Stage 8 of 8 · 8 lessons · ~2 weeks

Growing your practice

Turn first clients into steady work: repeat clients and retainers, rates that rise with your proof, platform badges or a referral habit, and help from others when there is more work than hours.

Start: Repeat clients

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

Suggest one specific follow-up piece of work to a past client.
Offer a retainer to a client with ongoing needs, with capped hours.
Set a date and amount for your next rate increase for new clients.
Track hours on every project and compare them with estimates.
Check your progress towards your next badge or level, or your referral routine.
Review your best projects and refine your niche.
Start a second client channel without breaking platform rules.

Keep handy

Toggl Track
Track real hours per project to find your effective rate and true capacity
Upwork Help Center for freelancers
The exact Rising Talent, Top Rated and JSS criteria, which blogs often quote wrongly

Also worth your time

Learn In PublicRead
Sharing what you learn keeps past clients and new ones aware of your work
Show Your Work!Go deeperPaid
Building a reputation that brings clients to you, for when referrals start to matter

Before moving on: A growth plan: one follow-up or retainer offer sent to a past client, a dated rate increase for new clients, your progress towards your platform's next badge or level or a referral routine, and a second client channel you have started.

Tauseef's advice

The freelancers who last are not the ones who win the most new clients. They keep good clients coming back, raise their rates as their proof grows, and never let one platform or one client hold all their income.