1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,040 Hey everyone, Ashley here with RSS Podcasting. 2 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,620 Today we're chatting with Alexander Pissullo, who is hosting the freelance fairy tales right 3 00:00:24,620 --> 00:00:25,620 here on RSS.com. 4 00:00:25,620 --> 00:00:30,880 Alex's claim to fame is that she became a six-figure earner and a fiver millionaire 5 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,680 through her work as a freelance writer. 6 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,920 Today she's teaching others how to do the same with her books, podcasts, and courses. 7 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,000 Alex, welcome to the show. 8 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,120 Thank you for having me. 9 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:46,000 So I have been freelance writing for over seven years now. 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:52,600 I started doing it back in 2015, not knowing it would become as sought after or popular 11 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:58,040 as it is today, and I had no idea a pandemic, the great resignation, everything was incoming. 12 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,240 I just quit my job in 2015. 13 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:01,240 I was 22. 14 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:02,240 I hated it so much. 15 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:03,240 Quit it. 16 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:04,240 Started freelance writing. 17 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:08,080 I tried a bunch of other things, but freelancing is really what took off for me. 18 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,800 And I had a lot of success with it after a few years. 19 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:15,680 I worked really hard at it though, but I started to make really good money on Fiverr and news 20 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,960 channels, papers started to write about it. 21 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:22,880 And it kind of all this press put me in a position where I'm almost like a freelancing 22 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,360 influencer now in addition to being a freelance writer. 23 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,000 And I love it because I like the change and everything. 24 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:38,040 So you kind of catch me today as a freelancing mentor, writer, podcast host, crazy person. 25 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,200 That's awesome though, because it sounds like you've taken what was like kind of a mainstream 26 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,440 thing and you've diversified it into multiple avenues. 27 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,560 So I'm curious, why did you start a podcast though? 28 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,120 I started a podcast in February of this year. 29 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:57,560 It's actually brand new because all the people who follow me kept begging me to do it. 30 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,020 So I was like, okay, okay, I'll do it. 31 00:02:00,020 --> 00:02:05,840 And I'm happy I did it because I have in the first season, so much free information there. 32 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,160 Now, if anyone asks me any question, I just say, listen to the podcast, listen to the 33 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:10,160 podcast. 34 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,600 Like, it's just go do that. 35 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:13,600 That's awesome. 36 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,480 So it's really became not only a way for you to give value back to your audience, but also 37 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,240 to answer all their frequently asked questions, it sounds like. 38 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:22,840 Yes, it's almost exactly like my FAQ. 39 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:27,360 Although my second season now I'm having guests on and it's pretty much just me bringing people 40 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:28,980 on who I want to befriend. 41 00:02:28,980 --> 00:02:33,480 It's just like my Alex friend club that I'm all these people I love online who I admire 42 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,280 on TikTok and like come on my podcast so I could be your friend. 43 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:38,280 That's awesome. 44 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:39,280 That's actually when I started my own podcast. 45 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:40,280 That's it, right? 46 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,240 Like it's the best networking tool. 47 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:46,200 I say that to people if not for anything, you network with people. 48 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:47,200 Absolutely. 49 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,040 And it also prevents all of the brain pickers. 50 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:51,040 Yeah. 51 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,200 So you get a lot of people that are like, oh, can I take you to coffee and pick your 52 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:55,760 brain? 53 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:00,120 You know, oh my God, when people text me that they want to get coffee, I always want to 54 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:01,120 write back to them. 55 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:06,240 Do you think I got where I am today by going to coffee with people? 56 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:07,520 That is a no. 57 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:12,720 Like I appreciate it, but I just kindly say to them, hey, I have like 5,000 hours of free 58 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:14,720 content online instead. 59 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:15,720 It's just there for you. 60 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:16,720 Yeah. 61 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,880 Then if you want to buy me a coffee, you know, just send me a Starbucks gift card. 62 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:21,160 Just mail it to my house, please. 63 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:22,160 Thank you. 64 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:23,160 Or by of course. 65 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:24,160 How about that? 66 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:25,160 Yeah. 67 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:31,360 So I'm curious, how has your business changed or improved because of your podcast? 68 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,400 You know, I would say the podcast hasn't really had any bearing on my copywriting business 69 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:37,440 because everyone who's listening to it, they're not copyrighted. 70 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:38,440 They're not copyrighting clients. 71 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,560 If anything, I think it just draws them deeper into my different funnels. 72 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:43,560 Right. 73 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:45,080 So they joined my Facebook group. 74 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:46,120 They might buy my ebook. 75 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:47,360 They might buy my courses. 76 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:51,000 They might purchase whatever is floating around. 77 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:56,160 So I don't know like the monetary amount, but I definitely think it makes people more 78 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,440 of loyal, I guess, to like the freelance fairy tales brand. 79 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:00,440 Okay. 80 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:05,820 So would you say that it is a good way to monetize your business by teaching people 81 00:04:05,820 --> 00:04:09,000 who you are and kind of growing your authority base? 82 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:10,000 Yeah. 83 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,440 I think it has a lot of benefits that are, you know, in a way like intangible. 84 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:19,160 But I mean, as far as monetary benefits, I'm actually working on getting sponsors right 85 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:20,160 now. 86 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,680 There are some obvious ways you just make money from the podcast, of course. 87 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:28,600 But yeah, I would say the intangible way is yeah, it creates brand loyalty, which I think 88 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:34,080 then further, you know, gets people to trust me after they listen to it. 89 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,440 And then they may go buy one of my online courses when they might not have in the first 90 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:39,440 place. 91 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:40,440 I'm curious. 92 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:41,440 When did you start the courses? 93 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:43,840 Like, when did that come into the, to the game? 94 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:45,560 Cause I know you've been financing a long time. 95 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:46,560 Yeah, yeah. 96 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:47,560 It's funny. 97 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,400 The courses are actually only a little over a year old. 98 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,080 The guy who I made them with Josh, he found me on TikTok June, 2020. 99 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:55,440 We actually talked to him today. 100 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:57,800 He's like one of my best friends now. 101 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,480 I've recorded five courses with him on Salt Lake City. 102 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:03,760 And we have, you know, we're going to record more. 103 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:09,680 We have, we together, the two of us could probably make 30 courses over the next 20 104 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:10,680 years. 105 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:12,080 We have all these ideas. 106 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:17,280 So we've been starting, you know, recording them since June, 2020 and they went up for 107 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:19,360 sale October, 2020. 108 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,480 So they're, they're really kind of new. 109 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:24,280 But I think they're incredible. 110 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:25,280 I love online courses. 111 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:26,280 I take them all the time. 112 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:28,520 I'm taking one right now in real estate. 113 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,400 They get a lot of hate, but I think, I think they're the future of education. 114 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:32,400 I love them. 115 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:33,400 I agree completely. 116 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,880 I mean, they say it's going to be like a multiple billion dollar industry by 2025. 117 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:38,880 So yeah. 118 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:45,080 And it's a great way to like learn so much that you used to like, it used to have, what 119 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:46,080 do you call it? 120 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,160 There were gatekeepers and now everything online, you can find anything that you want 121 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:51,160 to know. 122 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:52,160 Yeah. 123 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:56,920 And I know people come at me for them really hard, but I just have like, listen, no one's 124 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:57,960 making you buy them. 125 00:05:57,960 --> 00:05:59,960 I don't know why you're so, you know, you're hating. 126 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:01,400 It's like $35. 127 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:02,680 I mean, I get it. 128 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:08,080 I know there's people out there who have hijacked it, unfortunately, and charge like $5,000 129 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:09,720 or something crazy and people get scammed. 130 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:11,800 But I'm always like, guys, use your best judgment. 131 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:16,640 If someone's charging you $35 and has like a free podcast, I'm probably not trying to 132 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:17,640 rip you off. 133 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:18,640 Right. 134 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:19,640 Right. 135 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,200 Except to them, if they want to go and spend too much money. 136 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:23,200 Yeah. 137 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,120 Like I'm just, I come in peace. 138 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:27,120 I like that. 139 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:28,120 I like that a lot. 140 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:29,120 Yeah. 141 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:31,640 So how are you promoting your show? 142 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:33,560 The podcast show? 143 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:34,560 Yes. 144 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:35,560 The podcast. 145 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:36,800 How are you promoting the podcast? 146 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,480 I'm actually not doing a great job of promoting it right now because I have, I always end 147 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,520 up doing like so many things at once, which is a character flaw of mine. 148 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:46,880 I post about it to Instagram. 149 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:48,400 I have graphics made in Canva. 150 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:49,720 So I post about it there. 151 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:54,760 I post the episode, the video component onto my YouTube and I actually have my video editor 152 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:59,320 cut them down into little, you know, bite sized pieces that I can throw up on Instagram 153 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:01,760 reels, Pinterest pins and TikTok. 154 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:03,440 But I'm kind of behind on it. 155 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,960 I'm bad actually reminding me I need to catch up on marketing it. 156 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,920 Well still, I think you must be doing something right because you keep coming up in our community 157 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:11,920 page. 158 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,000 That's actually one of the reasons I was so excited to talk to you is because you're actually 159 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,920 on the RSS.com platform. 160 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,360 Is there any specific reason that you chose RSS? 161 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:26,720 No, back in February, I knew absolutely nothing about free recording a podcast. 162 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:30,480 I'm actually really not tech savvy and people would laugh like, what are you talking about? 163 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,320 I'm like, I'm good with my phone. 164 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:33,560 I'm good with fiber. 165 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:34,560 That's where it ends. 166 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,000 When it comes to like equipment, my brain like explodes. 167 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,320 So I just posted on Instagram. 168 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,360 I was like, anyone out there know how to launch a podcast on please help. 169 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,080 And I was reading blogs, but it's like, they, you know, it started to hurt my brain where 170 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,800 it's like, get the this hurts on this mic. 171 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,520 And I'm just like, Oh, someone make this easy for me. 172 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:52,780 So I don't know who it was. 173 00:07:52,780 --> 00:07:56,840 Someone messaged me and kind of made it very easy, like, you know, get the Yeti mic. 174 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:58,240 Okay, I got that. 175 00:07:58,240 --> 00:07:59,240 Get the backdrop. 176 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,680 And they said, go on RSS.com and upload it there. 177 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:02,680 I'm like, okay. 178 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,120 So that was just, that was it. 179 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:06,120 That's awesome. 180 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:10,120 My favorite thing about it is that you can start a podcast in less time it takes to order 181 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:12,520 a drink at your favorite coffee house. 182 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:14,040 Yeah, absolutely. 183 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,600 I think I let it get to me a little bit. 184 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,640 The quality, you know, the intimidation of, Oh God, it has to be good sound. 185 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:26,480 But once I got this, you know, this mic, like that everyone has this steady thing. 186 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:28,080 I was like, okay, this isn't so bad. 187 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:29,080 I can do this. 188 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,040 I think it's just a mic and my laptop. 189 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:32,040 We can do this. 190 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:33,040 I love it. 191 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,640 It's, it's funny you say the thing about the intimidation of starting because that's actually 192 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,640 why I launched my show on April 1st. 193 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,640 So that if it was horrible, I could say it was an April Fool's joke. 194 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:43,920 Yeah, I know. 195 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:44,920 Right. 196 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:45,960 Isn't that like, I know. 197 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,360 And that's how I've always felt about YouTube too. 198 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:52,640 And YouTube, honestly, the equipment requirement, I think I'm going to possibly give up on that 199 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:54,160 one because that's just nuts. 200 00:08:54,160 --> 00:09:00,160 The like wireless mic camera here, camera here, light here, you know, blurred background. 201 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:01,640 I'm just like, I can't do this. 202 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:05,280 I can't do this because I try and all the people in the comments, they're mean, they'll 203 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,740 be like great content, horrible audio. 204 00:09:08,740 --> 00:09:12,280 And I'm just like, can someone just send a team to me? 205 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,680 Like I have the content just I need help. 206 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:15,680 Yeah. 207 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:19,680 And that's actually why so many people actually hire people to like have the whole studio 208 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:20,680 set up for them. 209 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:25,320 Like one of my favorite podcasters, Denise Duffield Thomas, she goes and rents out an 210 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,400 Airbnb and then she brings in a video team and they just film everything for the entire 211 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:30,880 year in three days. 212 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:32,200 Yeah, exactly. 213 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:36,640 I know that that's actually a good idea to rent a studio and just like pound it out. 214 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:37,640 Yeah. 215 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:38,640 Yeah. 216 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:39,640 Where do you sleep? 217 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,640 What do you see for the future of your podcast? 218 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:45,840 I would like to, I mean, just keep growing it. 219 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,000 I would love to have it rank higher in the business world. 220 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:55,200 I would really love to have it almost blossom potentially into, I guess, maybe like a TV 221 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:56,200 type things. 222 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:01,800 I really think our news and our country and stuff is lacking in reporting on the gig economy. 223 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:06,880 And I would love to be like seen as like a gig economist type thought leader person that 224 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:11,920 maybe gets like called on to a news channel every so often to give the state of freelancing 225 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:12,920 that day. 226 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,880 If the Today Show is listening, call out. 227 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:21,040 Well, I mean, whenever I turn the news on, which I try not to do, it's not a great thing 228 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:22,040 to listen to. 229 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,520 But when I do turn it on, it's so archaic. 230 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:29,960 Like it's talking about still it doesn't report on any of this. 231 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:31,680 And this is everything right now. 232 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:34,200 So I'm like, how is this not being reported on our television? 233 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:35,200 This is not. 234 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:36,280 It is. 235 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:37,460 It's absolutely insane. 236 00:10:37,460 --> 00:10:40,440 So I'm curious, what are your favorite podcasts? 237 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:42,800 Like what do you listen to? 238 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:47,680 You know, it's funny, I got asked this yesterday and I got outed as I really don't listen to 239 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:48,680 a lot of them. 240 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:53,080 The only one I listen to and this is going to probably get me hate as well as Joel Osteen's. 241 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,480 Okay, I love this. 242 00:10:55,480 --> 00:11:00,520 I think if people are hating on him, whatever, it's a really great mindset podcast. 243 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,520 I think that can help you rewire how you think about things. 244 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,920 If you, you know, like if you're predisposed to think negatively instantly, I definitely 245 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:11,280 think listening to it can help you rewire. 246 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,400 No, why don't I think about it positively? 247 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,240 That's right now kind of the only one that I listen to. 248 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,080 I'm very new to podcasting. 249 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,400 I have to get more into it and listening to it. 250 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,120 Okay, well after the show I'll have to send you some recommendations. 251 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:26,120 Okay, good. 252 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,520 I'm not inviting them. 253 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:33,240 Regarding the negativity and stuff like that, I'm a big fan of like Abraham Hicks and Brett 254 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:34,240 Eason. 255 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:35,240 Oh yeah. 256 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,160 The Tap Daddy is what one of my friends calls him because he's all about tapping and all 257 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:39,160 that stuff. 258 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:43,400 That's why I was just curious because you know, in this game everybody's listening to 259 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:47,040 different podcasts and talking about different podcasts and it's interesting how a lot of 260 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:51,040 the people that like podcasts don't listen to podcasts in their niche. 261 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,560 Yeah, I know that's funny, Rakes. 262 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:57,440 I listen to like Christian ones, which is kind of, like I don't listen to any in the 263 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:01,120 business world yet, but I should. 264 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:02,920 So thank you for that reminder. 265 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:03,920 Yeah. 266 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:08,480 So this has just been like reminders for Alex in this whole episode. 267 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,960 So you gotta, you know, you need people to like keep you in line with stuff. 268 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:12,960 I love it. 269 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:13,960 So where do you find your guests? 270 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:15,880 Cause you said you're now having guests. 271 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:16,880 Yeah. 272 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:22,480 So I pretty much this season, most of my guests are from TikToks. 273 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:23,760 I love TikTok. 274 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:25,160 I'm like very honest about this. 275 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:26,680 My favorite social media app by far. 276 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:31,000 I spent all my time on it, get all my business basically from it. 277 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,320 And I've just used my podcast this season as a way to bring on all the other incredible 278 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:39,920 business people on TikTok who I like low key want to be friends with. 279 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:45,800 So that's my season is just TikTok business people, but they're all incredible people 280 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:50,280 on TikTok with like hundreds of thousands of followers killing it in their niches. 281 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:51,920 They're not all necessarily on fiber. 282 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:56,200 I've had all sorts of people come on and it's been really enjoyable. 283 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,680 Like the connections that I've made with them. 284 00:12:58,680 --> 00:12:59,680 Wow. 285 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:04,520 That's amazing how such a diverse like industry. 286 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:06,800 There's so many ways that you can connect with people. 287 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:07,800 Yeah. 288 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,200 So are you still doing a lot of freelance writing? 289 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,760 You know, to be honest right now, I'm doing the like least amount I've ever done in my 290 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:20,680 entire career because my best friend now manages my agency for me, which was, you know, kind 291 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:26,000 of a funny moment to hand that over after all of this time, but I wasn't able to do 292 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,520 things like have guests on podcasts, go on other people's podcasts, grow the media brand. 293 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:32,900 I couldn't do that and run the business at the same time. 294 00:13:32,900 --> 00:13:37,440 So I was like, I got to be a practical business person here and recognize it's okay to step 295 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:38,800 away from the baby. 296 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:40,420 You know, she'll do good with it. 297 00:13:40,420 --> 00:13:44,720 So my freelance writing is at a very low amount right now. 298 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:49,680 And it's been kind of funny because it's been like my identity all this time, but that is 299 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:51,480 partially on purpose as well. 300 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:56,520 So I am anticipating, hopefully I cannot share any more info about it, but hopefully writing 301 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:58,100 my first book soon. 302 00:13:58,100 --> 00:14:00,080 So it's that's exciting. 303 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:01,080 That's very exciting. 304 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:02,880 Well, we are still on branding. 305 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:05,320 So you'll still be writing just that as a ghost anymore. 306 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:06,320 Exactly. 307 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:07,320 Right. 308 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:09,280 It's time to step out of the shadows and come alive. 309 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:10,280 Yeah. 310 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,960 But now one of the things you mentioned is you said you have been getting a lot of hate. 311 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:17,040 How do you deal with the haters? 312 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:18,040 Not well. 313 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:22,520 I mean, I think I'm growing as fast as I can in the face of it. 314 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:29,320 It kind of all just happened so quickly, but I think now, you know, my mindset is maturing. 315 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,240 So most of the time when I see it, if it's sparing, I'll just giggle and be like, oh, 316 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,560 you know, I know that person's definitely not in a good place, whatever. 317 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:40,740 Occasionally though, when something will go viral and there will be thousands of people 318 00:14:40,740 --> 00:14:45,920 writing the meanest things about me and I see it, I get upset for a night or so. 319 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:47,620 And it makes me want to quit social media. 320 00:14:47,620 --> 00:14:49,120 But I just put the phone down. 321 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,160 I read a blog, say some prayers, go to bed. 322 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:54,240 Usually I wake up and I'm like, I can do this. 323 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:55,240 I got this. 324 00:14:55,240 --> 00:15:01,800 I think the key is just working on how you think about it and also creating time in between 325 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:03,880 you and looking at what's on here. 326 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:05,840 Like just put it down. 327 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:10,200 So what would you say to the person that's afraid to start their podcast? 328 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:11,640 For that reason? 329 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:15,220 I would say to them, don't think about the people who are going to hate. 330 00:15:15,220 --> 00:15:18,480 Think about even if it's just one person in the world whose life you're going to change 331 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:20,040 for the better. 332 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,500 Not only obviously is that amazing for that person that you did that for them, but you 333 00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:25,200 are going to feel better for that too. 334 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:30,320 There's definitely a part of the human soul that we just feel better if we think we are 335 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:31,320 helping people. 336 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,760 I think a lot of people don't realize that because they've been in the same nine to five 337 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,820 their whole life where they're not necessarily helping people. 338 00:15:37,820 --> 00:15:42,240 Maybe they're chasing down taxpayers or something that doesn't feel like great to them. 339 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:46,120 But once you get that first taste of it, if someone emails you and says, hey, your podcast 340 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:51,080 changed my life, print that out, put it on the wall, put it on your laptop and just go 341 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:53,000 with that. 342 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:57,680 I think that's beautiful because just the fact that you can writ your voice with just 343 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:01,660 a microphone that you can reach people and actually help them. 344 00:16:01,660 --> 00:16:04,240 It's such a good time to start a podcast. 345 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:05,240 Definitely. 346 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:06,240 Yeah, it's amazing. 347 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:12,680 I mean, there's a lot of bad things that happen with technology and social media, but I think 348 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:14,220 there's a lot of good things too. 349 00:16:14,220 --> 00:16:17,880 You really have to work on just thinking about that side of it. 350 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:19,280 Where can people find you online? 351 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,400 Oh, God, I'm everywhere. 352 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:22,400 I heard. 353 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:23,400 That's awesome. 354 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:24,400 I'm everywhere. 355 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:26,880 Pretty much just look my name up on any social media app. 356 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:30,240 My last name's pretty unique, so I just pop up Alex Fasulo. 357 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:31,720 I'm sure you guys will have it in the... 358 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,720 If you want me to spell it otherwise, I'm sure you'll have it in the... 359 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:35,720 I'll put it in there. 360 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:36,720 Okay. 361 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:37,720 All right. 362 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:38,720 Yeah. 363 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:42,280 If you just look up Alex Fasulo on any social media site, I will pop up. 364 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:47,880 My podcast is The Freelance Fairy Tales on all major podcasting sites. 365 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,600 And we're on RSS. 366 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:51,600 Right here on RSS. 367 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:52,600 Yeah. 368 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:54,680 And then my website's again, alephsfasulo.com. 369 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:58,400 Pretty much just Google my name and ignore all the Reddit threads saying I'm a liar. 370 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,440 I didn't actually ask you this, but are there any projects that you're working on you want 371 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:02,440 to tell people about? 372 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,520 I know you said you can't mention the book, but... 373 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:06,520 I know. 374 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:08,960 I unfortunately can't give any more away about that. 375 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,800 I mean, I'm definitely working on growing my podcast. 376 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:13,920 So if you don't listen, please come by. 377 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:18,080 Leaving five star reviews is greatly appreciated. 378 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:19,640 Let's see what else. 379 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:24,920 I'm working always on so many things, but I just can't say until they go live, unfortunately. 380 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:26,800 So follow me on social media. 381 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:29,480 I post constantly like a crazy person. 382 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,320 And I post a lot of free resources and news tips and everything to help you with your 383 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:34,320 freelancing journey. 384 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:38,720 Well, if someone was wanting to be a freelancer, where's the first product you direct them 385 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:39,720 to? 386 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:44,400 I would say go to my website, alephsfasulo.com, because it links to my free Facebook group, 387 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,960 which is really incredible for people. 388 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,400 It links to my online courses, links to my ebook and my podcast. 389 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:51,400 All four of those things. 390 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:56,680 I think if you consume everything in them, you will be a master freelancer. 391 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:57,680 I love it. 392 00:17:57,680 --> 00:17:58,680 I absolutely love it. 393 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:00,800 Well, I'd really appreciate the time that you spent with me today. 394 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,480 Is there anything that I didn't ask you wish I had? 395 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,040 No, this was great. 396 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:06,040 I'm easy. 397 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:11,420 Yeah, I feel like there's something I should have asked, but I'm not thinking of it. 398 00:18:11,420 --> 00:18:15,680 But I am kind of curious though, because Fiverr is going to keep coming up, right? 399 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:19,960 What do you think about Fiverr these days? 400 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:27,440 I have to give you the on-camera answer, because the off-camera is spicier. 401 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,400 I see them in a very unemotional way, right? 402 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:34,060 They've captured the largest share of the freelancing market. 403 00:18:34,060 --> 00:18:40,240 So it's still, to me, the best place to get on, get experience, scale a business, do all 404 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:41,240 of it. 405 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:42,240 It's still the best. 406 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:43,240 They don't pay me. 407 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:44,640 We do not have a partnership at all. 408 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:46,240 Me and them are not buddy-buddy. 409 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:51,880 So I share that out of the goodness of my heart, meaning I actually believe it is still the 410 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:53,640 best place to get started on. 411 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,460 Would I be upset if some other site unseated it? 412 00:18:56,460 --> 00:18:58,080 Not at all. 413 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:02,160 Because I don't want, I mean, they're getting more pay to play, which I hate. 414 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,560 They take a percentage of the tips you get. 415 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,160 They're greedy. 416 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,960 They are a corporation, and I'm not shy that I don't love them. 417 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,800 So I honestly didn't know that they take a portion of the tips. 418 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:14,800 Yeah. 419 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:15,800 Oh yeah. 420 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,600 They take money anywhere they can get their little thingies into. 421 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,200 And I don't love that, but it is what it is. 422 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,560 You ought to be practical about it. 423 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:26,000 And that's why I also encourage people after a few years, get off of there and open your 424 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:27,000 own agency. 425 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,920 You know, don't pay into them forever. 426 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,320 When did you start your agency? 427 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:35,420 Officially this year, funnily enough. 428 00:19:35,420 --> 00:19:38,960 But I've been taking on private clients for the whole time. 429 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:44,680 But this year was the year I started to actually hire help, hire writers, virtual assistants, 430 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:49,800 my best friend who manages it, LLC it, you know, take it seriously. 431 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:50,800 Finally this year. 432 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,200 And you might ask why did you wait that long? 433 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:58,680 And it's honestly because I did not have the time to start it until this year. 434 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:04,160 Like I don't know how to communicate how busy I have been on Fiverr the last six years. 435 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:05,600 Like I never took a day off. 436 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:11,560 It's hard to walk away from business like flying in the door, but I'm not advocating 437 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,080 anybody do anything irresponsible like that. 438 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:15,600 I'm not promoting hustle culture. 439 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:17,080 Please take care of yourselves. 440 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:18,640 Hire virtual assistants. 441 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,640 Getting help is okay. 442 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:25,280 Well you had, speaking of hiring virtual assistants, you posted a TikTok, I think it was TikTok, 443 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,480 a couple of days ago that said, you know, that there are this many days left in the 444 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,200 year and that if you were to hire someone every single day for the next, what was it, 445 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,680 50 days that you can be financially free by next year. 446 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:36,400 Can we speak a little bit about that? 447 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:37,400 Yeah. 448 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:43,280 So what I was saying is that if you put only one hour in every day, so 50 hours between 449 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:48,880 now and 2022 and follow all of the trillions of things I have on my TikTok, you could become 450 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:53,760 financially free, meaning you no longer have to worry about finances in a capacity or paying 451 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:54,860 your bills. 452 00:20:54,860 --> 00:20:59,640 So for a lot of people that might be making 5k a month or so to pay off their bills or 453 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,040 current debt interest, everything. 454 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,480 And there's so many ways you can go about doing that, but one of them would be getting 455 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,520 on Fiverr, setting it up, opening services. 456 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:13,320 I just had a girl on my podcast who's going to make over 100k her first year freelancing. 457 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:14,320 It's just nuts. 458 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:15,320 The money that is in it. 459 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:20,160 But yeah, if you spend, I think 50 hours every day, you know, just putting more and more 460 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,440 time into making sure your business is perfect, studying the competition, getting the pricing 461 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,920 right, branding right, and then hiring an agency manager and virtual assistants, it 462 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,920 could technically run itself by January. 463 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,760 But then when I say that, people are like, what are you talking about? 464 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,600 I'm like, it's actually not easy, but it's simple. 465 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:40,640 That's what I always say. 466 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,840 It's not going to be easy, but it's actually simple. 467 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:47,400 And then the sad thing is that only like 1% of the people that are listening to this are 468 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:48,600 even going to do it. 469 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:52,360 So I think that's probably why you get a lot of the lie culture saying, oh yeah, she's 470 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:53,360 a liar. 471 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:55,160 Have you tried it? 472 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:56,160 That's exactly it. 473 00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:01,120 And I understand it can sound overwhelming in theory, but I mean, that's life. 474 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:03,760 Like you've got to just push past that sometimes. 475 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:04,760 It's worth it. 476 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,080 Just, you know, just put the work in. 477 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:08,080 I promise. 478 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,600 Now I have to ask you this. 479 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:13,920 When you quit your job, what is it? 480 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:18,920 Six years ago now from that lofty job in 2015, did you think that this would be how your 481 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:20,920 life would unfold? 482 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,320 Not for a single second. 483 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,400 And I know people today when they're like, oh, that's the fiber girl. 484 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:27,440 She makes all this money. 485 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,200 She must be all this type of way. 486 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:36,080 I'm like, you guys, I quit that job and I thought I was going to be a starving artist, 487 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,320 you know, author trying to get one book in my lifetime in a store. 488 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:45,640 I was so ready to make 20 K a year and I'm not trying to sound insensitive if people 489 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,040 are listening from around the world and that might be a lot of money to them. 490 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:52,640 I'm just saying from New York city standards, it was not a lot of money. 491 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:59,240 So I was all ready to eat ramen and sit in cafes to use the wifi and I didn't care because 492 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:01,480 I just did not want to be in an office. 493 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:02,480 That's all I knew. 494 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:03,480 And I was like, you know what? 495 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:05,440 Even if I make no money, I'm happy. 496 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:06,440 I'm writing. 497 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:07,500 I'm my own boss. 498 00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:08,880 Life is good. 499 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:15,000 And I never ever in a million years thought it would be where it has come to. 500 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,320 I honestly still wake up and can't believe it. 501 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:22,400 Like I honestly still wake up and I'm like, what the F? 502 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,080 And yeah, she never had the same day twice. 503 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:31,880 Sounds like, oh my gosh, no, no, you know, but it's like, I can tell with all the emails 504 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,960 I'm getting something like this is still only just the beginning with all of it. 505 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,760 And it's all because I decided to check out a site where you could make $5 at the time. 506 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,840 And a lot of people laughed at me for that. 507 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:46,920 I can understand that because I mean, $5 doesn't sound like much, but keep putting in the work 508 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,960 and next thing you know, it becomes a lot more than $5. 509 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:50,960 Absolutely. 510 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,880 And that was my, I didn't have any like ego with it. 511 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:58,200 I was like, okay, you can go ahead and laugh about it, but it bought me this sandwich. 512 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,160 So I'm okay with it. 513 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,200 I don't have any pride that I need to be any other kind of way. 514 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,840 And then the irony is, you know, three years later, all of a sudden all this money is coming 515 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,200 and I'm just like, life is so funny. 516 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:15,680 So that's why I encourage people that I take risks because you actually have no idea. 517 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:16,680 That's true. 518 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:17,680 And that's why I start a podcast. 519 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:18,680 Like exactly. 520 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:23,360 I mean, you don't know who's listening. 521 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:24,560 You have no idea who's listening. 522 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:25,560 You might get a book deal. 523 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:27,520 Some of them might invite you to be on a TV show. 524 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:29,320 You might meet your husband. 525 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,400 You might, you know, you have no idea who is listening. 526 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,120 You have no idea when you bring a guest on, you might hit it off. 527 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,000 I've hit it off with some of my podcast guests so well. 528 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,560 I'm actually working on two different business ideas with them, like running a business with 529 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:41,560 these people. 530 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,760 I'll take it. 531 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:44,760 That works. 532 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:46,840 Well, I think I really am wrapped now. 533 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:51,200 I think I've answered, I've asked every question I wanted to ask, but if there's anything else 534 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,600 that you can think of that you want to share, I'd love to hear it. 535 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:59,480 No, I mean, anyone listening, just don't be afraid. 536 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:03,840 Just open, start the podcast, get the mic, share your thoughts. 537 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:05,080 There's one person in the world. 538 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:06,400 It's going to help. 539 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,600 And that's what this is all about. 540 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:09,600 Right? 541 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:10,600 Yeah. 542 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:11,600 And start your business. 543 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:12,600 Yes. 544 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:13,600 Like that's just do it. 545 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:28,840 Those are the two things I think I need to do.