#190: Unpack and Improve Your Money Beliefs with Austin L. Church’s Book “Free Money”

Deliberate Freelancer

Today’s guest is Austin L. Church, who returns to the show to talk about his book “Free Money.”

Austin lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. He helps e-commerce founders stand out online with their brand strategy. Lately, he’s been working as a fractional chief marketing officer, consulting for creator economy companies. He also coaches freelance creatives.

Austin returned to the podcast to talk about his new book, “Free Money,” which I have read and highly recommend for all freelancers.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Who this book is for and why he wrote it.
• How our beliefs about money from childhood affect our businesses now.
• The financial numbers you need to know to run your business.
• What “pessimistic pricing” and “weirdly precise” numbers are.
• Set a price that reduces the chances you will resent the client or the project.
• The fine line between setting boundaries and being difficult to work with.
• Why the “hustle” isn’t sustainable and can lead to burnout.
• The four stages of freelancing: Moonlighter, Hustler, Lifestyler and Diversifier.
• The money mindset questions Austin asks his clients. For example, fill in the blank: Wealthy people are __________. Making money is __________.
• How to address our money beliefs and improve our financial literacy.
• Why investing in a business coach can be important to improve your business.

Resources:

• Austin’s book: “Free Money: Nine Counterintuitive Moves for Life-Changing Freelance Income”
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
• Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC
• Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn
• Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group