The Freelancers' Show

Petra Manos joins the Freelancers' Show to talk about hiring and managing remote workers and subcontractors. Petra runs a consultancy that manages Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Ads. She hires and manages people to help manage the workload for her clients. Chuck has also hired VA's. The panel dives into the ins-and-outs of growing teams, hiring consultants, and working with people who don't necessarily start out with the skills you need. Panelists

• Brad Large
• Brooks Forsyth
• Charles Max Wood

Guest

• Petra Manos

Sponsors

• G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing
• Sentry Use code "devchat" for $100 credit
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________ Links

• The Mythical Man-Month
• OnlineJobs
• SweetProcess
• Trainual
• Clockwork
• Upwork

Picks Brad Large:

• Zapier
• FinancialMentor

Brooks Forsyth:

• Logitech K480 Keyboard

Petra Manos:

• Virtual Freedom
• Monday.com

Creative visualization can help reduce stress, envision possibilities, and stay motivated. Mike Volkin talks us about how he's upped his game in several facets of life by practicing creative visualization and meditation. Panelists

• Brad Large
• Brooks Forsyth
• Charles Max Wood

Guest

• Mike Volkin

Sponsors

• Cloudways Use Promo code "DEVCHAT" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans
• Sentry Use code "devchat" for $100 credit
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________ Links

• The Power of Neurplasticity
• Mikevolkin.com
• Freelancer Masterclass

Picks Brad Large:

• Thinking Fast and Slow

Brooks Forsyth:

• Hammerspoon
• Karabiner

Charles Max Wood:

• Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself
• Clean Coders Podcast
• Devchat.tv Workshops

Mike Volkin:

• The Secret
• Joe Dispenza

Fernando Angulo joins the Freelancers' Show panel to help the understand how and why to build content that will show up as answers to questions and other results in Google beyond the results listed in Google on a search. Panelists

• Brooks Forsyth
• Brad Large
• Charles Max Wood

Guest

• Fernando Angulo

Sponsors

• Cloudways Use Promo code "Devchat" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans
• Sentry Use code "devchat" for $100 credit
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________ Links

• Fernando Angulo - SEMRush - "Content for people and for Google" - GCE
• Flesch-Kincaid readability
• Yoast

Picks Brooks Forsyth:

• True Lemon Pack

Brad Large:

• Obviously Awesome
• Pia Silva

Charles Max Wood:

• The Name of the Wind

Fernando Angulo:

• Getting Things Done

Felipe Millan joins the panel to talk about mistakes that freelancers make. The panel joins in with mistakes that they've made as well. The episode wraps up with Felipe talking about how he finds people online that are good prospects for outreach for SEMRush. This episode revolutionized the way that Devchat.tv finds sponsors. Panelists

• Brad Large
• Charles Max Wood
• Brooks Forsyth

Guest

• Felipe Millan

Sponsors

• Cloudways
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________ Links

• Find That Lead
• Listen Notes
• Growth Marketing & Outbound Group
• SAAS Growth Hacks Group

Picks Brad Large:

• Bomb Pancakes
• Bomb Waffles
• The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients

Brooks Forsyth:

• Watchmen

Charles Max Wood:

• Hunter.Io

Felipe Millan:

• Gmelius
• Audible

Olga Andrienko is a Search Engine Optimization and content marketing expert at SEMRush. She walks us through the process of selecting keywords and designing content to get a snippet, or better spot on Google and other search engine searches. Panelists

• Brad Large
• Charles Max Wood
• Brooks Forsyth

Guest

• Olga Andrienko

Sponsors

• G2i
• Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for $100 credit
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________ Picks Olga Adrienko:

• Everybody Lies

Charles Max Wood:

• The Man In the High Castle
• Magician: Master
• Ready Fire Aim

Brad Large:

• Yoast
• Kai Davis' Emails

In this episode of The Freelancers Show, Mike Volkin describes a successful marketing funnel. One common problem in freelancing is finding your next client, a marketing funnel will be constantly bringing clients to you. Mike’s direct response funnel starts with a Facebook or Google ad. This ad will bring potential clients to your landing page. The landing page will contain a sign up for a webinar that will teach them to solve a specific problem. At the end of the webinar, they will be offered your cost-effective solution.  The panel discusses different examples for this solution and Mike explains how this funnel can be used for any business, podcast, courses, products, and coding. The panel shares their concern with the costs of ads. Mike explains how you can optimize your ad budget and the importance of targeting a specific audience to increase your ROI. You can better target clients by niching your solution. Mike explains how you can use Facebook to find your niche and target your audience. The panel shares their niches. They also give some examples of niches and how to find your niche. Mike gives tips for making a good webinar and the panel discusses the importance of being enthusiastic and likable. Mike gives recommendations to learn more about direct response funnels. Panelists

• Brad Large
• Charles Max Wood
• Brooks Forsyth

• Mike Volkin

Sponsors

• Freelance Web Development Pricing Get 25% off the deluxe edition of the book
• Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentrys small plan
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________   Links

• https://www.udemy.com/course/the-ultimate-upwork-mastery-bundle/
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-freelancer-school-podcast/id1469385483
• https://www.freelancermasterclass.com/
• https://www.clickfunnels.com/ 
• https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/

Picks Brooks Forsyth:

• Blind

Mike Volkin:

• Deep Work

Charles Max Wood:

• The Man In the High Castle
•   Magician: Apprentice

Brad Large:

• YETI cup
• https://elementor.com

In this episode of the Freelancers Show, Mike Volkin leads the panel on a discussion of what he calls the nine traits to attract high paying clients. The first is to be attentive. This doesn’t mean overcommunicate but to better outline how and when you are going to communicate with clients. Second, is be mindful. Time is money, so put away your phone and avoid distractions during your designated working hours.   The third trait is to be caring. Care about your reputation, your clients and prospects. The fourth trait is to be resourceful. This is accomplished by doing your research on prospects, their problems and other experts in your niche. Fifth, be respectful. Respect your rates, don’t beg or lower your rates.    Sixth, be a good listener. When on a call, listen to their pain points and problems. Don’t oversell yourself, all they need to know is your name, expertise, how long you’ve been a freelance and a small part of your story. The seventh trait is to be a good communicator. This means outline your scope of work and avoid scope creep. Eighth, be confident. Be confident in yourself and in your ability to complete the work. Show prospects you are confident by having pre-written answers to common questions.    The final trait is to be a good manager. Manage yourself and manage up with your clients. Managing up by streamlining your communication. One email instead of three, send feedback, anticipate questions and understand how clients like to communicate. Mike also outlines the flow of a discovery call and shares how he targets high paying clients. Panelists

• Brad Large
• Brooks Forsyth

• Mike Volkin

Sponsors

• G2i
• Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentrys small plan
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________   Links

• https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/

Picks Brooks Forsyth:

• Heated blanket

Mike Volkin:

• How to Hack the Flow State and reach Peak Performance

Brad Large:

• https://jamesclear.com/
• https://habitica.com/
• https://www.stridesapp.com/

In this episode of The Freelancers Show the panel interviews Christian Lüdemann. Christian consults on Angular development and creates online training courses. Today they are talking about building online training courses and marketing. Charles Max Wood shares some of the reasons you might want to create online courses. They start by discussing how to build courses.  Christian recommends starting with an in house workshop for building courses. They can look over your work and give you valuable feedback before you get in too deep. He also explains how targeting a specific need can create more value for your course. Christian has a background in DevOps as well and uses that in his courses to create more valuable content.  The panel considers what courses to build. They recommend listening to the market and find a need. Christian explains that a course should just cover one thing but should provide a package to meet a need. With information readily available on the internet, the purpose and value of a course are in the packaging. They give an example, a webpack course would be okay but a course outlining how to find a dream developer job that included a webpack course and others is much more appealing. The panel discusses the landing site and how it is a valuable tool. Christian reminds the panel that humans are emotional beings and explains that success comes when your site and product induces an emotional response. He likes to do this by writing a story of his ideal customer and offering your course as the solution to their problems. The panel discusses other things to include on your landing page.  Getting traffic to the landing page is all marketing. Christian tells the panel about starting his blog, this built his reputation and gave him authority. He also posts on social media. These lead people to his mailing list, which then leads them to his landing site and product.  The panel considers what content to write and how to come up with blog posts that people will read. Christian shares his journey to freelancing and course creation. He explains why he chose to become a freelancer. The panel discusses how to keep courses and content up to date. Christian explains how he uses his consulting work to keep his courses current and to come up with content for his blogs.  Panelists

• Charles Max Wood
• Brad Large

Guest

• Christian Lüdemann

Sponsors

• Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentrys small plan
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________   Links

• https://christianlydemann.com/
• https://devchat.tv/adv-in-angular/
• https://thebusinessofauthority.com/
• 31 Days to Build a Better Blog
• Developer Jobs
• https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/

Picks Charles Max Wood:

• Ubersuggest 
• https://www.membershipacademy.com?aff=cmaxw 
• https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/adventure-zone/ 

Christian Lüdemann:

• Selling to Big Companies
• Blue ocean strategy

Brad Large:

• The Seasons of a Man’s Life: An Introduction 
• https://www.entreleadership.com/blog/podcast

In this episode of The Freelancers Show the panel interviews Mike Volkin. Mike explains what neuroplasticity is and how it can make you a better entrepreneur. He outlines five tips to increase your neuroplasticity. The first tip is to get enough sleep. They discuss ways to make sure you get enough sleep and how to wake up the right way.  The second tip is to stand up or kneel while working. They discuss ways to do this, setting a timer, using standing mats and kneeling chairs. Tip number three is continuous learning. Mike explains that it doesn’t have to be something for your business, it can be anything that makes you happy. The panel shares some of their hobbies and discusses time management and the importance of setting goals.  The fourth tip is to reduce stress. Mike recommends meditation and mindfulness. He explains the difference between the two. The panel discusses their experiences with meditation. The final tip is creative visualization, the practice of visualizing your goals and how you will accomplish them. The panel reminds people that these practices take time to affect you and your life. Mike warns against comparing yourself to others.    Panelists

• Charles Max Wood
• Brooks Forsyth
• Brad Large

Guest

• Mike Volkin

Sponsors

• G2i
• Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for $100 credit
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________   Links

• Science of Success
• https://tomato-timer.com/
• https://kanbanflow.com/
• 75HARD: A 75-Day Tactical Guide to Winning the War With Yourself, with Andy Frisella 
• The MaxCoders Guide To Finding Your Dream Developer Job 
• https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/

Picks Charles Max Wood:

• A Christmas Story
• Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• The Little Drummer Boy
• Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
• The Ultimate Gift
• https://mckirdytrained.com/

Brooks Forsyth:

• https://www.nirvanahq.com/ 

Mike Volkin:

• https://www.freelancermasterclass.com/
• Undervalued 
• The Power of Neuroplasticity
• Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New 

Brad Large:

• Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
• https://thefreelancersworkshop.com/

In this episode of The Freelancers Show, the new panel is introduced and they discuss getting into freelancing. Brooks Forsyth is brand new to the show. He is from Connecticut and works mostly with Angular and Ionic. He has consulted for large firms but has recently been doing more independent contracting.  Charles Max Wood has been on The Freelancers Show before but it has been a while so he introduces himself as well. Charles is the owner of DevchatTV, before that he did freelancing. They start by discussing how contracting with a large corporation compares to other contracting jobs. They also consider how those compare to moonlighting contract work.  As CEO of DevchatTV Charles has hired contractors to help him run the shows, he shares some of the ways that he has found his employees. He and Brooks discuss Upwork and sites like them. They share how they got started in freelancing and how they found their first jobs.  Charles tells the listeners that it was worth it and gives them some advice to help with the stress of starting out. The panel gives recommendations on finding clients and Charles shares his method for finding your dream client which has been adapted from his book. They discuss billing hourly or by project and the importance of an emergency fund.  Panelists

• Charles Max Wood
• Brooks Forsyth

Sponsors

• Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan
• CacheFly

____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________   Links

• Hourly Billing is Nuts
• https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/

Picks Charles Max Wood:

• The Bishop’s Wife
• How The Grinch Stole Christmas
• Scrooge

Brooks Forsyth:

• Elf