We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for becoming a freelance writer:

#1: Arlie Peyton, founder of Writing Income Accelerator:

We chatted with with Arlie, founder of Writing Income Accelerator ($10K/month). In our interview, Arlie says:

You don’t have to launch like everyone else. You don’t have to buy the same software. And you don’t have to be where all your competitors are. What I’d do is take in the proven, conventional wisdom and run a bunch of tests. Get creative!

Read the full interview ➜

#2: Deja Tyla Hansen, founder of Tyla's Writing Services:

We chatted with with Deja, founder of Tyla's Writing Services ($700/month). In our interview, Deja says:

Engaging with your customers is one of the most important things you can do. You need to set aside time to simply talk to people and connect with them. What makes a small business unique is the customer gets to talk directly to the business owner or someone very close to them.

Additionally:

Get out there and let people know what you do, and what you can do for them! Make yourself marketable and make yourself stand out.

Read the full interview ➜

#3: Susan Greene, founder of Greene Marketing, LLC:

We chatted with with Susan, founder of Greene Marketing, LLC ($/month). In our interview, Susan says:

Figure out how you’re going to get visibility for your business in the market to begin attracting clients and work.

Read the full interview ➜

#4: Eva Gutierrez, founder of Eva Gutierrez:

We chatted with with Eva, founder of Eva Gutierrez ($/month). In our interview, Eva says:

When I first started, I was going from client to client and just hoping my bank account didn’t hit zero -thinking that this was just how freelancing was supposed to be. Once I really sat down and figured out how to run my business, I realized this was not the case.

Additionally:

You want to be able to grow your endurance and to be a good writer, and that only happens from doing the work, hitting publish, reading feedback, and then doing it all over again as you level your skillset up.

Read the full interview ➜

#5: Daniel Waldman, founder of Daniel Waldman Writing:

We chatted with with Daniel, founder of Daniel Waldman Writing ($3.5K/month). In our interview, Daniel says:

Too often, I see entrepreneurs who are more interested in being an entrepreneur than building a business. They spend a lot of time and energy talking about their business, but not actually doing things that will contribute to the bottom line.

Read the full interview ➜

#6: Matt Rudntsky, founder of Platypus Publishing:

We chatted with with Matt, founder of Platypus Publishing ($320K/month). In our interview, Matt says:

I’ve made one huge mistake over the past five years: Thinking that business is a competition, not a collaboration. I always looked at fellow entrepreneurs and thought we couldn’t help each other.

Additionally:

Your early profits will come from doing things that don’t scale … but your long-term profits will come from the things that do scale.

Further:

Do things your own way. Use your personality and quirks to your advantage. Let other people inspire you, but do not copy them. Put your own twist on their ideas.

Read the full interview ➜

#7: Dave Thornton, founder of Thornton & Lowe:

We chatted with with Dave, founder of Thornton & Lowe ($180K/month). In our interview, Dave says:

Every small business owner needs to be a salesman. This isn’t just to create and convert leads but selling to new recruits, to your suppliers, creditors, and partners.

Additionally:

Start early! The younger you are, the less risk. You will unlikely to have a huge salary to sacrifice.

Read the full interview ➜

#8: Kate Angelella, founder of Angelella Editorial:

We chatted with with Kate, founder of Angelella Editorial ($4.5K/month). In our interview, Kate says:

Very few businesses will ever be a smash-bang, overnight success. You have to invest in yourself and the future of your business with time and money and ideas, all.

Additionally:

Owning your own business can be wonderful, but it’s also harder than any other job I’ve ever had, with longer hours, and lots of homework. And it’s more difficult to separate home from work when your work is all around you, all the time. So if you don’t love what you’re doing, what’s the point?

Read the full interview ➜

#9: Pat Stainke, founder of The Language Delegate:

We chatted with with Pat, founder of The Language Delegate ($3K/month). In our interview, Pat says:

It was difficult at first to know how to fix my rates—especially because I tackle such a wide variety of assignments.

Additionally:

Perhaps the greatest challenge I’ve ever faced (the same one that triggered the greatest growth spurt I’ve ever enjoyed!) was learning how to stumble my way through failures to arrive at success.

Further:

If you have a gift for language, love to read and love to write, a career in editing might be a good fit for you. It also helps to be a grammar nerd. If you have an eagle eye for small errors, you might like proofreading.

Read the full interview ➜

#10: Daniel Waldman, founder of Daniel Waldman Writing:

We chatted with with Daniel, founder of Daniel Waldman Writing ($3.5K/month). In our interview, Daniel says:

Be self-critical. It’s the hardest thing you can do, and it can sometimes lead you down the path of self-doubt. But that’s a good thing.

Read the full interview ➜

#11: Eric Rosenberg, founder of Narrow Bridge Media:

We chatted with with Eric, founder of Narrow Bridge Media ($0/month). In our interview, Eric says:

A successful retired CEO once told me that the best way to succeed in your career is to be making something or selling something. Once you’ve done that, your next step is making it scale. That’s where I’m at now with my business.

Read the full interview ➜

#12: David Tile, founder of Article-Writing Co:

We chatted with with David, founder of Article-Writing Co ($125K/month). In our interview, David says:

Doing > Thinking. No matter how perfect/smart you are, market forces are smarter. Dive into the river and figure out how to swim.

Additionally:

Cashflow management is my number one piece of guidance for entrepreneurs. Know where you sit. Don’t let shitty customers delay payments. And if they do - don’t work with them.

Read the full interview ➜

#13: Jorden Makelle, founder of Writing Revolt:

We chatted with with Jorden, founder of Writing Revolt ($25K/month). In our interview, Jorden says:

Getting fired is what finally propelled me into starting my own freelance writing business, and I think the urgency of having no backup plan is what really pushed me to succeed!

Read the full interview ➜

#14: Kate Angelella, founder of Angelella Editorial:

We chatted with with Kate, founder of Angelella Editorial ($4.5K/month). In our interview, Kate says:

We can dwell on what we got wrong so much that we can fail to learn from it, and that is the only fatal mistake.

Read the full interview ➜

#15: Adam Crookes, founder of Freshly Squeezed:

We chatted with with Adam, founder of Freshly Squeezed ($2.8K/month). In our interview, Adam says:

If the value proposition diminishes over time, you’re more likely to see customers drop off and fall to the wayside. This is why I put a huge amount of time and effort into going the extra mile for my existing customers.

Additionally:

With the right email template, cold emailing can produce far better results than any paid advertising campaign.

Read the full interview ➜

#16: Dave Thornton, founder of Thornton & Lowe:

We chatted with with Dave, founder of Thornton & Lowe ($180K/month). In our interview, Dave says:

Experience can be picked up, skills can be developed, training provided but the most important thing is that you trust them, you already know how they work and how reliable they are.

Read the full interview ➜

#17: Arlie Peyton, founder of Writing Income Accelerator:

We chatted with with Arlie, founder of Writing Income Accelerator ($10K/month). In our interview, Arlie says:

It’s better to find out what you’re good at and see if there is a market for that. Don’t try everything just because there’s money in it.

Read the full interview ➜

#18: Matt Rudntsky, founder of Platypus Publishing:

We chatted with with Matt, founder of Platypus Publishing ($320K/month). In our interview, Matt says:

Stop thinking that you can only use everything once. The more you repackage, you more people you help. And the more people you help, the more money you make.

Read the full interview ➜

#19: Eva Gutierrez, founder of Eva Gutierrez:

We chatted with with Eva, founder of Eva Gutierrez ($/month). In our interview, Eva says:

Your business is just a system and it can tell you exactly where you’re headed if you let it.

Read the full interview ➜

#20: Matt Rudntsky, founder of Platypus Publishing:

We chatted with with Matt, founder of Platypus Publishing ($320K/month). In our interview, Matt says:

Do things that don’t scale, but have a vision of how you’ll transition to something that does scale.

Read the full interview ➜

Part of

Becoming A Freelance Writer: Everything You Need To Know

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Pat Walls, Founder of Starter Story

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