In this week’s episode of the Extra Paycheck Podcast I am joined by an entrepreneur, a social media and content marketing strategist and the founder of Epic Freelancing, Josh Hoffman.
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Josh Hoffman studied journalism in California but the more he got into that industry the more he understood that he doesn’t enjoy it. This is when Josh realized he wanted to help businesses with their social media marketing and content marketing.
Besides helping businesses Josh also runs EpicFreelancing.com where he helps freelancers build their own brand and their own successful business. Josh explains that although there are many platforms where freelancers can find work, there is more supply than demand. This lowers the price for all freelancers and this is why it’s important to not rely on these platforms but rather market your own services independently.
In this episode Josh shares his experiences, successes and failures. One of his first tips is reaching out to people you admire. It’s never been easier to connect with influencers and get in touch with people who have achieved what you want to achieve. Why not get in touch and ask for help? This will help you grow as an individual and as a business as well.
Josh talks about finding your very first client. His advice? “You are your own perfect client”. If you want to offer a service for others then use that same service to grow your own brand. This will be the ultimate proof that you enjoy doing this work, that you know what you’re doing and that you’ll be able to bring results for your clients.
When I asked him about the biggest mistake that companies make in social media marketing, Josh definitely delivered! He explained that business owners (like you and I) are in love with their offer. Remember that no one loves your business as much as you do. You might be very tempted to keep telling everyone how amazing your service is and how everyone should be using it. In reality though you need to create content that people can relate to. I won’t spoil all of the details as Josh gives a great example on how to not make this mistake so listen to the full episode.
Josh’s definition of marketing is: “Create value and stay relevant in the minds of your target audience until they are willing, able and ready to buy what you’re selling.” There is a great lesson in that advice and the details are explained in the show.
Besides explaining which social media platform you should use for your business Josh Hoffman also shares the darkest moment in his experience. When his business first saw a burst of success, Josh got really excited and got a nice office, hired a lot of people, starting spending a lot on advertising and soon enough everything went down crashing. Even his personal life took a huge hit and Josh became depressed for 2 months.
However he recovered and now looks at this as an “learning experience”
Most important advice in this episode? If you have a plan B, you give yourself the option to fail. Most entrepreneurs fails simply because they do not commit to their plan A 100%. When things get tough (and they will) we always tend to gravitate to our comfort zone. This is where many of us will give up on our dream and go to plan B. Remember that most successful entrepreneurs simply do not give themselves the option to fail. They commit 100% and they succeed. Sure, sometimes it takes longer and it is very hard but it’s all worth it in the end.
More about Josh Hoffman:
joshoffman.com – official website
EpicFreelancing.com – become the best freelancer you can be
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– Alex
