This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
I cold pitched 10 brands and got my first two clients. Welcome friends. Welcome to Side Hustle School. Your host, Chris Guillebeau here. In this week's first $1,000 segment, we're gonna hear from a freelance apparel designer who specializes in menswear.
After having her first child, she sets out to learn to work on her own. And as I mentioned in that little headline, she cold pitches 10 brands and gets her first two clients. So if you are thinking about starting a little business or offering a service and you're like, well, I don't wanna go out and email a bunch of people or message them on LinkedIn, well, no doubt there is a bad way to do that, a way that is just gonna be a waste of your time and everybody else's time as well. But in the right circumstances with the right people, if you have carefully matched the people for your service and with the right kind of communication, et cetera, there is a good way to do it, a way that can be fruitful. So you're gonna hear about that today from Amy Barnhart.
She'll tell you a bit about her process, her idea. Well, I'll just let her kind of share the story. So there's always something we can learn from these stories. We keep it quick, action packed to the point. I'm gonna pass the mic to Amy.
I'll be back at the end with a few words of wrap up. [Music]
Hi, my name is Amy Barnhart and my business is ambulance design. I'm a freelance mentor designer and I help growing mentor startups organize their development and get from a design into a production ready proto. I was featured on "Side Hustle School" in episode 1683 talking about how I got started as a freelancer. And today I'm gonna talk about how I made my first $1,000 freelancing.
So when I first got the idea to freelance, I was working full time and I was a new parent. And I wanted to quit my job to freelance and have more flexibility in time with my family. But I had no idea where to start. No one that I knew worked in that freelance space in my industry and most people I talked to didn't think it was even possible. I did know one person who was successfully freelanced as a designer, but she was my boss.
So I didn't know it was possible. I knew someone who had done it, but she didn't seem a great person to ask for advice. Eventually I did find a how to guide specifically for freelancing in my industry. Most advice that I was finding for freelancing at that time at least was for graphic designers. And that probably would have translated, but for me, someone who never felt like she had an entrepreneurial bone in her body, I really wanted advice that was specific to the apparel industry.
So I did find that guide. I found it really helpful. I tried working full time and kind of trying to drum up freelance work on the side before I quit. That was really hard with everything else I had going on and it was taking too long. And I just decided to take a leap and I quit before I found any work.
So it was terrifying. It was very scary, but I got started. I cold pitched, cold email pitched, small and medium sized menswear brands whose designs that I liked. And I just reached out and I said how I found their brand, what I liked about them, what I do and how I thought I could help them. And then I would ask if they would be interested in looking at some work samples.
I was super surprised that I got responses. I think I was expecting people to be annoyed that I was bothering them, but they weren't, people were really nice. So I sent out about 10 emails and I pretty quickly got my first two clients. One was actually a fairly well-known brand that I liked for a while. And so I was pretty excited that one of my first clients was this brand that I really liked right off the bat.
I made my first thousand that first month after I quit my job and I was shocked. I got my first payment by check in the mail, which was nice to have that like tangible thing to touch. And it really felt unreal. I still have the check. It was, I was amazed not knowing anything about this.
World previously, most people that I knew didn't think it was possible. And yet I was pretty successful right away. If you're thinking of starting up a side hustle or you're still trying to make your first thousand, I think my advice is come up with your game plan and your goals. Just like, I mean, you want specific goals, but like a high level game plan and just get started. You could spend your entire life thinking it through and trying to get it perfect.
But honestly, you're never gonna get it perfect the first time. You have to do it imperfectly. And for me, I had to do it imperfectly. And I was terrified. I mean, I quit my job and even sending those emails was really nerve wracking.
The first emails I sent make me cringe to read them now. And even at the time, I didn't think they were very good, but I still sent them and I got work from them. So you learn as you go, you get better and it gets easier. And honestly, it's a lot of fun. Never having wanting to do my own thing.
I've been really surprised at how much fun it is. So good luck and enjoy your journey. [Music]
You know, so many of our listeners over the years have said things like what Amy said about how she's like, I don't feel like I have an entrepreneurial bone in my body. So many of our listeners are kind of like that. They're like, I didn't plan on being an entrepreneur or a quote unquote business owner.
I just wanted to do something for myself. And that's why I make the show for more than 3,300 plus days in a row, giving you these ideas to hopefully get you thinking and not just thinking, but taking action. And so in this case, well done, Amy. She sent 10 emails and got two clients from it. That's a pretty great return on investment.
Certainly in terms of the time and energy and attention. So big thanks to Amy for telling us about her first thousand dollars. Listeners, what does this get you thinking about? What is it you can do? How can you take action on an idea that is interesting to you?
Maybe something you've thought about for a while, but haven't done anything about. Maybe something you have just gotten a new idea for. Whatever the case may be, I hope you take action on that. Of course, continue to listen. It's always free seven days a week.
My name's Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
