Yesterday (on Instagram), I mentioned that I’ll be diving deep into the 5-steps I took to sign high-ticket clients.
The 5 steps I did? 👇🏻
Mindset
Niche & Market Research
Messaging & Content
Outreach
Case Studies
In this issue, I’ll be focusing on Step 1: Mindset.
I’ll be talking about common limiting beliefs creatives have and how we can overcome these limiting beliefs.
By following this process, you’re more likely to stay consistent and on track with signing your next high-ticket client.
Unfortunately, most creatives skip working on their mindset. This is the #1 reason why so many give up before they start seeing any results.
Let’s start with this: What’s a belief?
Beliefs aren’t facts. They’re generalizations we create based on our past experiences.
The problem? Our mind has a hard time separating our beliefs from the truth. These beliefs become limiting when they stop us from becoming who we want to be.
Each belief we have influences our thoughts.
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Our thoughts influences our emotions.
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Our emotions drive our actions.
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Our actions determines our outcomes.
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The outcome we experienced becomes our new belief or reinforces an old belief.
Here’s the good news! Once we’re able to spot our limiting beliefs, we’ll be able to take better control over our actions until we get the outcome we want.
Here’s how, step by step.
The first step to overcoming your limiting belief is by identifying the thought. An easy way to identify it? They’re usually negative.
Here are some common limiting beliefs:
Local clients don’t care about or can’t invest in branding
When things start to go well, something bad will happen
I’ll get less clients if I niche down
I can’t charge high-ticket
I need to speak fluent English to work with foreign clients
Identifying the thought can be easy. What most don’t do is understanding the meaning behind the thought.
For example, I used to believe that 6-7 figure clients wouldn’t want to work with me when they find out I was a college student. Because of that, I kept targeting new business owners.
In reality, clients didn’t care about my age. I was limiting myself because I didn’t want to experience any rejection 😅
After identifying a limiting belief, try asking yourself these questions:
What am I avoiding by having this belief?
What benefit/s does this belief give me?
Is this belief actually true?
Many of our beliefs actually come from our childhood, so your childhood experiences is a good place to start.
I targeted new businesses because I was afraid of being rejected. That’s because I’m a people pleaser. This was formed through my upbringing and my desire to fit in as a kid.
Most gurus would tell you to just challenge your old belief and replace it with a new one.
Easier said than done 😅
I learned this step from a Mastermind I’m in, The Freelance Movement Tribe. Doing this will help externalize your belief.
Once you know when the belief was formed, imagine yourself as that kid having those limiting beliefs, and say this:
The outcome creates our belief or re-affirms an old one. To correct our belief, we need actual proof and experiences to replace it.
Before I got clients who hired me even after knowing I was a student, I would look to other 19-21 year old designers for inspiration.
I thought: “If they can charge 5-figures, why can’t I?”
As creatives, most of us actually have the same limiting beliefs, so it’s great to take inspiration from peers who have overcome these beliefs.
The fastest way to overcome our limiting beliefs is by gathering experiences.
Ask yourself: “What’s 1 small thing I can do to counter my old belief?”
For me, it was as simple as:
Creating a post about my insecurities around my age.
Letting potential clients know I’m a student when they ask how long I’ve been freelancing.
The result? I got clients who say:
“Oh that’s good. You’re so young but you’re able to help your clients with this.” or
“It’s good that you’re young because this helps bring an even more fresh perspective to my business.”
That’s it! Those are the 6 steps I took to overcome my limiting beliefs
TL;DR
Identify the thought
Understand where it’s coming from
Remember when it started
Correction
Look for proof to replace your limiting belief
Take action on your new belief
📖 Book: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy — This book is based around the idea that every small decision and action we’ve made brings us one step closer to success or even disaster.
📺 Instagram Post: How I let my age sabotage my business — I made this post 2 months after I started taking action around the limiting belief I mentioned in this issue. 2 months after I identified it, I overcame it.
📖 Book: Deep Work by Cal Newport — Deep Work is being able to do a task for a long period of time without any distractions. This is something I’ve implemented in my daily routine as well.
