Today's guest is Austin L. Church, who returns to the show to talk about his book "Free Money."

Austin lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. He helps e-commerce founders stand out online with their brand strategy. Lately, he's been working as a fractional chief marketing officer, consulting for creator economy companies. He also coaches freelance creatives.

Austin returned to the podcast to talk about his new book, "Free Money," which I have read and highly recommend for all freelancers.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Who this book is for and why he wrote it.
• How our beliefs about money from childhood affect our businesses now.
• The financial numbers you need to know to run your business.
• What "pessimistic pricing" and "weirdly precise" numbers are.
• Set a price that reduces the chances you will resent the client or the project.
• The fine line between setting boundaries and being difficult to work with.
• Why the "hustle" isn't sustainable and can lead to burnout.
• The four stages of freelancing: Moonlighter, Hustler, Lifestyler and Diversifier.
• The money mindset questions Austin asks his clients. For example, fill in the blank: Wealthy people are __________. Making money is __________.
• How to address our money beliefs and improve our financial literacy.
• Why investing in a business coach can be important to improve your business.

Resources:

• Austin's book: "Free Money: Nine Counterintuitive Moves for Life-Changing Freelance Income"
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
• Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC
• Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn
• Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group