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Paco de Leon: I used to be
really bad at earning money.
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Early on, I was
a junior financial planner,
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and my job was to help people
manage their wealth,
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but my salary was so low
that I started riding my bike to work
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to save money on gas
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and I started a garden
to save money on food.
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Now, I run a bookkeeping agency
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that specifically
serves creative businesses.
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[TED: The Way We Work]
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[Made possible
with the support of Dropbox]
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This might sound strange
coming from a former financial planner,
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but I'm not a fan of capitalism.
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Almost everyone I work with
and know and love
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is an artist, including me,
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so I know the way the system is set up,
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freelancers and artists
are too often way underpaid.
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They often feel like focusing on money
will corrupt their creativity,
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or they think they're just not
that good at making money anyway.
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But the truth is, we can be good at it,
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and in fact we have to be,
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because our freedom is at stake:
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our freedom to create, to influence,
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and to use the power of money
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to change the very exploitation
that keeps artists broke to begin with.
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I'm not struggling anymore,
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and I've learned a lot
since being a financial planner,
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and I just wanted to share that knowledge.
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So here's what I've learned and done.
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One: what you do.
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When it comes to your offer,
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you have to be able
to answer the following question:
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why would anyone hire you
over your competition?
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If you can't answer that question,
neither can your potential clients,
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which means you can't charge more for
the thing that makes your work special.
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Price becomes a differentiator,
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and bidding becomes
a race to the bottom.
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What sets you apart could be what you do,
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why you do it, or how you do it:
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a string quartet that arranges
and plays hip hop medleys,
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or a branding firm that has a unique way
of marketing technology to Baby Boomers,
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or a prop and set designer
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who is known for crafting
beautiful papier-mâché miniatures.
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Two: who you do it for.
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After you determine what sets you apart,
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position yourself for your ideal customer.
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In order for this to be effective,
you must narrow your focus.
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Without focus, you try to be
everything for everyone,
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and you end up being nothing for nobody.
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Then, use the kind of language
that appeals to your target customer.
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Create the kind of marketing materials or
the kind of portfolio that attracts them.
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Then be in the real life
and virtual places they are.
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For example, if you're a videographer
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and you want to work
with mission-driven companies
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that bring clean water
to places where it's scarce,
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create a video trailer that shows exactly
how the power of film moves people to act.
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Three: when it's time to talk money,
understand the real value that you create.
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You're not just being compensated
for the time that you work on a project.
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You're being compensated
for everything you've learned
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and everything you've done over the years
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that make you excellent at what you do.
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Ask yourself questions like,
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how does your service
impact customers' bottom line?
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How do you create efficiencies
that generate cost savings?
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How much money can your customer make
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from a product that you
helped them create?
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For example, if you're a freelancer
that helps YouTube creators
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develop merch like t-shirts and dad hats,
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mention how much money
you've helped your clients generate.
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Or, if you've created a diversity
and inclusion training program
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for corporations,
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talk about how much time and money
a company saves purchasing your product
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instead of developing their own.
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Four: make sure your price
includes your taxes, your overhead,
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and your profit.
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When you're a freelancer,
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you are your own business,
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so you're responsible for marketing,
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accounting, taxes, legal, insurance,
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overhead and profit.
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If you price too low,
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you've already negotiated
against yourself.
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And if a potential customer
balks at your pricing,
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don't apologize.
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Just say that you're running a business
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and you can't afford
to do the work for less.
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Instead of corrupting your creativity,
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focusing on making more money
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could actually enhance it
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by giving you the freedom of choice.
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Because when you earn enough
working with clients
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that value your work,
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you don't have to compromise
by working with clients who don't.
Silvia Nurchis
Hi there, I'm italian. Can I translate and make the subtitles for this video?
How can i do?
Camille Martínez
Hi Silvia,
If you go to the talk's main page
https://amara.org/en/videos/iItgxN63qJ7t/info/the-secret-to-being-a-successful-freelancer/
and click on "View tasks for this video,"
then click on "Filter and Sort,"
and enter "Italian" under "for ____ (language)" and "anyone" for "assigned to ____," you will see that the task for translating into Italian has already been taken by someone.
For future reference, it's preferable to ask questions like this on the translators Facebook page, or contact one of your language coordinators:
https://www.ted.com/participate/translate/our-translators/language-coordinators
Best,
Camille