At the beginning of 2015 I set a goal to redesign and rebuild this blog, but things got busy, and that project was put on the back burner. Throughout the year my blog started falling apart in small little pieces, and bit by bit, I’d patch it up with a bandaid solution. At the end of the year I kicked my butt into gear, prioritized the project, and within a few weeks I’d redesigned the first draft of the entire website.
At the beginning of 2016, my team & I had mostly rebuilt the site based on the new design, and finally, after months of dedicated work on a brand new website, a content audit and a restructuring of the site organization — it’s finally here.
It’s live.
I’m really excited about this because my old blog was a mess. It was a pre-built WordPress theme I’d slowly hacked apart to serve my own needs, but it was degrading quickly, didn’t match the brand and still boldly claimed how much of a minimalist I am (Ha! Damn, is it ever hard to be a minimalist with kids.)
This new and improved website highlights who I am today, showcases content I create, the videos I produce, and the products & services I offer. It’s much sexier, and is more truthful to who I am as a person, and as an entrepreneur.
I think it will serve my readers & my students very well.
New Things I’m Working On
I’ve been working on a bunch of things so far this year, but by far, the most important project I’ve been working on is a brand new course.
But this one is very different from the others.
It’s not a coding course. It’s not a technical course. It won’t teach you how to build pretty websites or functional applications.
With over 140,000 students on Udemy, nearly 4,000 on Code College, a YouTube following of over 16,000 and an email list of 15,000 and counting — I’ve started to see patterns in the thousands of emails, Facebook messages, and tweets I’ve received over the past few years.
I’ve taught you to design websites, code HTML5 webpages, build sexy layouts with CSS3, hack fun animations with jQuery & program database driven web applications.
But many of you are wanting to know…
- How do I start a freelance career as a web designer?
- How do I get my first paying client?
- What’s my freelance niche?
- Should I custom build my portfolio?
- How much should I charge?
- Where do I find freelance jobs?
- What’s the lifecycle of a web design project?
- How do I take over an existing website?
- How do I manage my freelance business?
- How do I ensure I have recurring income if I quit my full-time job?
You want to know how you can turn those technical skills into real, paying work as a freelancer. These skills are tools you will use to succeed as a freelancing web designer — but how do you actually get started and thrive as a freelancer?
This is what I’m working on.
A course for web designers & developers who desire to take back their freedom — to be in control of their time, leave their 9-to-5 jobs, spend more time with their families, and live life on their own terms while building an honest and successful freelancing business.
Progress Report on the Freelancing Course
- Layout and organization of the course is 80% complete
- Lecture writing is at the halfway mark
- I plan on hiring an editor to make sure my lectures are polished
- Once writing & editing is complete, I’ll begin filming
- Lectures will be a mix of talking head videos and slides with voiceovers
- Each lecture will also be available in audio format, like a podcast
- There are going to be a ton of downloads & extras, like email scripts, tools & software resources, worksheets & templates
- I still need an official name for the course, and I’ll likely hire a designer to help me create graphics & assets
All in all, I’m making solid progress but I would like to kick this thing into high gear and get a pre-launch ready for Quarter 2 of this year.
How and When Can I Get Access to This Course?
I’m going to be launching this course unlike any of my other courses. All of my other courses are available on Udemy, Code College, some on YouTube, among other places. This course is highly focused on value, and delivering results for the people who are willing to invest in themselves. This course will not be available on Udemy, and it will not be included in the Code College subscription — nor will the course be available any time you wish to enrol in it.
I’ll be privately launching this course in short waves throughout the year, to allow for groups of students to enrol all at the same time. This means you’ll need to be subscribed to my email list in order to be notified of the next launch!
How much will it cost?
This is still something I’m working out, since I’m still building the course. Because I won’t be launching the course to the general public on a platform like Udemy, I’ll have much greater control over the price of the course — this is to eliminate the possibility of the course being included in a discounted promotion on a third-party platform, and to ensure current students that the price they pay is the lowest I’ll ever offer it for.
The course is going to be focused on value & delivering results, so the price will be anchored toward the value you receive from the course. Remember, I want a student to go through this course and immediately begin to use the material, the tools, the strategies and the templates in their own business! In the very least, I want a graduate of the course to be able to secure their first paying client — and ultimately, I want the students who hustle and use the material to actually be able to start, grow and thrive in their own full-time freelance career!
On a small scale, one client project is worth at least $500.
On a larger scale, a full-time freelance career is worth so much more! It’s your business, your livelihood, and your freedom.
Will there be a payment plan?
Definitely! What I do know is the price will include a one-time payment and a payment plan option, spread over a few months. This allows more students entry into the course, because sometimes it’s much easier to pay for something over a few months. This wasn’t something I could offer before, but the platform I use to host my courses now has this feature, so I will be taking advantage of it.
Will there be early access for beta students?
You bet! I don’t want to launch a course like this without consulting with the very students who will be enrolling! Very soon I’ll be opening up a beta program for a select few students who are willing to help me massage out any kinks, fill in the gaps, and suggest improvements. I’m only interested in beta students who are actually willing to jump on a call with me, shoot a few emails back & forth, and give me solid feedback. As a beta student, you won’t be looking at the polished & complete product — you’ll be behind the scenes, helping shape what the final product will be! Beta students will have the benefit of getting early access at a huge discount as well.
Enter your name & email below to get on the waiting list for Freelancing Freedom. You’ll be the very first to know about launch and you’ll have an opportunity to sign up for early access.
That’s all for now! Take a look around the new site, play around with all the new fancy pages & posts. And more importantly, if you spot a bug, please let me know using the contact form here on the blog!
Cheers,
Brad
