How to properly start an SEO Solopreneur Gig

[Failure_Academy]

Hi y'all,

I feel like in life you eat shit 90% of the time so that the 10% of time the stars align, you feel like it's all worth it. One of these 10% bits just happened to me this week when I disccovered this forum.

I started my online business path last year, helping a friend who has a couple of SEO-focused affiliate websites. I learned SEO from scratch, and 10 months, 1000+ youtube videos, 10+ courses, and experiments later, I think I'm decent at this craft.

We run a small operation that earns good money, but I have no equity in the company. Thus, I would like to use my knowledge and skills to my advantage. Hence, I'd like to start taking clients and running an SEO solopreneur operation which I intend to transform into an Agency.

Now that I've established the basics, let's get down to brass tacks. Here's my problem: unlike in the US, Canada, etc., in my country, businesses and business owners are very poorly instructed and have no idea of what SEO is. I get that this can be a first-mover advantage, but I find it very difficult to ask someone in my country to give you 1k of budget to create content and links. I know this is not how it's done, and I think I know how to sell. I should explore the potential ROI, and tell them how much money they are losing for not having SEO (exploring pain points and all). However, I still find it challenging to sell this to someone who has NO IDEA of what SEO is. Evidently, I can focus a little bit on Google Ads as well, which more people are aware of (I've taken Andy Black's courses, and thank God for your existence, sir).

So, given the situation, how would you go about monting operations? There are a couple of big marketing agencies in my country, but in reality, when it comes to SEO, no one knows shit. My main concerns are actually with pricing, meaning how and how much should I price. I come from a country where the average wage is around 18k annualy, and I don't know how I can sell this big time. Should I make a retainer fee, or for instance, charge zero and take 25-40% of the increased revenue?

Summarizing, my main questions are how to get business owners that know nothing about SEO to give you money, and to know how much should I charge for my services? How do you go from 0 clients to the one? How do you build a "brand"? Intense cold calling?

Thanks a lot, guys. This is the best forum I've discovered in ages, and your stories are inspiring!

PS: sorry for my English. I'm not native

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Hi y'all,

I feel like in life you eat shit 90% of the time so that the 10% of time the stars align, you feel like it's all worth it. One of these 10% bits just happened to me this week when I disccovered this forum.

I started my online business path last year, helping a friend who has a couple of SEO-focused affiliate websites. I learned SEO from scratch, and 10 months, 1000+ youtube videos, 10+ courses, and experiments later, I think I'm decent at this craft.

We run a small operation that earns good money, but I have no equity in the company. Thus, I would like to use my knowledge and skills to my advantage. Hence, I'd like to start taking clients and running an SEO solopreneur operation which I intend to transform into an Agency.

Now that I've established the basics, let's get down to brass tacks. Here's my problem: unlike in the US, Canada, etc., in my country, businesses and business owners are very poorly instructed and have no idea of what SEO is. I get that this can be a first-mover advantage, but I find it very difficult to ask someone in my country to give you 1k of budget to create content and links. I know this is not how it's done, and I think I know how to sell. I should explore the potential ROI, and tell them how much money they are losing for not having SEO (exploring pain points and all). However, I still find it challenging to sell this to someone who has NO IDEA of what SEO is. Evidently, I can focus a little bit on Google Ads as well, which more people are aware of (I've taken Andy Black's courses, and thank God for your existence, sir).

So, given the situation, how would you go about monting operations? There are a couple of big marketing agencies in my country, but in reality, when it comes to SEO, no one knows shit. My main concerns are actually with pricing, meaning how and how much should I price. I come from a country where the average wage is around 18k annualy, and I don't know how I can sell this big time. Should I make a retainer fee, or for instance, charge zero and take 25-40% of the increased revenue?

Summarizing, my main questions are how to get business owners that know nothing about SEO to give you money, and to know how much should I charge for my services? How do you go from 0 clients to the one? How do you build a "brand"? Intense cold calling?

Thanks a lotm guys. This is the best forum I've discovered in ages, and your stories are inspiring!

PS: sorry for my English. I'm not native

"Sales is a screening process." (Blaise Brosnan)

"Help the people in motion." (Amy Hoy)

I prefer to get in front of people already interested in, and ideally paying for, what I offer.

As for the low rates. If it's online why restrict yourself to your own country?

 

[Failure_Academy]

"Sales is a screening process." (Blaise Brosnan)

"Help the people in motion." (Amy Hoy)

I prefer to get in front of people already interested in, and ideally paying for, what I offer.

As for the low rates. If it's online why restrict yourself to your own country?

Hey Andy,

First of all, thanks for your courses and videos! They have been helping me a ton for a while now!

I'd like to start within my country because the market is very saturated in the US, for example, and I'd like to take advantage of being one of the first people to sell SEO services in my country.

 

[Andy Black]

Hey Andy,

First of all, thanks for your courses and videos! They have been helping me a ton for a while now!

I'd like to start within my country because the market is very saturated in the US, for example, and I'd like to take advantage of being one of the first people to sell SEO services in my country.

Who cares about saturation and being a first mover? How can a whole country be saturated? And if it was then doesn't that mean a good SEO is even more in demand?

Just get some clients, that pay well enough, and that you can serve?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Failure_Academy]

Who cares about saturation and being a first mover? How can a whole country be saturated? And if it was then doesn't that mean a good SEO is even more in demand?

Just get some clients, that pay well enough, and that you can serve?

I get what you're saying, and for me, it really boils down to this: should I dive in as a solopreneur or opt for a more agency-style vibe, even though it's just me? I know this may seem like a silly question. But, around here, people are big on first impressions, sometimes even prioritizing them over actual performance, especially before they decide to do business.

This basically means that even if I'm the great at SEO, a potential client might doubt my capacity to handle their project if I'm going solo. But an agency, despite potentially being worse, could appear as a more attractive option just because it seems larger.

So yeah, it feels like I'm going down a bit of a rabbit hole here, but I'm not sure whether to step out solo or give off an agency vibe, and how much I should be charging for my services. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Andy Black]

Just start. Start as yourself. You'll figure it out as you go along.