Dave & I have recently connected and I admire his approach to business and life in general – so I asked if he would like to do an LFC. I was excited to hear he was game! Enjoy!
What is your name?
“Disruptive Dave” Marcello
What do you for a living?
Inject creative kick-assery into small business marketing
How do you know each other?
JG: Interesting enough… from the Internet! I posted my first LFC post on Medium, Dave read it, felt re-inspired by the idea of connecting freelancers & the self-employed with each other as he had shelved a similar idea a while back and we decided to have a Skype chat about LFC as a whole and his original idea and just bouncing ideas off one another. I noticed we kept talking about other aspects of our careers which is what LFC is all about, so I asked him to be part of a future post, he said yes & here he are today!
DM: I read a post of hers on medium about The LFC and immediately sent her an email, wanting to get to know her (since we obviously share some similar thoughts).
What has inspired you lately?
DM: A friend who left her established corporate job to chase her dream of starting her own design agency. Also, A former client turned business partner who pushes me closer to execution when it feels safe to live in idea mode.
One word to describe how you feel about this project:
DM: Opportunistic
What did you eat for breakfast today?
JG: Black Coffee – I don’t normally skip breakfast, but today I did
DM: My Usual – Oatmeal With Cinnamon And Honey, With A Vanilla Protein Shake
What did you two talk about today in the LFC meeting?
JG: We talked heavily on pricing, which is interesting because that is what my last LFC was mainly about. Pricing is such an interesting and ongoing topic. I would love to see how every one lays out their pricing in a completely honest way. I should probably do that myself… oh, that might be scary.
We talked a lot about how important it is to price yourself at what you are worth. Meaning, if you price yourself at what you should be pricing yourself at & a client thinks it is too high, it is important to stick to what you are worth instead of completely low-balling your price. This is because, if you price yourself too low, it de-values the community as a whole and that client will always expect to get that service at a lower price than what is appropriate. (I am now stepping off my soapbox). We also touched base on freelancer sites that are out there, (guru, freelancers). Do you guys use any of those? I have looked into them but have not signed up, but am possibly thinking about it.
DM: A potential joint venture together that I am very stoked about. The need For freelancers and the self employed to connect with each other more often and in more meaningful ways. Getting Paid! How cute our dogs are. Portland as a startup community. A really cool flowery-feel-good idea Jehn Is working on.
Did you learn anything?
JG: I learned the real value of connecting with other freelancers. I learned various things from Dave today, – a stranger that I connected with over the internet – and that is a beautiful thing. To me, that is what LFC is all about!
DM: Absolutely. I’m not the only one experiencing typical freelancer challenges. Other people yearn for connections the way I do. Importantly, opportunities are all around us; You just have to get outside your comfort zone a little to find them.
One word to describe today’s meeting:
JG: Eye-Opening
DM: Valuable.
Any additional comments?
JG: I am really happy that Dave & I connected, I am looking forward to chatting with him again.
DM: With each passing day, I’m learning more and more that unexpected greatness happens to those who love and appreciate the grind.
Connect with Dave:
Website: Disruptive Dave
Blog: My Disruption
Twitter: @DisruptiveDave
