Hey there…

Do you want to grow your freelance business faster? Charge more? Work with better clients?

Here’s the secret:
Get better—faster.

This week is about compressing time as a freelancer. You don’t need to wait five years to build experience or expertise. You can accelerate your growth and sharpen your skills starting now—even without high-paying clients lining up at your door.

Let’s break down a few ways to build real experience and improve your craft—so you can charge more, deliver more value, and grow with confidence.

1. Do Real Work Before You’re Paid to Do It

If you're pivoting into a new niche or service, don’t wait for someone to hire you—start doing the work now.

• Redesign a nonprofit’s website

• Write blog posts for a fake company you make up

• Create brand mockups for a business you admire

• Offer a mini SEO audit to a local business, no strings attached

👉 Build before you’re hired. Then show the results.

2. Trade Skills with Other Freelancers

Know a copywriter, web designer, or video editor? Partner up.

• Write their website copy while they revamp your portfolio site

• Record a short course together to build authority

• Create sample projects to use in both your marketing efforts

👉 Skill swaps are one of the fastest ways to learn by doing—and expand your portfolio at the same time.

3. Intern Your Way into Mastery

You’re never too experienced to intern. In fact, strategic internships or apprenticeships can unlock serious speed.

• Find a successful freelancer or agency and offer to assist on a real project

• Offer part-time help in exchange for hands-on experience in a new area

• Shadow someone in your target niche and document your learnings

👉 The right internship isn’t about money—it’s about access and acceleration.

4. Document the Process, Not Just the Result

Don’t wait until you’ve “made it” to showcase your skills. Let people see your evolution.

• Share screenshots of projects in progress

• Record Loom videos explaining what you’re learning

• Reflect on client wins or lessons (even if you did the work for free)

👉 The more you share your development, the more people trust your direction.

5. Learn Fast, Apply Immediately

Don’t just collect courses and content—implement what you learn right away.

• Finish a YouTube tutorial? Build a project using the new tool

• Take a writing course? Publish something the next day

• Learn a new skill? Offer it to a current or past client

👉 Learning compounds when it’s put into practice immediately.

Quote of the Week

This Week’s Challenge

Pick one of the five strategies above and put it into action this week.

Don’t wait for permission. Build. Practice. Document. You don’t need 10 years of experience—you just need momentum.

REMEMBER: Skill + experience = value.
And when you create more value, you can confidently charge more, work less, and grow faster.

Talk to you next Friday,
Michael Fleischner

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