- How to MAKE A SIX FIGURE INCOME AS A FULLY REMOTE CREATIVE FREELANCER
You’ve dabbled in social media. You’ve made accounts on Dribbble and learned five software packages in as many years. You’ve invested years of hard cash into your technical skills.
Yet you’re still struggling to make good money.
The truth is… you’ve been taken for a ride.
You’ve been yanked in too many directions, and the freelancer without direction is a mediocre freelancer indeed.
Mediocre freelancers don’t survive–it’s mad competitive out here.
But here’s the thing.
To be a successful freelancer, you don’t need to have the best portfolio. You don’t need to know all the tools, or have accounts on every social media platform.
You just need one thing: a system.
A system that pulls consistent, high-paying client work while leaving most of your day to do whatever else you want.
If that sounds like love, you’ve stumbled onto the right patch of internet.
I’m going to share my system with you over a twelve week mentorship. It’s the system I’ve used (and still use) to build a six-figure income, working less than five months a year. This mentorship is taught over bi-weekly emails and six one-on-one, hour-long video calls that you’ll get to keep. It’s meaty. It’s delicious. But it’s work.
Dozens of mentorship students have gone on to carve out their own niches across multiple creative industries:
“After many years of trying to scoop up any job I could, I felt my identity as a freelance illustrator stagnating. Working with Beini got me clear on my niche, got my story on point, and set me on an actionable plan. I started getting results in the middle of the course – working with better clients in more specific areas while furthering my own artistic growth. Thank you, Beini.”
Josh Bauman, illustrator
Josh didn’t know me in the beginning and neither do you, so excuse me a moment as I tell you why you should listen to what I have to say…
In short, I know what I’m on about. There’s a lot of “how-to-freelance” material out there by folks who didn’t actually make their money by freelancing.
This is ain’t that.
My main business isn’t selling you courses or prints. I’m in the trenches, working with clients, day in and day out.
Everything I say about freelancing comes from experience.
That experience has taught me that a successful creative freelancer needs:
This is the core of my system. Anyone with some talent and a willingness to blaze their own path can use it. And you’ll kill it. I know you will.
Over twelve weeks we’ll cover a lot of ground, but we’ll start with the most important thing…
Our A.I. overlords are here. It’s important now more than ever that artists make money from their work.
Client work pays, so my first duty is to make sure you can land work right out of the gate.
The first half of the mentorship is dedicated to building your freelancing business:
Weeks 1-2: Assembling a Killer Portfolio
How to choose, and stick with, one creative freelancing role
Learn the exact strategies to bring your portfolio to a professional level, so clients pay $$$ for your work
How to craft a client pitch that separates you from other freelancers (I share my very own pitch that got a personal response from the owner of a top tier studio in NYC within ten minutes of hitting “send”)
Assignment: you will choose the best pieces from your portfolio that best supports your pitch
How to build a schedule that takes all the guesswork out of what you need to do each day to hit your freelance and personal goals
A one-hour, 1:1 call to review your portfolio, assignment, and to hone your pitch.
Weeks 3-5: Sharpening your Service
How to package your portfolio into a service that clients will clamber to pay you for
How to build a website that capture clients (99% of freelancers build sites that turn on their artist friends but turn off clients)
How to sell your service (hint: ditch your showreel)
Assignment: building (or mocking up) your client-oriented website
The minimal but effective branding strategies I use to build a client base that come back for my work, year after year
A one-hour, 1:1 call to review your website, service, and any other questions you have about freelancing.
Weeks 6-7: Getting Clients
How to find clients and pitch them directly. No social media, portfolio platforms (Behance, Dribbble) or networking necessary
Assignment: drafting your pitch email
How to play the numbers game (understand this and you’ll never want for clients again)
How to always get paid on time, and get paid what you’re worth (hint: it has very little to do with contracts).
A one-hour, 1:1 call to review your pitch and tailor a strategy you will use to get as many high quality clients as you want.
“I’ve found the course and calls with Beini very helpful in moving forwards into a Motion Design career. She helped me focus how to communicate clearly to the types of clients I want to work for and also create an engaging portfolio site. Definitely the best business coach I’ve worked with who truly understands what it means to be a creative freelancer.”
Luke Stanley, motion designer
The second half of the mentorship hones in on strategies to build your own creative vision. You don’t want to do clients’ bidding forever. You want clients to seek out and pay for your way of working.
The best freelancers know that making money is just half the equation. The other half of the equation is developing a creative vision.
Having and expressing a creative vision is the whole reason you’re an artist in the first place.
When you have your own creative vision, you won’t have to kowtow your work into the style of some other artist. Your work become models for others.
Weeks 8-10: Developing your Personal Creative Vision
How to choose a suitable six week personal project and map out a timeline to finish (yes, finish) it
Assignment: building out your personal project
How to know when your project is complete, and when it is time to put it out into the world
A one-hour, 1:1 call to review your personal project and make sure it pushes you, and that you finish it.
Weeks 11-12: Getting Paid for your Personal Vision
How to develop your own working methods from doing your personal projects so you can apply them to client work (it’s one thing to do your own projects at your own pace, and another to be able to use your own techniques under the time pressure of client work)
How to sell your personal work to clients so they start hiring you for your personal creative vision, and not just to execute on their vision
Assignment: setting goals for your creative freelance business
A one-hour, 1:1 call to discuss your roadmap for the next twelve months, and any questions you have about the mentorship, freelancing, or personal creative work.
Bonus Section
How to develop a style
How to charge for your work
Working remotely or in-house.
“Beini is not only an extremely accomplished and multi-talented person and someone to aspire to creatively and career-wise, but also an exceptional communicator and teacher. I intend to revisit this course as long as it’s available to me. Our weekly calls were something that I looked forward to, and kept me accountable and present in my work week. I learned a lot about myself: especially where my time had been going and how I could incorporate my self-initiated projects and creative endeavors into each day, seamlessly. I’ve gained better perspective of my current client base and how I work with them and I have a fresh perspective on how I approach my creative endeavors. Im enjoying the journey much more. I highly recommend investing in yourself to be part of the mentorship program.”
Jen Gaily, illustrator and graphic designer
A complete freelancing system, designed for creatives like you. Six one-hour, 1:1 calls. Five assignments with personalized feedback. Twelve weeks of accountability to get your business and personal work where you want it to be.
It’s like riding a bull while petting a puppy. You’ll be barrelling through real decisions about your freelance business as it takes shape, and I’ll be here every step of the way.
A mentorship is invaluable because no two freelancers have the same path to success. Different skill levels, personalities, drives and life situations scatter us all over the board. It’s not always easy to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your position on your own.
Understanding your current position as a freelancer is the difference between spending your next five years in an upward trajectory, doing cooler work with nicer clients, and wasting the next five years ping ponging between freelancing tips and tricks. All it takes is for someone with experience and a sharp eye to point out the bolts you, specifically, need to tighten before you’re off on the right path.
In this mentorship you’ll be asked to make tough decisions to bring your work to the level it needs to be. You’ll be asked for your honesty on what you want out of your career and out of your personal work.
You’ll need to set aside at least five hours a week to make the mentorship worth your while, as well as an hour every two weeks to dive deep on a call.
Our conversations will range from questions you have to assignment feedback to creative process, but always the takeaways will be practical and tailored to your situation. The mentorship is focused around putting the system in action.
This isn’t for everyone. Not everyone is cut out for the wild west of freelancing and you may be better off packing a brown paper bag lunch to have at a studio job somewhere.
Lastly, if you don’t have the funds or time to commit to the full twelve week mentorship, I’m also offering the material (without the 1:1 calls or assignment feedback) as a standalone course.
Pick your pill:
Is this appropriate for students?
Yes. I teach you real world applications for the technical skills you’re learning in school. Both are essential when you graduate.
Do I have to already be freelancing?
No. You can be working a studio job or considering if freelancing might be a good fit. This mentorship will guide you to build a strong freelance business (and creative career) from the ground up.
I’ve been freelancing for a minute. Would I find this mentorship useful?
Yes. We would gear the mentorship toward the next goals you want to hit, and do a full evaluation of where your work’s at now to get to where you next want to be.
Are there refunds?
Standalone mentorship purchases are refundable within seven days of purchase. Full mentorships with 1:1 calls with me are non-refundable, as I am blocking out time in advance for each student.
Can I switch from the standalone course to the full mentorship?
Yes. You would need to purchase the full mentorship and start the mentorship from the beginning.
Why a mentorship?
Each artist is different and their approach to freelancing has to be tailored to them. The system I teach gives you a solid foundation, but what will ultimately make you stand out is a personalized plan based on your personal strengths, weaknesses and interests. One-size-fits-all does not exist with freelance advice, much less with any approaches to a creative career.
Get my free, info-packed lecture on taking a personal-work-first approach to your creative career. It’s the best 8 minutes you’ll spend all week. Pinky promise.