HOW I TRIPLED MY INCOME IN FOUR MONTHS AS A SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER (WITH 380 FOLLOWERS)

THE LAST THREE YEARS HAVE BEEN A WILD RIDE.

I remember waking up on January 1st, 2020 thinking, “This is my year!” I was planning an epic wedding with the LOML, my career was advancing as a freelancer, I was thriving in my day job and I felt like I finally struck a balance with making money, having a healthy social life, and growing personally. And just like everyone else, Life came at us fast and said, “Watch this and hold my beer”. The pandemic put everything to a screeching halt. I was furloughed entirely as a freelancer, my day job hours and commission were cut back significantly, I became a “Covid bride” and postponed my wedding. This time three years ago, 2020 didn’t look like it was going to be that great of a year after all and it sent me into a spiral, questioning how I was financially going to survive.

The pandemic took (and may still be taking) away so much from so many people and there’s no denying that. Although this blog post is about growing monetarily, I don’t want to make light of the pandemic and I want to acknowledge those that have lost more than income. It felt wrong not to mention and my heart is with you.

I’m sure to many people, starting a LLC while still technically being furloughed in the middle of a worldwide pandemic isn’t the smartest thing to do. And tbh, I questioned if it was also.. a lot. But, I needed to put my feet to the fire and start taking control again, especially when it came to my income. Being a freelancer during 2020 was incredibly scary, but the silver lining is that I had the skills and know-how to start my own business. I officially launched The Social Reco in mid-October 2020, and by February 1st, 2021 I tripled my income pre-pandemic. But more importantly, I want to show you how too. And before you roll your eyes at my weak MLM pitch (lol), this is not a gimmicky, “overnight success story.” It was hard as shit, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and after a ton of mistakes, I found a way to make the process easier for someone else to implement. Let’s dig in:

I manifested that shit. No seriously, I made a 2021 goal board that I stared at every single day in my office, right above my computer and even have a post it note on my monitor that says “I love money + money loves me.” I manifest consistently and positioned myself daily to make my thoughts turn into actions. I know it sounds cheesy and a load of hooplah, but don’t knock it until you try it. Intention and manifestation changed it all for me.

I quit my day job to make more money. Makes sense, right? I knew in order to grow financially, I needed to be all in on my own biz. Once I had enough steady income with my business, I decided to focus on growing it (and only it!) monetarily. One of my friends told me, “if you hold on to something for safety, you’re telling the universe you’re comfortable with receiving what you think you deserve and what you’re worth” or something of that magnitude and it really hit home for me. Although I enjoyed my day job, it wasn’t fulfilling enough to justify the cut hours and pay that the pandemic took. During that time, I shifted my focus and I realized I needed to invest it all into The Social Reco to really grow and give myself every opportunity to kick ass.

I posted my services and engaged in VA groups on Facebook. You can’t post your services every day, but usually you can promote your services the beginning of every month or twice a month! I also engaged with other VAs in these groups and built solid relationships so I had referrals coming in.

I invested in things that would make working easier, for myself, but especially for my clients. I purchased a new computer (I felt like Dave Ramsey was probably screaming in my year when I hit “submit payment” but whatever) because I needed a bigger system, more disk space, and I didn’t want to fight with my 2005 Mac anymore. I also invested in programs, training courses, and automation. Granted those aren’t required to start your business or make money, but it it makes it a helluva lot quicker to make money when your focus is actually making money and not the everyday little tasks. Not worrying about follow up emails, legality of contracts, and sending invoices took a lot off my plate!

I focused on niching down my services, even though I was against it at first. I thought if I offered a ton of different services, I could position myself to be in demand. Not the right mindset to have, friend. Although I know how to do a lot of different things, I didn’t prioritize what I was most skilled at and could provide value to, and most importantly, what I enjoyed doing. I switched gears and focused on offering a few different services that I’m great at versus a bunch of different services that I was okay at and changed my pricing to reflect the quality.

I created packages and then changed them… and changed them again. When I first created packages for my services, I threw together a price that I thought a client would be comfortable paying. And although I still keep that in mind, there are a TON of other things I now need incorporate into my pricing, such as programs I pay for to create content, educational courses, etc. Changing my package prices was a huge mindset shift for me. You have the ability to change the price of your services without justification, so long as it’s properly outlined in your contract. I wouldn’t change your price point drastically every other month of course, but if you position yourself with offering value, you can change your price point without losing clients.

Along with creating packages, I wasn’t against negotiating with a lead that was interested in my services. I understand that negotiation can be a taboo subject when starting out and for the most part and I have always been coached to stick to my prices, it’s firm and no changes. I do understand why negotiating for less than what you think you’re worth is not always a great business move; however, when you don’t have much to lose or offer in the beginning, it’s not worth turning down a potential client because they’re negotiating $100 less than what your package is. You have to tread very lightly when it comes to negotiating so make sure to set ground rules and boundaries if you are willing to take less than what you charge for a first time client.

I focused on securing long term contracts instead of month to month contracts. I stopped creating month to month services and now require a three month or six month contracts only as well as a retainer fee to lock in prices. I don’t know why it took so long for me to make this decision.. after all, it can take three to six months before a client sees the ROI on most management services. But by locking in longer term contracts, I was able to manage my income easier as well as have a guarantee of a certain time frame I would be paid.

I started showing up consistently on Instagram and positioned myself in high demand. Although now I have 1700 followers, when I first made 4x my income, I had 383. I focused less on the follower count, but more about the value I share. I wanted to provide recos (recommendations) for social media users that were struggling with brand exposure and engagement, and growing my follower count was never a priority of mine for my personal brand. But when a follower tried my advice and it worked for their brand, they instantly trusted me as a resource and told their friends about me! I was able to secure FOUR full time clients alone just by referral of social media. I have a tiny, but mighty community on Instagram and love everything about it!

Speaking of Instagram… I scoped out my competition’s services. I wanted to see what the online presence and what packages they offered. I didn’t look to see if the brand or agency had a lot of followers, but more about how they engaged with their community, the value they provided, and their overall vibe. Would I want to book them? Would they want to book me? Why or Why not?

I came to the table with solutions and ideas, not problems. I once was challenged with this question.. “Why do surgeons make more than doctors? Because doctors find a problem, surgeons solve a problem.” Do you conduct yourself as a surgeon or as a doctor for your businesses? You were hired to solve a problem for someone, not find them. Think three steps ahead and make sure all their bases are covered. If you shift your mindset to become a problem solver for them, you’ll lock in a client for life.

Client satisfaction is an important pillar when it comes to making money. Follow up phone calls, emails, slack messages, whatever I need to do to make sure my client is satisfied with my work. It’s so easy to not ask for feedback, in fear that they may not enjoy all of your hard work, but it’s imperative that your clients are happy! Let them know their opinion matters and you want to make sure they nail your vision and make their job 10x easier!

Additionally, if you’re a fellow social media manager and have questions about increasing your income, let’s set up a 1:1 intensive and chat! Just inquire here!

Chat soon, babe!