Profitable By Design: The 7-Part Actionable Framework to Help Creative Entrepreneurs & Freelancers Land High-Quality Clients

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I’m honored to have contributed to publications and platforms that include Freelancer’s Union, Business of Home, Mastered, Honey Book, Wrkfrce, and more. I write on topics such as mindset, goal setting, sales, marketing, and personal development within the context of entrepreneurship.

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Multiple articles by Justine Clay

How to Find Rest to Prepare for the New Year as a Small Business Owner

How to Create Your Own Work Culture (and Why It Matters)

Justine Clay Coaches Creative Entrepreneurs, in the City and Suburbia

"I connected with Justine at a time when I was looking to graduate from being an unfulfilled creative contractor plagued with self-doubt and financial confusion. I had so many questions about how to run a business, and it felt as though I had no one to ask. More so, I was too embarrassed to admit what I didn’t know. I also have ADHD which made executing all the necessary functions of a business a daily struggle. Justine took great care in learning about what my goals were – not only in business but what my definition of success in life was. She gave me tools to help me stay organized and strategies for delegating tasks to others. She has helped me see the path to financial clarity and stability. After each call with her, I feel refreshed and excited to take on the next challenge. Since working with Justine, I have instituted new systems of organization and record-keeping. She has connected me with several tremendous partners in finance, creative, and account management that are helping me to meet my goals. Most importantly, she’s given me a sense of confidence as a business owner that I didn’t think I could have. Justine is a gem and an absolute pleasure to speak with, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with her."

— Felix Stim-Fogel, Creative Director/Founder of Thrillion

"Before working with Justine, I was flying by the seat of my pants, making decisions without certainty, and growing without purpose. Justine helped me untangle all of my wild ideas, create a clear path to my goals, and and step up as the CEO of my business. Within six months of working together we have repackaged my services to be better align with my passions, revenue has increased by 80%, and my business now has a solid foundation and clear direction. It feels great!"

— Jaquilyn Edwards, Founder of Ochre & Beige

I sought Justine's help because I wanted to transform what had been a chaotic patchwork of freelance gigs into a more structured and scalable business venture. Working with her helped me to gain the clarity I needed—not just to envision the business I wanted to build, but also to put in place the fundamental systems and processes on which to build it. Having successfully walked that walk herself to create her coaching business, Justine was able to apply her brilliant process to help me clarify my unique value, identify my ideal clients, and develop my own process for delivering my value to them. Throughout the seven months we worked together, she was a vital source of wisdom, perspective, encouragement, and even real-time guidance in pitching and winning new clients that ultimately put me on track to reach a career-high in annual earnings. If you're a freelance creative striving to reinvent yourself as a creative entrepreneur, Justine is the coach you want in your corner.

— Joel Topcik, writer and founder of Epigraph Communications

"I started working with Justine when I was just launching my freelance copywriting and design business. At the time, I was overbooked, super stressed out, and massively undervaluing my work and talent. Yikes. I’m real skeptical of the whole coaching industry, but Justine is the real freakin’ deal. I can honestly say that working with Justine was one of the best decisions I made for my business! She empowered me to become all that I could be, dream bigger, and truly reach for the stars – as cheesy as it may sound. She helped me shift my mindset from “Lydia’s little freelance thing” into a fully formed creative studio. I am so much more confident and surer of myself after working with Justine. She helped me focus on the things that needed focusing on. I was able to bounce ideas off her without judgment. And Justine was full of ideas for not only generating income but how to restructure my business for longevity and less stress. Justine really helped me own my talent, experience, and expertise, and showed me where the opportunities were in my biz. One year after working with Justine, I have two contract employees, a physical office space in a cool part of town, 20+ amazing clients – both corporate and emerging brands, and I hit my income goals for the year at the end of Q2. (WHAT!) The trajectory of my business is pointing straight up to the sky, and I am super proud of what I’ve been able to build in just two-and-a-half years. I really couldn’t recommend Justine more."

— Lydia VanHoven-Cook, Founder of Lydia Writes Good

If you're wanting a professional, empathic who knows her stuff business coach, do not wait any longer and hire Justine. Seriously, 15/10 I would recommend her. Before working with Justine, I saw myself as a lowly freelancer with a scarcity money mindset and was super unclear about the unique skills I can bring to my clients. While working with Justine, she helped me transform my mindset into one of empowerment, helped me clearly articulate the services I bring to the table, and helped build a foundation for my business that is both strong, growing, and nimble. I've seen drastic improvements to my bottom line while working less, signed a contract with a dream client and I have a newfound confidence that being a creative entrepreneur is valid and profitable.

— Sarah Flood Baumann, Book and editorial designer

"THANK YOU Justine for all the guidance and support you have provided over the past years, and the last one in particular. Memo has made great strides and we have emerged better poised than ever before. MOST EVERY ASPECT of this transformation can be traced back to you and your constant, gentle nudging. I simply could not have done it without you. I doubt you’ve heard the last from this small studio in Brooklyn‚ but for now, know that you have the biggest fan in all the world over here."

— Douglas Riccardi, Founder of Memo Productions

It's been a pleasure working with Justine over the past few months as I developed the foundation for my creative business while working full-time and managing family obligations (during the pandemic!). Over the past few years, my business evolved from a hobby to something that was going to bring beauty to the world. People wanted more and I was overwhelmed by the opportunity to bring it to the next level. Justine brought deep experience, energy, and endless inspiration to our conversations that helped bring clarity and focus to my vision. The most significant takeaways I gained include - knowing I have the ability to expand my creative offerings by leveraging my existing skills (including 15+ years of experience at Google), clearly differentiating my offering, and getting the validation to be able to do more with my talent. My conversations with Justine were always fun, productive, and actionable. I highly recommend any creative entrepreneur or freelancer thinking of working with Justine!

— Natalie Woo, artist

“In less than one month, Justine has transformed my business. Prior to our work together, I was undercharging, overcapacity, and stuck in a business model and scarcity mindset that prevented me from growing. Within three sessions, Justine helped me align my pricing with the value I provide, create more time and space in my schedule to do my best work, and gain clarity on the business I want to grow over the next 5 years. She also supported me as I priced, negotiated, and secured my largest contract yet. My ROI in working with Justine is already 3x the investment I made in her services. I can't stop singing her praises to friends and colleagues, and I can't wait to see what we create together in the next 5 months of coaching!”

— Emily Hammel-Shaver, Lumos Communications, Brand Strategy | Copywriting | Web Design

“Having Justine on my team as a business coach has had great influence on my approach to client relations. Her guidance during contract renegotiations was crucial in me doubling my retainer fee with my most important client. She was flexible within her own framework and accessible, helping me shift my mindset from agency creative to nascent agency founder. I highly recommend her.”

— Gabriel Rios, founder of Collectivo Camerada

“I am so grateful I made the smart decision to invest in myself and my business and work with Justine. I was completely overwhelmed and flying by the seat of my pants just trying to make it work. Justine helped bring direction and process to my business, providing me with a clearer understanding of what I can offer and what sets me apart. Her process is extremely effective and action-oriented and was invaluable when the COVID-19 quarantine began. As an Event Producer relying on large gatherings and conferences, Justine's process and guidance helped me pivot and continue to work through this pandemic. She provided me with purpose, a clear vision on my long-term goals, and most importantly the confidence I needed to grow as a business-owner. I highly recommend Justine to anyone starting, expanding or pivoting their creative business!”

— Kim Lovett, Founder of Indigo Events

"Prior to working with Justine, I had so many ideas and list of things I knew I had to do for my business, but I didn't know where to start or HOW to do them. I constantly felt overwhelmed to the point of becoming paralyzed. It was a big deal for me to invest in coaching, but after my first call with Justine, I thought “Oh, that’s why people hire coaches!!!” Justine is a delight to work with; she put me at ease, brought positive energy to each session, and shared incredible ideas for my business that I would have NEVER thought of myself. I left each call inspired, excited and feeling like I could take on the world! Thanks to Justine, I accomplished in 6 months what would've taken me years to figure out on my own and now have a clear path to reaching my goals. I have systems in place for every part of my business, including on-boarding new clients, and exact steps for taking them through my creative process. I no longer find myself scrambling when I get a new client request and am FINALLY comfortable and confident with my pricing. I went from not knowing my numbers to knowing exactly what numbers I need to hit to reach my goals, as well as what to adjust if I'm not on track. It’s completely freeing! In just 6 months, I gained clarity around my pricing and value, have systems and processes in place that free me up to do my creative work, and I tripled my income. I’d highly recommend Justine to any creative business owner looking to grow!"

— Leah Wolff, visual designer, calligrapher and founder of Leah Wolff Design

"Working with Justine was the turning point in my business evolution, and the mindset shift I needed but would never have made on my own. From our first call, the pieces started to come together. Her recommendations were always easily actionable, so I could go off an integrate them into my work that very same day. More importantly, though, her insights and spot-on guidance have paid off faster than I can even believe. Within days of our first conversation, I was engaging ideal clients and securing long-term projects by articulating a very targeted and very authentic value proposition she made possible. And, thanks to her insights and clear-cut value-based positioning, I was suddenly commanding rates I never would have had the courage to ask for. Justine has changed my creative process, my business, and my life. She is the driving force behind a business acceleration I can barely believe - I have to pinch myself most days. In just a few months I've significantly narrowed down my client pool to include people I truly love partnering with, and my monthly business revenue has more than tripled. I can't recommend anyone more highly than I do Justine. She's given me the confidence, insight, and framework to follow my passion and take back my life."

— Jaime Hollander, Founder of RRDA, Developing copy-driven messaging and marketing for growing businesses

“After several years of reading Justine’s newsletter, I finally booked an introductory call with her with a view to growing my children & family photography business. By the end of that call, we had already started brainstorming strategies about how to approach my business in a whole new way, and I knew this was going be something great. Conceptualization and completion of a brand-new business in six months felt like a huge undertaking, but Justine helped me break it down into bite-sized chunks, answered ALL my questions, and had systems in place to guide me through the steps I needed to turn my idea into a profitable business. During the six-month program I gained confidence in myself, not just as an artist but as someone equipped to run a successful business. Just a few weeks after our final session, I launched a brand-new kids commercial photography business, Hyphen Photography and booked my first client one week after launching my new business!!! Thanks to the foundation we built, I have a clear direction about how to get in-front of my dream clients and grow my business.”

— Alexis Buatti Ramos, Founder of Hyphen Photography

"The first thing that comes to mind when I think of how to describe my time with Justine is - I'd honestly be scared to know where I would be in my business if I hadn't worked with Justine. After being in the freelance illustration industry for a number of years, I had reached the point of over complicating, lacking focus and direction and REALLY knowing my client. My goal for coaching with Justine was to set up a strong foundation for my business and start bringing in more clients and income. What I got from working with Justine was far more than a strong foundation in my business. Numerous times I experienced leaps in mindset shift changes, the highest level of clarity with my ideal client, message, services, and pricing. The absolute biggest transformation for me was breaking myself out of the comparison trap after years and what came from that was a whole new lease on my business and tangible opportunities coming in (and money!).”

— Alex Saba, Founder of Lusid Art

“I had the privilege of working with Justine as I was transitioning from owning a successful startup to launching a new one. As a creative entrepreneur, starting this new venture and juggling the roles of creative, marketer, sales person etc. felt overwhelming. I needed a framework and knew I needed to work with someone who understood the unique challenges creative business owners face. Through Justine’s process, insights, and experience, I was able to define the essence of my business and soon those overwhelming feelings turned into clarity and intentional action. There is so much more to Justine’s work than her creative process. In her, I found someone who fully supported and guided me as I found my own path to success, and in creating something I am truly excited about today. More than a coach, I see Justine as a mentor. Thank you so much, ‘till our paths meet again!”

— Hadrien Monloup, Founder of Monloup Creative

“Justine's group program helped me re-structure the way I thought about my business. After neglecting my branding and design business to focus on my start-up, I was in the desperate position of needing to quickly bring in new work that paid well. Justine helped me figure exactly who I wanted to work with, what I had that they needed, and how to make it easy for them to select me as the perfect match for their challenges. A few months later I have three new big clients, probably the best I’ve ever had, and know exactly how to grow my business from here on. I just need to execute. Working with Justine is the single best advice I would give any creative business owner looking to grow their business quickly and consistently - period.”

— David Muller, creative director

“Working with Justine was like coming back online. What had been a rewarding career had recently turned into professional atrophy — and lingering there was not an option. I needed help to gain clarity and to reposition myself for the years to come. Through Justine’s program I regained perspective, made way for dormant ideas to come alive through research and planning, and changed my trajectory by retooling my whole approach. Justine is a sharp thought partner who brings a wealth of practical processes and knowledge to the table in order to break new ground. I have her to thank for founding a podcast and a publication.”

— Ioana Friedman, Digital Design Lead + Founder at The Daring

"Working with Justine has provided the support and sounding board I desperately need as an independent business owner. When I found Justine, I was really in the weeds about how to restructure my business to make it more sustainable in the long run while still achieving growth. Working through Justine’s methodical process allowed me to evaluate major elements of the business one section at a time without becoming completely overwhelmed and better equipped me to make strategic decisions for moving forward. I truly value her insight, resources, feedback, and support. I don’t think I would be going down the right path without her! I can’t recommend Justine enough! "

— Allison Berlin, Founder of Style Made Simple

"Justine helped me to focus. Before working with her one-on-one, my design business was going in many different directions; I had lost sight of my big picture goals and how to grow my business and achieve a balanced life. Justine gave me clarity, helped to rebuild my confidence and taught me valuable skills to target my ideal clients and work with people and projects I want, rather than just taking anything. After just 6 months, I'm connecting to the people and projects I want to align with; it’s exciting to see results! Justine has great energy and insight—I highly recommend her services!”

— Karin Loglisci, Creative Director and Founder of Creative Table

"I worked with Justine at a pivotal moment in my visual identity and strategy consulting business for organizations and photographers. My client work was growing in different markets and I needed her guidance to focus and refine my messaging. Justine helped me hone in on what my clients really need and how they need it. From there we focused on the written message of the services I am uniquely able to provide, who my ideal clients are in these markets, how my process works for them, and what the underlying value is that my clients need and get. Her professional step-by-step process relied on both of us showing up to do our part. She did in spades and her encouragement made it fun and attainable to level up for the ultimate benefit of the people I serve. As a result of our work together and then implementing it with a website designer I now find clients faster that are a good fit and I offer them an improved customer experience."

— Cameron Sterling, Visual Identity & Strategy

"Before hiring Justine, I was stuck trying to “make” something of my skills as a designer and photographer as a way to define my offerings and was feeling very limited in my options. Going into the process my goal was to redefine and shift my business into something new and make steady progress moving forward. I can easily doubt my ideas and want to change course and Justine’s guidance, the assignments and accountability of coaching really kept me commit and stay on track. Working with Justine completely changed the way I look at client and market needs. She helped me clearly identify and define the problems that existed and create an original methodology/framework as a service offering and a way to differentiate myself and address the unique challenges my ideal clients face. As a result of our work together, I completely re-positioned my business to help food and lifestyle brands tell their story better (along with new name, branding and website), my messaging and services are crystal clear, I have a marketing strategy that’s already up and running and the workshops I’ve hosted so far have received great feedback. I’m excited to see what the future holds!

— Melissa DiPalma, Founder of Sparkkcontent.com

"I started working with Justine when I was at a crossroads in my business. Everything was on the table...including walking away. Justine used her program—with compassion, intuitiveness and a healthy dose of real talk—to get me through the resistance I felt about focusing on the business side of my business. I consider myself a stereotypical creative with big ideas and poor execution. Justine taught me that I am capable of so much more than that. She helped me put systems into place that would free me to be creative and therefore fulfilled in my work. She helped me gain valuable perspective on my goals and the concrete steps that I can take to achieve them. I can honestly say that my business is thriving in large part because of Justine's guidance. I feel confident that I have the tools to tackle the roadblocks ahead, and know that she is there to support when the next plateau hits. I feel so lucky to have worked with Justine, and cannot recommend her highly enough!"

— Michele Wesson, Interior Designer and Founder of Boucher Interiors

"Working with Justine was an investment that has paid off in many ways. Most importantly, she helped me to put my company’s offerings into powerful words on our website and in our proposals. I’m more proud and confident, clearer, and have had more matches with new clients. With her wealth of experience in the creative industry, Justine has been a perfect place to turn for invaluable advice when it comes to my business."

— Nicole Rogers, Founder of Studio Kenney

"Justine has been rocket fuel for my business. Within 4 months of working with her one-on one I was able to on-board a new client (using processes she helped me develop), charging 3x my regular rate, knowing I can deliver results. I have more high quality clients now than I can keep up with. Thank you Justine, such a pleasure!”

— Melissa Lind, founder of Dwelling Creative

"Sometimes you need someone to take a fresh look at what you're doing. I had plateaued and wasn't sure of my next steps. I thought it would be best if that person had a solid understanding of what I did to be really to be helpful to me. Justine not only had a great understanding of my business, but her insight was invaluable to me. She helped me focus on what is important and what was a distraction and has shown me how to get out of my own way and onto the path I want to be on."

— Joy Yagid, Fine Art & Event Photographer

"There will always be people who come into your life that make a positive change, and then there are those who completely turn your life upside down, in a good way! For me, that was meeting Justine in New York. Justine was established, and I was not. And yet, she saw my potential and she believed in me. She guided me through the hard world of becoming an artist. She taught me to not take things personally, to be professional, to be on time, to stand tall and to dream BIG, to give every job 100%. Most importantly, she taught me to believe in myself. Today, Justine is still my mentor and I recommend her to anyone who is looking for expert advice on building their career or business!"

— Megan Hess, illustrator

"I worked with Justine to identify potential clients, rethink my pricing and service offerings, and reorganize the website for my editorial consulting firm. In addition to one-on-one sessions, my team and I completed the exercises Justine gave us and evaluated virtually every area of our business. The results are now in, with nearly twice as much billing for the first quarter of 2018 over the previous year. As they say, "It works if you work it!"

— Deborah Gaines, founder of Deborah Gaines Associates

"Justine was an excellent resource to help grow my business and get my head on straight. As a small business owner, finding the time to invest in our marketing has always been a challenge. I lacked clear focus and found myself floundering to implement too many initiatives instead of honing in on the ones that had the most impact. Justine was willing to customize her package to address our immediate need which was assistance with our major rebrand. I needed someone to show us where to begin, course correct along the way, but most importantly, hold me accountable. We couldn't have launched our new website, blog, and newsletter without her guidance. Through Justine's program, we were able to identify the most effective ways to reach our ideal clients, and our business has been growing steadily ever since. Thanks again!"

— George Costello, Owner of Costello Creative Group

“Before working with Justine, I felt like I was running in circles in my business. I’d been working with clients off and on for nearly a decade as a graphic designer, but I was constantly bouncing from one idea to the next, trying to make them all work. I didn’t have clear consistent messaging that set me apart, even though I preached the importance of it to my own clients. Justine helped me focus my energy and ambition in the direction that would grow my business; find and articulate my unique messaging; and feel more confident in raising my prices because of the value I created around my offerings. As a direct result of working with Justine, I signed two ideal clients (at my new higher rates) in one month! I also feel more confident in my branding, systems and processes, and marketing. I would recommend working with Justine to anyone!”

— Lena Eliza, Brand and website design

"Working with Justine was the best decision I could have made! The months we’ve been working together have been the most defining and productive ones since starting my business in 2013. Apart from being a very experienced business person in the creative field, Justine is also a very warm and compassionate person. She pushed me outside of my comfort zone and we worked through the roadblocks holding me back from having the business I wanted to have. Before working with Justine, I had trouble setting and achieving goals, writing quotes, charging enough for my work, and budgeting. I now have a simple and quick system for writing quotes, am confident about charging what I’m worth, and am more confident setting boundaries and expectations for my clients. Thanks to our work together, I am very clear on what I want to achieve and what the necessary steps are to reach my goals, I know exactly what my strengths are and how I can incorporate them into my business to achieve my goals. I have made huge progress, not only in business but also in my personal life and can’t wait to see what the coming year brings!"

— Lucille Solomon, medical and scientific illustrator, Switzerland

"Working with Justine for the 90-minute call was the best decision I could have made! I have recently decided to pivot my career focus, but was having a hard time articulating exactly what it was I wanted to do. I knew I had all the pieces of the puzzle but needed an outside perspective to help me focus and concentrate my efforts. Justine was extremely helpful: first emphasizing the need to pare down my offerings (even though I can do something doesn’t mean that I have to), as well as the need to bring everything under one umbrella so that prospective clients can get the full picture. I now feel fully equipped to create a new positioning statement and start networking with a clear message. Working with Justine gave me the clarity to move forward confidently and effectively."

— Sarah Jones, artist and art director

“Justine is a brilliant “creative whisperer”. Working with her as I switched paths and started my company, brought me clarity, confidence and most importantly, sanity. Her process is based on logical and actionable steps and her reassuring calm and fun demeanor gave me the confidence I needed. She was instrumental in helping me create a clear plan for building a successful business. And it doesn’t hurt that she has deep well of contacts to call on to help with the myriad of details in building one’s business. I have sent many grateful friends to her and two years in, she remains a valued and trusted counsel.”

— Alex Bates, Creative Director, founder, Flint & Kent

“Before working with Justine, I was focusing on attracting the wrong clients in my food photography business. Justine helped me stop getting caught up in the day-to day and start looking at my business like a CEO. We identified my strengths, who my clients are, and created a master plan to help me reach my goals. I love working with Justine because she keeps me on my toes and her enthusiasm, drive, and smarts made me want to work harder and smarter at my business every day!”

— Evi Abeler, food photographer

“Justine has helped me turn 25 years of professional experience inside PR agencies into a fresh new brand of my own. The money I spent on Justine was one of the best investment I have ever made. As a result of our work together, I know who my ideal clients are; I am comfortable holding out for them; and I have the confidence to ask for - and command - the fees that I deserve.”

— Nancy Weltchek, Weltchek Writes

“After 18 years of art directing, I realized I needed to define myself and learn how to talk about my specific strengths and experiences when seeking clients and jobs. Working with Justine gave me the clear insight I needed to effectively edit my skills and really narrow in on the things that make me, me. It was truly a valuable experience that ultimately led me to a dream job. Thank you!!”

— Amy Demas, Creative Director

“Justine's guidance and encouragement were invaluable in helping me clarify the unique value that I offer and increasing my confidence in marketing my services. Her distinct perspective was a major asset as I developed the core messages and content that were critical to launching an improved website. Before working with Justine, I took on any project; now I am able to focus on those that offer the greatest benefit to both me and my clients.”

— Lydia Hooper, designer and creative consultant

free!

PROFITABLE BY DESIGN:

The 7-Part Actionable Framework to Help Creative Entrepreneurs & Freelancers Consistently Land High-Quality Clients

Profitable By Design: The 7-Part Actionable Framework to Help Creative Entrepreneurs & Freelancers Land High-Quality Clients

Justine Clay

as featured in

free guide!

Profitable By Design:

The 7-Part Actionable Framework to Help Creative Entrepreneurs and Freelancers Consistently Land High-Quality Clients

free guide!

Profitable By Design:

The 7-Part Actionable Framework to Help Creative Entrepreneurs and Freelancers Consistently Land High-Quality Clients

free guide!

Profitable By Design:

The 7-Part Actionable Framework to Help Creative Entrepreneurs and Freelancers Consistently Land High-Quality Clients

free resource sheet!

How to balance creativity with profitability