Marketing Advisor, Mentor, & Educator

Kevin C. Whelan

Podcast

From Freelancer to Marketing Stategist with Jordan Mogck (Ep. 210 – HTSA)

Going from being an independent freelancer to your clients’ “marketing guy/gal” (aka strategist or fractional head of marketing) can be a tough leap.

Jordan Mogck was wrestling with this very process just last year. But when I caught up with Jordan, I found out he successfully made the leap from freelancer to strategist and fractional head of marketing for his clients.

And not just that, he also found a niche that aligns with his interests and values: Amish farmers!

Super interesting story.

Needless to say, I needed to bring Jordan on so I could find out exactly how he made the leap so others in his position could follow his example.

In this episode, Jordan and I talk about his transition from freelancer to strategist, how he found his niche working with Amish farmers, and more.

  • Transitioning from freelancer to strategist (and the steps he took in between)
  • How he repositioned himself to sell more strategic offerings
  • Exploring alternative niches before stumbling into a new niche—Amish farmers!
  • How a “Golden Goose” relationship led to three clients (and counting)
  • The benefits of aligning your personal identity with the niche you serve
  • Using a performance-based compensation model with a fixed base and % of revenue
  • How Jordan manages scope and delivers his engagements
  • The benefits of a retainer-based model vs. only project work
  • How Jordan plans to find more clients when his target market isn’t online
  • Mindset shifts around mass vs. small audience marketing (resonance)

You can connect with Jordan on LinkedIn, check out his freelance website (new one forthcoming), or connect over on X.

Watch or listen to this episode:

Hope you enjoy this episode and if you do, please share with a friend!

—kevin

P.S. Jordan was able to make this transition with the help of his learnings in the How to Sell Advice membership. Consider joining here: https://howtoselladvice.com.

209. Going from employee to consultant with Reza Saeedi

I recently interviewed Reza Saeedi—a marketing strategist and former Director of Marketing at On Deck—about his transition from employee to marketing advisor to employee again with advising as a side venture.

In this episode, we chatted about things like:

  • How Reza got into marketing and eventually, as a mentor/advisor to entrepreneurs
  • How he was able to get one fractional CMO and two advisory clients quickly after leaving his job at On Deck
  • The role of casual networking and how it led to unexpected opportunities down the line
  • The difference between being specific and niching down in business based on your strengths and interests
  • The role of risk-reversing guarantees and discussing prices against value during sales conversations
  • Why turning away poor-fit clients helped with his overall confidence and contributed to his early success
  • How to internally handle the fact we can’t guarantee successful outcomes
  • The value of factoring in word of mouth and referrals into your marketing plan
  • The intersection and overlap between teaching and advisory work
  • How Reza plans to do part-time advising in a low-labour, sustainable way
  • How Reza stays productize and organized in his work
  • The importance of exercise, habits, and mental health optimization

Plus many fun tangents along the way!

Whether you currently have a job and are thinking about advising full or part-time, or you’re already independent but looking to get into advisory work, this episode will have a ton of insights to offer you.

Key links and mentioned resources:

Listen here or subscribe via your podcast player.