If there’s one thing the “rich” knows, it is the fact that you can earn more money while working less.
As a freelancer you can triple your earnings by working less and building a system of operations that helps you leverage other people for more profit.
That is the essence of what I put together in my book, Money Roll Arbitrage.
In corroboration, Shane Martin has shared almost the same view of how you can literally go from busting your ass for a few hundred dollars to making millions working less.
This article is as appeared in his original expository tweet. I’m sharing his view in agreement.
Enjoy the read.
Think Outside the Box
Whenever I talk to people about switching to an agency model, I hear the same things:
“But I can’t be an agency, I’m just one person.”
“I don’t have the $$$ to hire a team.”
“I’m not qualified.”
“I would have no clue what to do.”
I hear you and… I agree. Those are big obstacles.
But that’s why we’re not going to build a “traditional agency”.
The thing is, if we’re strategic about how we set things up, we can sidestep most/all of these concerns.
Polish your Image
Yes, as an agency you’ll need to portray a certain image —you’ve got to look the part, after all.
But most people go way overboard here.
It’s actually pretty simple.
Do this…
In the next 48 hrs you need to:
- Pick a name (something that’s not your personal name)
- Make a site (keep it simple, no ‘About’ page for now)
- Get generic emails ([email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected])
That’s it.
Everything else will come later.
Leverage Contractors
Yes, for this to work —you’ll need a team.
But employees are risky, expensive & unnecessary.
With contractors we can:
- Reduce risk (only pay when there’s work)
- Scale quickly (more/less as needed)
- Test rapidly (experiment for fit)
Make 1 Hire
No need to go crazy at the start.
Pick one task that isn’t critical to your service — start there.
- Go to Upwork
- Copy a similar job post
- Hire them for a test
Don’t be afraid to cycle through until you find the right fit.
Hire fast, fire faster.
Hack Legitimacy with Systems
For the client, strong systems signal legitimacy and create trust.
Develop them for every step in your process.
Then communicate them relentlessly:
- Put them on your site
- Add to your pitch deck
- Talk about them in your meetings
Get Clients
Got systems, got a team — now you need work.
Do anything you can to get your first few clients:
- Beg friends to make connections
- Scour LinkedIn
- Cold call
- Knock on doors
Don’t worry about scale yet.
Strategic Marketing Moves
Rule of thumb: Once you have 3 solid clients, start marketing (but not before).
I’ve tried it all —here’s what works best:
- Incentivized referral program
- Online audience
- Creative partnerships
Raise Prices
Now the good stuff.
Check out these industry avgs:
Freelancer: $30-60 p/h
Agency: $120-250 p/h
Takeaway: Clients expect to pay more for agency work, so start charging it.
Note: My agency charges ~7.5x more than a freelancer. And clients are happy to pay for it.
Why?
Because they value the results we get & they trust us to get those results.
More on pricing psychology (and my ‘sweet spot’ pricing method) soon.
Free your Time
At this point, things are working:
You’re getting more clients & charging more per project.
It’s time to start removing yourself from the business.
- Hire more (roles 2, 3…5+)
- Create internal SOPs
- Automate w/ software
- Leverag no code tools
Level Up
Now for the best part.
From here, you have a few options.
- Focus on scaling the agency
- Further remove yourself by exchanging profit for support
- Use free time (and profit) to build and fund side projects/start up.
Options = freedom.
Conclusion
This was just a high-level overview.
I don’t want to make this sound easier than it is. It takes work, no doubt.
But IMO, it’s worth it.
If you do this right, you get access to leverage allowing you to earn more while working less.
You just can’t do that as a freelancer.