To go back to my golf example. You might set out to film drone flyover videos of all the golf courses in your state with a plan to upload the videos to YouTube as a way of earning money. Competitors of courses you’ve already done may reach out to you offering to pay you to come and film their course, or you reach out to them. Charging even $50 per hole could net you $900 for less than a days work. Flying a drone around a golf course and trimming some videos is hardly gruelling work but personally i’d charge at least $100 per hole.
But even in doing something like this you could very naturally find yourself being asked to help with social media content creation and strategy and a plethora of other associated tasks.
It might sound like i’m describing a fairytale but i’m not. This is how the world of entrepreneurship actually works for people who put themselves out there and try.
I’ve been on both sides of the equation multiple times so i can explain some of the psychology.
Hopeful entrepreneur approaches business offering specialised services. a) Business is interested in specific service. b) Business is not interested in specific service.
c) Business is not interested in specific service but realises that a driven individual with a broad skill set is standing in front of them and then starts thinking about the plethora of obscure tasks they’ve wished they could do over the last year but didn’t have the time, expertise or equipment to pull off themselves.
You then might hear some of the following replies:
“I don’t need videos right now but i have a bunch products that i don’t have good photos of for my website, Can you do product photography?”
“I’m happy with my website but i’ve never done email marketing, can you set all that stuff up?”
“I have enough content but i need someone to manage all the social accounts”
“I don’t want [exactly what you’re offering] but i need [this thing that you seem like you’re probably smart enough to do]”
When the seller is ready the sale appears.
In these types of examples its important to remember that the business isn’t looking for another employee, which is good because you’re not looking for a job. Employees mean training and management, long term commitments and all sorts of paperwork. You’re more like the plumber or electrician in the way you come and go per task, only as needed.
Your goal should be to package your skills in a way that you don’t charge per hour, or if you do, its a very high hourly rate.
This should be in the math section but due to context I’ll leave it here.
Dont think like this: "I could shoot and edit these product photos in 10 hours and, considering most people make $25 an hour, I'll charge $250."
Instead, adopt this mindset: "This isn't consistent ongoing work but the owner desperately needs it done. In reality, this is a rather technical skill and they haven't hired elsewhere yet, likely because they're aware of the exorbitant amounts established agencies would charge for a task like this. For me, earning $60 an hour would be incredible, but I won't charge by the hour because i don’t want to be tied to that. If I propose a flat rate of $600 and offer express turnaround, I'll make more than double the average hourly rate, which would be insane for me. Plus, I'll have the work to showcase to future prospects, and I'll be even more efficient at it next time meaning i can make just as much for fewer hours work.”