The goal of Hardly Hustle is to provide inspiration, drive and motivation in a 10 minute read or less. What you see is what you get. This is hot off the press without an editing team. Saffron Sumner is up.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Saffron Sumner, most people call me Saff. I'm a PR & Marketing freelancer, and I run a community for freelancers, founders and side hustlers in their 20s. Helping them to self-manage self-employment:).
What did it take to get your first handful of customers?
If I'm honest, it didn't take a lot initially. I've been very lucky to have had clients consistently. I began with a marketing agency (ending up hating that world) and pivoted into freelance instead. Even prior to building my personal brand, I scored my first clients from LinkedIn and a few websites. Then I relied on referrals for a while. Once I started to focus on building my personal brand, the work comes to me. I would say the hard work is in building your brand. But, what it did take was a toll on myself. The client world in an agency really wasn't for me. The pressure, the upkeep, the demands etc., I quickly found out I don't suit that life.
Have you had to pivot the business to get to where you are today?
YES. As explained prior I went from an agency into freelancing, and then building a community to help others. Pivoting enabled me to release my desire to help rather than build an empire or make people money.
What drives/motivates you on a daily basis?
The dream of having a life where I'm not working to live. I want a very balanced life, I'm striving to help as many as I can, make as much money as I can, whilst working as little as I can. (Hope that makes sense hahah). In an ideal world, I would work part-time, but by having built an environment where I still earn enough to do everything I want. I quickly learnt that you need several incomes, and a lot of this needs to be passive. So, this is currently what is motivating me. Building the ultimate life without being a rat in the race.
When will you know that you've "made" it as an Entrepreneur?
When I'm working part-time, in love with the work I do, helping others, and living a comfortable life.
What has been the hardest part of your business journey?
Accepting that I'm not a hustle gal. I don't fit into the norm of the corporate world. I burn out a lot quicker than others.
Who or what has helped you the most in your journey so far?
Accepting that working my way is the best way for me. Not comparing myself to people who can work endless and are building multi-million £ empires. Accepting that I would rather have a good work-life balance than slave away missing out on key moments in mine or my loved ones lives.
What are a few resources that you'd recommend?
James Clear books, blogs or newsletters. Tim Ferris books.
The STATS
List the founders
Saffron Sumner
How many hours a week do you work on this hustle?
2 days freelancing, 2 days on the community business
# of Employees?
2 freelancers in the community business (part-timers)
When did you start?
June (ish) for the community, I've been in the marketing/PR/Freelancing/client world for almost 2 years
How much did it cost to launch?
A few £100
What were your funding methods and ballpark amount raised?
Bootstrapping !
Annual revenue?
Not provided.
Projected revenue?
I'll have a better idea of this when the products are launched, very early days for the community.
Any call to action?
Put the community first and freelancing second.