Converting an “Office Hours” Into A $1500 Job Interview

The story of how I landed my first freelance client.

There was one reason that tipped the scales and convinced me to quit my job to pursue writing full-time.

My first freelance client.

I signed the deal in December 2020. It was a year-long contract for $1500 for 20 hours of work each week.

I loved the kind of articles the client required me to write. The topic was challenging, and seeing my articles rank on Google was sweet validation that pushed me to learn more and work harder.

But this article is not about that.

This article is about how I converted an office hours call into a job interview.

The background work that goes in to create “magic”

In October 2020, I signed up for weekly office hours with a coach I deeply admired.

It was only $5 a month, and every week, I got to be on a call with the coach and a bunch of people worldwide who joined. We spent the next 30 minutes addressing one question from each member, and brainstorming solutions together.

In one such call, I mentioned that I want to quit my job, but am unable to build a steady income stream.

The coach (who had then become my mentor) asked me how much I needed to be able to quit my job. I told him $1500. The next week, I had a $1500 contract in my hands!

Laying the foundation, brick by brick

Sounds magical? Here are a few facts that led to this event:

Before this life-changing call,

• I’d published 10 stories on the coach’s publication, and for each, I was commissioned $500 (Proof of work: He knew the quality of work I was capable of producing)
• I’d shown up to every call with notes and quotes to add value to our 30 minutes together (Proof of consistency)
• I’d invested in the office hours and made it a point to make new connections every week (Proof that I’m willing to learn, upskill, and network)
• I’d grown a following of ~5k readers on Medium (Proof that my writing strikes a chord with a largely English-speaking population that makes up Medium’s reader demographic)

You see, there’s no such thing as “dumb luck.”

There’s only hard work, strategy + planning, and consistency.

Before we part…

Do you want to know how to develop these habits and welcome the magic of “happy consequences” in your freelance writing career?

I’ll share the story first with my newsletter subscribers. Join for free, and you’ll get access to my 5-day course on how to become a highly-paid writer.

Don’t forget to share this story with writer friends who want to make a full-time living doing what they love.