopreneurs, non-profits and small businesses as well as start-ups looking for web designers. These web designers also bring expertise in various marketing areas including graphic design, copyediting, social media marketing, branding and more. You can use the search criteria on the directory main page to select for your specific needs.

How does it work?

Simple steps to finding your next designer:

Step 1: Search using criteria
Step 2: Note your top 3 choices
Step 3: Contact each via their websites

Step 4: Discuss project details
Step 5: Hire & get that project done!
Step 6: Celebrate!

No commissions or kickbacks
Client and designer communicate directly with each other and arrange for payment amongst themselves. Each of the Web Designers has paid to be present on this list. We (Millionaire Web Designer.com) don’t partake in commissions or receive any financial kickbacks from any transactions. Our aim is to bring you and the web designers together.

Welcoming You as You Are
As a woman of color and first-generation Indian American, I often run into designer or tech directories where I do not see anyone that remotely looks like me, leaving me with the question, "Do I even belong here?". And I want the MWD Directory to be welcoming to all people of all genders and all backgrounds from around the world.

So if you are or know a designer who comes from groups that have been traditionally/currently been marginalized, please know and let them know that I welcome you and there is room for you here. (Feel free to forward this message to them).

And I am extremely delighted and happy that we have so many women represented in the directory which is also not very visibly seen in tech/design industries, although there are tons of women working in this niche. I truly hope that you can find from this directory a designer for your online business needs.

To your success,

Sophia

097: How to Record Your Screen and Your Camera at The Same Time (Mac)

If you create video content for your audience using screencast apps or want to do so, today's video will help you streamline your production workflow.

You may have noticed that in my videos, I usually have an intro where I talk into the camera. Then I do a screencast showing whatever it is I am teaching. And then again I jump in with an on-camera appearance for an outro.

I've liked the idea of showing myself on camera for the middle section where I do the screencast, but doing a double workflow process was not something I wanted to add to my task list. But now, I found a way to show up on camera without doing a separate on-camera take.

And I am using the same Quicktime app on my Mac like before, just with a little tweak. Wow! I love it. It amazes me how these little setting tweaks have such a huge impact in my work.

If you are using a Mac and the in-built Quicktime video app, then watch the video walkthrough.

To your success,

Sophia

096: The Poison of Comparison

As web design business owners who want to grow our businesses, we are often on the look out to learn from others. We see successful designers or online entrepreneurs and get inspired. But sometimes, our mind goes into thinking we are not good enough thoughts. Here’s my experience with this tendency and how I help myself get back on the right track.

It happens much less often to me than before but it does pop-up from time to time in my mind. Thoughts that say:

”I am not there yet.”
”I am not good enough.”
”She can do it, then, why can’t I?”

Let’s talk about the last one because it can throw you off when you least expect it. It happens like this: You are working on client projects. You are working on your acquisition goals, creating the content and then some how you land on a post or and email or a piece of content created by one of the entrepreneurs you look up to. Someone whom you admire for what they have built and how they show up in the world.

At first, there may be a sense of amazement and wonder. But out of nowhere you may start thinking, “Ah, man, how come this is not happening in my business. How come I am not there yet! How is it that she can do it and not me? What’s wrong with me? I am not good enough. I am still not there where I want to be!!”

The Poison of Comparison
Let me give you an example. I recently saw something written by someone I am a huge fan of. This entrepreneur has really helped me through her videos, blogs, courses, and her books on up-leveling my business. I am totally inspired by her and uplifted by her. And have been for several years. She has built multi-million dollar business while having a busy life and raising a family and that’s just been awe-inspiring for me.

So, in one of these posts she wrote about the importance of creating content and how she has not missed writing and sending out a weekly newsletter for the last 12 years or so.

When I read that, I was first amazed. “Ah, that type of consistency is remarkable”, I thought. Then, I began feeling this sense of lack. I know that I have created lots of youtube videos, spending hours and hours on creating and editing them. This blog itself is no. 96. But I definitely have not been able to publish on a weekly rhythm for years on end. And this awareness of not having been able to produce such regular content started to gnaw at me, to bother me.

But this type of thing has happened before and I caught myself this time.

And if I don’t catch it in time, these thoughts can spiral downward and can lead to a full-blown pity-party mired in self-doubt and feeling a sense of overbearing burden and struggle.

I don’t hear many web designers talk about this. This is not in our content feed - at least, not in mine. But I feel it is so important to talk about this. Because these types of mindset obstacles set us back more than any gaps in skills or knowledge around web design and marketing.

It’s this mental virus of comparison that often poisons our progress to greatness.

Rebuttal like a Lawyer
So what to do about it?

1. The first thing to do is to simply become aware of the type of thought that’s emerging and the feeling that you are getting in your body. I often feel a heaviness in my chest and a tension in my shoulders. And breathe into it. It’s important to not fight that feeling but step into awareness and acceptance: “Ah, okay, this is not feeling very good. I am having this type of thought right now”.

2. Then, you have to put on a lawyer hat. Lawyers present evidence and they make a case for why they support a certain statement. When you have these thoughts of “I am not good enough” or “why have I not done like so and so”, you must bring out the rebuttals. You present statement to your mind that support the contrary.

For example, you can begin by saying, “I am good enough. Look all the _________ you have created or done (insert success evidence)”.
Then bring up a very true statement such as, “You cannot compare your success trajectory with someone else’s. There are so many different factors involved. And we are each on our path.” Being Buddhist, I also remind myself of Karmic patterns and that often soothes me.

So we need to offer rebuttals to our selves on why we cannot be comparing ourself with another. And also present all the good things we have done and accomplished despite challenges and roadblocks. “Look at what you have done even though you faced ________ (insert past struggles challenges, and roadblocks).

There are other ways to go about it but the important thing is to remember that we need to help ourselves and lift ourselves from thought patterns that are not helpful. And we need to that actively. Catch yourself when you find thoughts of comparison showing up - even if in a small way. We can begin to train our mind on the small occurrences - which is easier to do than when it’s full-blown pity-party!

This is a message for any web design business owner who is driven to create success in her business. This mental roadblock may emerge on your path in different forms and it’s important to address it now with love and kindness.

Well, I hope you found this helpful. Thank you for reading and I wish you a peaceful and harmonious day.

To your success,

Sophia

089: Social Media: To Do Or Not To Do?

Earlier this year as the pandemic was just getting its hold on American soil, I quit all my social media except for my YouTube channel. I closed down my Facebook account, Pinterest and Instagram. I didn’t have a Twitter account so nothing to be done there. Although this is not a strategy that fits everyone, for me it was the right action that I needed to take to make some big changes in my life and my business. And it worked! In this article, I want to share the reasons why I quit, what transpired in my business during the time after I was social media-free and how I am intentionally coming back to social media. I want to share all of this in hopes to help anyone out there who is feeling overwhelmed by social media and is bombarded with mixed messages about both the pros and cons of participating in it.

Al’right, let’s dive in.

1| Why I quit social media in March 2020 and should you do the same?

As you may remember, March was an increasingly tense time here in the USA as the virus was spreading rapidly across the country. In the region where I live, people were still not seeing the growing intensity of the situation and my social media feed was being bombarded with posts from both people who were pro-masks and those who thought that we are just in for another type of a flu. My mind was influenced by this and I was getting obsessed with trying to sharing data to inform. So I took upon the role of information-sharing on my Facebook page. I was stressed by people not wanting to do the bare minimum of wearing masks or keep social distance. I spent many hours researching stats about the virus from University websites as well as various news sources and would post links to “inform” those who were not getting the news about the rapid spread and what we can do flatten the curve. Clearly, this was affecting my focus, my time and results at work.

On top of that, I also felt that if I wanted to succeed in business, I needed to be on all social media platforms, well, at least on the big ones - FB, Insta, Pinterest, Twitter. But as a solopreneur, this was just a bit too much to handle. Plus, I was not really good at any of the platforms, let alone all of them. And I also wanted to publish on my blog weekly.

Enter: overwhelm!

What I found out was that although social media was a way clients were finding me, when I looked carefully at my stats, it was really only my YouTube channel that brought me paying clients (many of them actually mentioned that that’s how they found my website). So I knew that YouTube was working but everything else was just creating a sense of overwhelm for me. Besides, I was spending way too much time scrolling my social media feed.

I am inspired by what immense successful folks do and there are stats noted in this Business Insider article that show that millionaires spend on average two and a half hours a week on social media versus 14 hours that the average American spends on it. My situation was less than 14 but enough to drag down my use of time in an effective way.

I considered just doing a social media detox and go off of it for a couple of weeks. But I had a feeling I needed to do something more drastic to send a clear message to my brain. Finally, I decided that I had to quit cold turkey. This may be what you need to but I won’t make that as a blanked suggestion for everyone because your needs may be different. But for me it was the right thing to do at that time because without any social media accounts to “waste” my time on, I found other rather useful ways to use my time which I will come to next. I also re-watched a Ted talk on why you should quit social media by Cal Newport, author of Digital Minimalism and I was inspired to make the leap.

Question: How is your relationship with your social media accounts and activities? How is it affecting your results in your business and your family life and your relationship with yourself? Is it time to reassess how you use it? How can you be more intentional in using social media for your business?

2| What was the impact of quitting social media?

There were several positive changes that transpired when I quit social media in March 2020. These changes were both in business and personal and here are a few of them:

1. I read 20 books last year, more than I did in 2019.
2. I opened up to new opportunities for my business that made a tremendous impact.
3. I substantially increased my business revenue in 2020, markedly more than 2019.
4. I actually connected with a lot more friends than I have, not just compared to 2019 but in the last few years even!
5. I was more present with my husband and my kitties.
6. I took care of my home in a way that I now have the most organized home and belongings I have ever had.
7. I had greater peace of mind as I was not incessantly worrying about the world and focused on my zone of influence.
8. This peace of mind allowed me to be more present with my clients and serve them generously.
9. My focus was not drained by distractions. More focus, less distraction.
10. Learning to say “No” to what was not good for me or was not working for me.
11. Being in touch with real people in more meaningful ways.

I’d say generally I was much more conscious and present in my day to day activities, had more focus and less distraction.

One of the most important side-effect was that my sense of belonging increased. The friends that I would have lost touch with by dropping Facebook, actually found other ways to stay in touch with me: via whatsapp video chats and Facetime video calls. It seems that on Facebook, we felt that we kinda knew what was happening in each others’ lives because we were watching and reading the posts. This sadly superseded real communication and real connection. Having no Facebook account, meant that we had to reach out in more meaningful ways and that has been especially powerful and a real solace during the lockdowns and the forced isolation due to the pandemic.

This connection was immensely important for me as it build a sense of belonging, friendship and sisterhood which helped to keep a happy mind when serving clients. And serving clients when in a happy mind is much more fun, right?

Question: What could be the benefits of a social media detox (or on the extreme case like me - quitting social media)? How would you show up in the world differently? How would you show up to your family and friends (your animals) and in your business to your clients differently?

3| How I am re-instating my social media portfolio in 2021?

Having such positive results not having social media, why then am I even considering to reinstate it in 2021? You see, I needed to quit social media and get to tabula rasa, a blank state, in order to remove the thing that was in my way (distraction) and to understand what I wanted.

Now that I know the benefits of not having social media, I am in a better position to strategically use it for my business goals as I know there are certain benefits of it that I do want to take advantage of. The benefits include building a brand identity, connecting with clients and colleagues, gaining search engine visibility to name a few. Plus, I am putting into place better structures so that it will not consume my time and attention.

How will my social media activities look like then?
I will be active on just this social media platform:
1. YouTube.
2. Twitter Update September 2023: I am now adding Twitter (link in the footer).

3. Pinterest and Update August 2021: I am dropping out of Pinterest again.
4. Instagram Update August 2021: I am dropping out of Instagram as well again.

YouTube is a huge source of client projects and it allows me to serve meaningfully to people with useful content. I will continue to post tech tutorials around web design and email marketing with a focus on Squarespace and ConvertKit. I will also be posting content that will be specifically serving budding web designers who want to build a successful web design business. As of August 2021, YouTube will be my one and only social media platform of choice.

Pinterest is a search engine powerhouse and your content is quite evergreen. Instagram allows people to more closely connect with me on a human level and I will use it specifically to present the person behind my business (me) on a personal level, including the occasional business tips and announcements. Instagram is also a wonderful way to build relationships with my colleagues in the web design field as well as other entrepreneurs that I admire and want to connect with.

Update as of Aug 2021: I am leaving Pinterest and Instagram to focus on YouTube. I want and need to declutter and focus my activities.

Question: What would a newly crafted social media strategy look like for your business so that it’s helpful and beneficial to you and your business instead of a source of overwhelm and burden?

I will be reassessing my social media engagement periodically and I am certain there will be refinements on how I show up on social media. But one thing that will continue to guide me is the question: how can I best use my time and resources to serve my clients, grow my business and grow as a person, so that it creates greater peace and harmony for myself and others.

I hope that this article has been helpful to you in how you approach the question of social media for your life and business. Let me know in the comments what your experience has been as I’d love to know!

Warmly,
Sophia

088: Success Habit of Millionaires That Will Speed Up Your Business Success

Do you know how many books you read in 2020? I am asking this not to make you feel bad if you didn’t - hey, 2020 has been tough on many fronts, needless to say. But the number of books and what type of books you read can be a key indicator and a key contributor to your financial and business success. And when you borrow books from the library, this reading habit doesn’t cost you a dime.

In this article, I will share some data on how many books millionaires and billionaires read, what my reading list is for 2021 and some links to blogs on how you help us build a reading habit ⏤ all of this to inspire you and myself to read more books in 2021, in order to learn, grow, and make a bigger positive impact in our world.

Let’s get started!

Let’s look at some research on how many books Americans read. According to the research done by Pew Research Center, the average American reads four books a year while 25% of Americans surveyed didn’t get their hands on even one. Compare that to immensely successful and influential billionaires such as Bill Gates who was mentioned article in this Inc.com article, and you get 50. Yes, he reads 50 books a year or around one book a week. If you want to know which 5 books he just recommended, check out his personal blog, GatesNotes.

Correlation between wealth and reading books
In this blog post, Sam Klemens lists ten data points that shows how many books the highly successful read. Now there’s no causal relationship established to show whether reading books led these people to become immensely successful. But in his article, you’ll see that Mark Cuban reads three hours a day while Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day. Also, just think about Oprah and her love for books and one starts to wonder if indeed there is a causal relationship between wealth and reading. Plus, what type of books you read is equally important, right!

Making Reading a Daily Habit
To make reading part of the actions you take daily, it is important to make it a habit. Building a new habit is a skill and there’s research that says that it generally takes about 21 days to build a new habit. There are tons of books and Ted talks about how to build good habits. One trick that I learnt some years ago from Shawn Achor in his book, “The Happiness Advantage”, was to create positive triggers to help you build that habit. For example, if you want to practice the guitar everyday, keep the guitar in the middle of the living room instead of tucked away in a closet, so that it’s right in front of you. There’s less of an obstacle between you and the guitar. Using that example for reading then, one can keep the book next to your bed on the nightstand, carry it with you so you can read whenever you have to wait, and carve out a reading hour in the day where nothing else will compete with your attention. If you want to learn more about building a reading habit, read this book by James Clear called “Atomic Habits” which is all about building good habits (it’s was recommended by Sequoia Mulgrave of the DailyMode Studio and I’ve purchased the book and added it to my reading list for 2021). James Clear on his blog wrote on how to build new habits which you can read in a snap and use the tips he shares to easily implement right away.

Question: What strategies or tricks can you use to help yourself build this new daily habit?

Setting a Reading Goal for 2021
I want to read a lot more in 2021 and one thing I am doing to help me accomplish this is to create a reading goal. Earlier this week, I set the goal of reading 21 books in 2021. But then I made a list of all the books I read this year and it totalled at 20. So I am now changing my goal to reading 30 books next year. Seeing the stats of successful entrepreneurs who read up to 50 books a year, 30 is just a bit more than half, but for me this is a good goal and it’s both exciting and challenging. That’s roughly 2.5 books a month. I’ve also made a section in my bookshelf where I have placed some of books for the first half of the year. Seeing all these books in one place is motivating to me and I can’t wait to read them and gain golden nuggets of wisdom from each one of them.

Question: What will your reading goal be for 2021? And which books will make the list?

Sharing What You Learn
When working towards a new habit, not only sharing the goal can be very helpful but also sharing what you learn from them can be motivating. I’ve done that in the past on my personal development blog some years ago and I know that it greatly benefitted me when I shared some insights I gained. In fact, my very first YouTube video back in 2010 was a short book review where I shared 3 insights I gained from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go, There You Are. I will get back to doing this in 2021 writing blogs or making videos about what I learn from each book.

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This is my lovely little bookshelf. Books from the 2021 reading list marked and set aside. Let’s get reading!

My Book List
It’s good to track what books one has read to encourage oneself to read more. So here are the books I read in 2020 and you’ll see a lot of them are about success mindset and motivation. It just so happens that the list totals at 20 books however, I had not made a goal of reading 20 books in 2020!

1. The Secret Door to Success by Florence Scovel Shinn (This was written in 1941. It’s in the creative commons and there are legally free PDF versions you can find on the web).
2. The Game of Life. Ibid.
3. The Power of the Spoken Word. Ibid.
4. Your Word is Your Wand. Ibid.
5. Dollars Want Me by Henry Harrison Brown (An old book written in 1903!)
6. The Abundance Code: How to Bust the 7 Money Myths by Julie Ann Cairns
7. It’s Not Your Money by Tosha Silver
8. You are Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero
9. The Ending of Things by Ajahn Brahm (freely available from the Buddhist Publication Society’s website).
10. Meditating on No-Self by Ayya Khema (freely available from the Buddhist Publication Society’s website).
11. The Decision: Overcoming today’s BS for Tomorrow’s Success by Kevin Hart (Audiobook)
12. Miracle Morning Millionaires by Hal Elrod, David Osborn, Honoree Corder (Audiobook)
13. Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki
14. Making Space Clutter-Free by Tracy McCubbin
15. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley
16. Stop Acting Rich by Thomas Stanley
17. Become Your Own Banker by R. Nelson Nash
18. Building Your Warehouse of Wealth by R. Nelson Nash
19. How Privatized Banking Really Works by Robert Murphy and Carlos Lara
20. The Anapanasati Sutta: A Practical Guide to Mindfulness of Breathing and Tranquil Wisdom Meditation by the Venerable U Vimalaramsi

To Read in 2021
(Update Dec 2021 - I read 25 books in 2021 which I’ve indicated below as Read. See complete list of books read in my 2021 Books Read Post).

1. We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power by Rachel Rodgers - Read
2. Chillpreneur: The New Rules for Creating Success, Freedom, and Abundance on Your Terms by Denise Duffield Thomas - Read
3. Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
4. Profit First by Mike Michalowicz - Read
5. Atomic Habits by James Clear - Read
6. 10x Marketing Formula by Garrett Moon
7. Invested by Charles Schwab
8. Weekend Millionaire Mindset by Mike Summey and Dawson
9. Playing the Matrix by Mike Dooley - Read
10. Show Your Work by Austin Kleon - Read
11. This is Marketing by Seth Godin - Read
12. Traction by Gino Wickham
13. Being Nobody, Going Nowhere by Ayya Khema
14. Why Not Me? By Mindy Kaling - Read
15. How to American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents by Jimmy O. Yang
16. Thought Vibration or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World by William Walker Atkinson - Read
17. Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan
18. The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley
19. The Next Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley - Read
20. Millionaire Women Next Door by Thomas Stanley
21. Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty
22. Becoming by Michelle Obama
23. Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal
24. Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis - Read
Six more to add to this list and I am sure I will be inspired next year to complete this list.

Until then, please do let me know in the chat what your book reading goals are for next year, and which books you’d recommend, especially those written by women entrepreneurs as both me and my book list need more woman power!

You have a dream to build a thriving web design business? You can make it happen!

Peace,
Sophia