Freelance to Founder

Remove Pain from Recurring Revenue

Erica is a web and graphic designer who invested in a coaching program built to turn designers into full-service marketers—complete with monthly retainers, ad campaigns, and recurring revenue. The strategy looked great on paper, but as she started executing it, something felt off. The project work still lights her up; the repetitive marketing tasks do not. Now she's wondering if she has to keep doing work she doesn't enjoy just to hit six figures, or if there's another way. Preston and Clay dig into why following someone else's exact blueprint can quietly lead you away from the work you actually love—and how to build a thriving, recurring-revenue business around just the services that energize you. Support our show sponsors → ⁠https://freelancetofounder.com/sponsors⁠ Submit your own question → ⁠https://freelancetofounder.com/ask⁠ Check out Clay's business → ⁠⁠https://golinus.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Best Marketing Tactic to Get New Clients

Matt runs Barrow Studio, a brand identity and strategy agency in Bristol, UK—and he's drowning in advice. Every newsletter, YouTube channel, and podcast promises a different "marketing golden ticket": build an email list, go all-in on social media, launch a course, appear on podcasts, host a podcast. The result? He's done none of it, and his agency still runs almost entirely on word-of-mouth referrals. Preston and Clay untangle the overwhelm and lay out a clearer, more honest framework for building a marketing system that actually fits where your business is right now. Support our show sponsors → ⁠https://freelancetofounder.com/sponsors⁠ Submit your own question → ⁠https://freelancetofounder.com/ask⁠ Check out Clay's business → ⁠⁠https://golinus.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Overcoming the Fear of Networking

Brittany runs her own design studio and knows she needs to get out from behind her screen and start meeting people face-to-face. The problem: she’s shy, and local networking feels downright terrifying. Preston and Clay walk her through exactly how to break into the local business world without pretending to be someone she’s not—from joining a BNI leads group to an unexpectedly genius $100-a-week community stunt that opens doors without a single sales pitch. Support our show sponsors → ⁠https://freelancetofounder.com/sponsors⁠ Submit your own question → ⁠https://freelancetofounder.com/ask⁠ Check out Clay's business → ⁠https://golinus.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things Are Getting Messy

Emma Clark runs Clark Content Co. and has spent years managing projects from her inbox and a few spreadsheets—until now. With two contractors on board and plans to hire more, things are getting messy fast. Preston and Christine Olivas break down why defining roles and responsibilities is the real foundation of any good system, and share the surprisingly lean tech stack that keeps Christine's 25-person team running smoothly across complex, fast-moving agency engagements. Support our show sponsors → ⁠https://freelancetofounder.com/sponsors⁠ Submit your own question → ⁠https://freelancetofounder.com/ask⁠ Learn more about guest co-host, Christine → ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/colivas/⁠⁠ — ⁠⁠https://nosingleindividual.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Power of Trusting Subcontractors

Omar has built something worth protecting—a roster of loyal clients who hired him as a freelancer and trust him personally. Now he’s growing Vision Craft Studios into a full agency, and the hardest part isn’t finding new clients. It’s handing off the old ones. Preston and Christine Olivas, founder and CEO of No Single Individual, dig into what it really takes to transition client relationships to your team without breaking the trust it took years to build. Support our show sponsors → https://freelancetofounder.com/sponsors Submit your own question → https://freelancetofounder.com/ask This episode has been aired previously. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices