I had a fellow freelancer (designer) call me up last week, frustrated as hell…

The dude's crushing it on social and getting hundreds of leads every month.

And yet he tells me: "They can't afford me. All these people reaching out and they're dud leads."

Hundreds of leads are knocking on your door…

Why aren't we building something they CAN afford?

Which got me thinking about how I made the jump from $50k to $100k years. 

My 1 Year Plan Reverse Engineering a $100K Freelance Year

See, most freelancers think hitting $100k means MORE.

More clients, platforms, and offers.

When it’s actually about doing LESS, with way MORE intention.

Step 1: Fix Your Pricing Math

If you had 10-12 solid projects last year, you're closer than you think.

The problem isn't quantity – it's how you're pricing.

Stop pricing for what you're doing. Start pricing like you'd subcontract the whole thing.

Even if you never hire anyone, you just gave yourself a 30-40% raise overnight.

Step 2: Build the Three-Layer Offer

Layer 1: Problem + Payoff

Most freelancers sell process: "I'll design your logo" or "I'll write your emails."

But clients buy outcomes: "I help SaaS founders fix the one thing killing their signups."

Layer 2: Revenue Connection

If they can draw a line from "I spend $5k with you" to "I make $15k back," they'll keep spending and tell everyone about it.

Layer 3: The Re-Offer Strategy

This is where most freelancers leave money on the table.

Every project should end with: 

"Now that we've launched your branding, want to take a look at your sales page?"

Step 3: Go Hub and Spoke

Stop chasing individual brands one at a time. 

Instead, find the people who already serve your ideal clients – agencies, consultants, fractional CMOs.

So instead of landing one $5k project in July, then hunting for another in August... 

You land one $5k hub and get $20k worth of work from all their clients.

One deal = five projects.

Step 4: Allocate Like a CEO

If you're spending 4-8 hours a day on your business and at least one of those hours actively generating leads, your business WILL grow.

The pipeline dries up when you get stuck in fulfillment mode and stop showing up like a CEO.

Block off those hours like client work. Because it is.

Your $100k year doesn't need a vast quantity of new leads.

It usually needs 2-3 re-offers to the 5 great clients you already have, priced for profit.

That's how you go from freelancer to strategic partner.

My designer friend? If he built 1 accessible offer to catch those hundreds of leads, he'd be making 6 figs a month.

The market's always telling you something…

Question is, are you listening?

Best,
Jamie

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