The 4 BEST Ways To Become More Valuable To Your Clients (So You Can Charge More) | Takeaways From $100 Million Offers

Brian Hood (0:00)

This is the 6 Figure Creative Podcast, episode 213 Welcome to the 6 Figure Creative Podcast, where our mission is to help you turn your creative passions into a stable, reliable income. If you're an audio, video, design, photography, or really any other creative field, and you just want to learn from other successful creatives, you're in the right place.

Welcome back to another episode of the 6 Figure Creative Podcast. I'm your host, Brian Hood. I'm here with my substitute podcast co-host, again, for the first time since early June, Mark Eckert. How are you doing, my dude?

Mark Eckert (0:34)

I'm here, I'm sexy, I'm ready to make a podcast. What's up, Brian?

Brian Hood (0:38)

Man, I'm also ready. If this is your first time listening to us, by the way, I've started doing this, Mark, just to kind of hook people in that are new listeners. If this is your first time listening to us, our podcast is all about trying to earn more without selling your soul. I've kind of landed on that tagline. What do you think, Mark? Trying to earn more as a creative without selling your soul, and also without just waiting around for life to happen to you, being intentional about what you're doing with your creative pursuits.

Mark Eckert (1:01)

Are you saying that I'm responsible for my own career, Brian, because I would agree.

Brian Hood (1:06)

I would agree. No, it gets handed to you, and then you just wait around and clients find you magically.

Mark Eckert (1:11)

You're trying to tell me I'm not just going to wake up one day and then make it. Are you saying that, Brian? Are you saying that?

I think you're saying it, people.

Brian Hood (1:20)

What is this bit you're doing? I don't like it.

Mark Eckert (1:23)

You like it.

Brian Hood (1:24)

You laughed. I miss having someone on to just real-time feedback. I've been doing a lot of guest lately, which is why you haven't been on the show. Also, you've been going through crisis yourself a little bit with like...

Business crisis after. I'm not gonna like the ships going down, but it's not. It's just like as business owners, problems come up.

Mark Eckert (1:41)

When you invest well over 100 grand into a new tech platform, it's gonna be, things will go wrong, and then they'll go right, and that's okay.

Brian Hood (1:50)

Yes, yes, yes. But going back to your question, I've been good, man.

I was trying the new podcast intro and it got dragged out, and I'm just, doing it with a co-host is a lot different than doing a pre-intro by myself before I guest.

But yeah, going back to what you asked me before, how I'm doing, I've been very good. I have been doing a lot of interviews lately, and we were talking about this off air a little bit. We didn't get to go into the details of it. I just booked, me and my wife just booked one-way flights to Bali, and we are looking forward to doing some digital Nomad life. Have you done the digital Nomad life thing, where you're traveling and working?

Mark Eckert (2:20)

Back in 2017, I did.

Shira, my wife, and I were thinking of doing that in maybe like next year or something. We talked about potentially Croatia. I think that would be dope.

Brian Hood (2:31)

We were there in September, and it was absolutely gorgeous. And there was some billionaire's yacht, who I think it's actually been impounded now because it was a Russian billionaire, and all their Russian billionaire's yachts have been impounded at this point, been seized as property, holding it.

Mark Eckert (2:45)

Well, I remember years and years ago when I was a young lad approaching freelance life, I read Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Golubow.

Brian Hood (2:54)

Never read it, but it sounds like a book I'd probably be into.

Mark Eckert (2:57)

Yeah, he's great. He's traveled to every single country in the world before age 35

Brian Hood (3:02)

I remember that. That's what I had heard about him originally, was that whole travel. I feel like at a certain point, you lose the joy of travel when you're just trying to hit all the damn countries, like no matter what, but you know what? Very few people can say they've done that.

Mark Eckert (3:14)

Yeah, I mean, I definitely like just getting comfy in the country, but yeah, I definitely got obsessed with traveling for a while. I mean, I still am, but yeah.

Brian Hood (3:21)

Yeah, the interesting thing is, man, I've been running a budget for this, and we're in a very expensive city here in Nashville, so just food alone, we spend a lot of money on just groceries, on restaurants, eating out, and just other frivolous things, like ordering things on Amazon on a whim.