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Meet Anyi!
Anyi went through our July accelerator after working at Uber. She specializes in Customer Engagement and Product Marketing with a focus on helping startups develop marketing strategies to drive growth and retention.
Read her story below about how she went from full-time to freelance in under a month!
What was your career like before you started independent consulting?
Before I started freelancing, I had 10 years of marketing experience across a few industries and was most recently doing product marketing at Uber Freight.
What drove you to think about working for yourself? What doubts did you have along the way?
I was drawn to the idea of freelance consulting because I wanted to expand my experience across different types of companies while working on interesting challenges and projects. I had only known what it was like to be a full-time employee, so I kept putting off the transition because I didn't know if I had enough experience or how to even get started.
The chance came when I was impacted by layoffs due to the pandemic. I decided it was finally time to go for it, and haven't looked back. I now realize that my doubts were mainly driven by imposter syndrome and I'm very glad I took the leap.
What are the biggest ways in which Mylance helped you navigate launching your freelance business?
Mylance gave me all the tools and resources I needed to get set up and start finding and closing clients. Without Mylance, I probably would have spent months trying to do this research myself. Above all, what I valued the most was the community. I met some awesome people who I could relate to and were going through the same journey.
Give us some details about how you found your first client, what your pitch was like, how the negotiation process went, and how you closed them?
I found most of my clients through my network via connections. My first client was a startup. I had 1 discovery conversation with the CEO, where I identified an opportunity area and suggested a specific project that was similar to something I had done in the past. This led to follow-up conversations with 2 other members of the team, where I was able to get an understanding of what the project scope could look like.
From there, it was easy to develop and get sign-off on a proposal because I knew exactly what they needed help with. I was also able to get the client to agree with my initially proposed rate. I closed this client within 2 weeks of completing the Mylance accelerator.
What does your professional life look like now?
I'm now working with 3 clients, about 40-45 hours a week. On a monthly basis, I'm making more than I did before I started freelancing even though I'm working a similar number of hours.
What are your favorite parts about freelance consulting?
My clients are great and the work is fulfilling. I'm also enjoying the flexibility of being able to choose when I work and knowing that every hour is valued because it's going toward a clear objective or deliverable.
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Every Mylance team member has done consulting. We're experts, and we've seen what consulting enables: more time with our families, traveling the world, more time on passion projects, or to start that business we've been dreaming about.
