We have all seen the LinkedIn posts "I was one of the hundreds recently fired from my job." It's sad when I read this because there is an alternative to the anxiety and despair of constantly worrying about your career. You joined a business for "job security," and you have had to endure the abuse and always wonder when it will come crashing down.

What if there was a better way? A way to build a freelance foundation that was rock solid, so you never worry about being fired again. Good news, there is, and although it is hard work, it is achievable if you work on a computer.

I have been a freelancer since 2001 and have worked in advertising agencies and global brands for over 15 years. I have never worried about job security in my freelance career. The simple fact with freelance is that my goal when coaching you is that you will carry an average of 25 clients each year.

With this amount of freelance clients, even if one decides they no longer need your assistance, they are easy to replace and won't make much of a dent on your bottom line. With this amount of business diversity, you will never worry again about losing your job to a decision entirely out of your control.

I have been working on this freelance proposal template for over twenty years. Skip ahead a couple of decades and figure out how I convert 30-40% of my proposals into paid projects and leap over your freelance competition.

With over $400,000 earned on Upwork in 3 years and an independent freelancer averaging $25,000/month, I know how to build a successful freelance business. I'm not too afraid to admit that this is only one piece of the puzzle of how to make a living as a freelancer. With this freelance proposal template, I teach you how to write your freelance pitch to turn that click into a conversion.

As a freelancer on Upwork, and a client, I see both sides of the equation and have designed this proposal template to help you get hired for the next project. By using a traditional marketing technique combining Upper, Middle, and Lower funnel marketing writing, this proposal template will help you qualify clients before the initial contact. This writing format ensures that you are not attracting tire-kickers but clients ready to start.

This Freelance Shortcut book is broken down into the ten essential steps to building your freelance career from the ground up, or even level up an already successful freelance business:

Step 1: Path - How to build your daily system

The first step in this freelance success guide is all about designing a daily system you can use which helps you develop everything from new jobs, new business, showing off your talent, and developing the marketing materials you need for success as a freelancer.

What you will learn in Step 1:

• Why do I need a daily system?
• How do I structure my daily system?
• What is the best format for my daily system?
• Daily system template
• Assignment: Create your daily system

Step 2: Profiles - How to build your freelance profiles

The second step is all about bringing clients to you, by writing effective profiles which can be used on all of the various freelance platforms for developing new business. Although my lessons in this guide are focussed on LinkedIn and Upwork, these strategies have worked over the past two decades in the ever-changing freelance marketplace.

What you will learn in Step 2:

• Why do I need a personal profile?
• How do I write my profile?
• How do I find keywords?
• Profile template
• Assignment: Write your profile

Step 3: Pitch - How to sell your services

The third step helps you build a highly converting pitch, that demonstrates you know what you are doing but also gives the client the confidence that they can choose you as their freelancer.

What you will learn in Step 3:

• Why do I need a pitch?
• How do I write my pitch?
• What is the best pitch format?
• Pitch template
• Assignment: Write your pitch

Step 4: Personas - How to find clients ready to hire

In this fourth step, I teach you how to write compelling copy to attract clients, as well as identify who will hire you, and what to say to demonstrate that you understand the client's problem on an emotional level, where the sale is made.

What you will learn in Step 4:

• Why do I need personas?
• What is a client persona?
• How do I write client personas
• Persona template
• Assignment: Write 3 client personas

Step 5: Presentation - How to demonstrate your services

During the fifth step, I walk you through what to send to each of your prospective clients with real-world examples and a template structure so you can build your personal brand's marketing presentation and get your next project.

What you will learn in Step 5:

• Why do I need a presentation?
• What makes a great presentation?
• What do I add to my presentation?
• Presentation template
• Assignment: Write and Design your presentation

Step 6: Pricing - How to determine your price list

In this sixth step, I show you my pricing structure and how to develop your pricing list even for complex projects. This allows you to quickly qualify for jobs that will fit within your preferred payment structure and will increase your conversion rate significantly.

What you will learn in Step 6:

• Why do I need a services price list?
• What is the best way to write a services price list?
• How do I write my services price list?
• Price list template
• Assignment: Make your services pricing menu

Step 7: Process - How to keep projects on track

This step shows you the system that I use to keep multiple projects and clients moving forward. Currently, I manage about 180 clients and roughly 50 projects open projects per day while retaining 5-star feedback and a 100% job success score.

What you will learn in Step 7:

• Why do I need a process?
• What is the best way to write my process?
• How do I write my process?
• Process template
• Assignment: Write your process

Step 8: Problems - How to negotiate

In the eighth step, I teach you common negotiation strategies I use to halt objections before they happen and recover projects that happen as every client is different. This step will help you keep your reputation intact even in difficult situations.

What you will learn in Step 8:

• Why do I need to focus on problems?
• How do I solve problems?
• How do I negotiate?
• Common freelancing problems and how to solve them
• Assignment: Write problems clients are having and how you solve them

Step 9: Promotion - How to get freelance jobs consistently

In the ninth step, I show you how to keep your sales pipeline full of incoming jobs, get invited to new projects often, upsell new tasks, and become a necessity to the companies you want to work for. Many freelancers get focused on one project at a time with a lot of downtime in between, this step solves that problem for good.

What you will learn in Step 9:

• Why do I need to promote my services?
• How do I demonstrate my talent?
• How do I find work?
• Promotion guide to finding freelance work
• Assignment: Design your promotion strategy

Step 10: Portfolio - How to build, maintain, and present your work

In the final step, I teach you to build a portfolio that will capture your prospective client's attention and make their choice of working with you an easy one. By building a professional freelance portfolio you dramatically increase your chances of being hired regardless of what freelance industry you are in.

What you will learn in Step 10:

• Why do I need a portfolio?
• What do I add to my portfolio?
• How do I make portfolio pieces?
• Portfolio template
• Assignment: Create your portfolio