Hello, hello everybody. Welcome to Freelancer Friday. We have a little bit of a smaller space today, but I'm really excited to introduce our friend Lil Fresh Sam from Lil Fresh Sam and Infatu. Welcome Sam.
Thank you so much. So yeah, just to go over a little bit about Freelancer Friday. So on this call today, Sam, we'll just be going through how your journey started in your freelance career, what motivated you to become a creative freelancer, some challenges you've overcome, and just your story of getting involved in the
the web 3 space. So before we dive into everything today, everyone can share this space out on the bottom right of your screen. You'll see a little chat bubble icon. If everyone can share this out with your network, it'd be super appreciated. What's up Humpty? We just got Humpty joined in this space. So it's a little bit of a smaller space today, but we're super
first up to have little fresh salmon. I was just sharing Humpty that we're going to be going through her journey as a creative freelancer and giving some tips for solo entrepreneurs that want to embark on a freelance journey. If everyone can, like I mentioned, please share the space out and share this with your network and be greatly appreciated.
I'm actually going to go ahead and share some tweets too. So just throughout the space you guys will all be able to see resources and be able to follow what little fresh Sam is working on. So while I get that going Sam would you like to give an introduction? Definitely yes. So you know I like to identify
I'm a sustainable fashion designer.
So creating and crafting different artists or politicians like image and what they look like to their visual audience. So it's really cool. Like Rachel mentioned, I'm a self-made artist.
And it's your pleasure. Thank you so much. Sorry about that. I meant to hit the clapping emoji at the waving one. But we're so stoked to have you today. Today, Sam. And I also wanted to give you a huge thank you on behalf of the opolis team for creating these awesome hats. I'm actually wearing it right.
know. But for me, from the office team, I actually gave one to Brock to push and to the ton of call today. So thank you so much from the office team for designing these hats for us. I feel like it was about time, like I love wearing hats and I saw your work and I'm like, you know what, I trust that you'll be able to do this. So
Thank you so much. Oh yeah absolutely. I'm glad to be able to get a dump for each Denver. That's another thing I do is merge development and merge design for companies and individuals. So we're super grateful Sam. And just a heads up if you
could speak a little bit closer into the mic. I shot you a message, but just to hear the audio as clear as possible, if you're able to do that, that would be really awesome. So moving on into the questions today, Sam, I'm curious how you first got started in your freelance career. What inspired you to become little fresh Sam and to start in FATU?
And Sam, you're making a good, sorry about that. Let me know if does that sound better? That does sound better, yes. Okay, so what started, um, we got started in fashion and just being a crater in general was having the, the subscription and passion since I could remember some like little kids picked you up.
creative directing my beanie babies you know with a film camera so just this need to like create every single day for the rest of my life is what started the desire to become a creative full-time and you know when I when I turned 18 and I was graduating high school it wasn't real life there
Especially from Denver Colorado, actually a little bit north of Denver called Thorin, right? And a lot of times we get to see it be done. Like if you're in New York or Los Angeles, you get to see like, oh, this is a career option. Well, I wasn't able to see that because it wasn't.
career ups in my city. And so the initial start of this was really, really tough and challenging and starting from just overcoming my own thoughts and ability to dream this thing. And so that was the first step. And then once I believed I just started every day working to
that I feel like I'm probably at 20,000 hours at this point. He breathes sleep, you know, creating and I love what I do so much. So that's how I started and I feel like that is also how I'm still here because I'm a passion has drove me to do things that I thought were possible. Wow.
That's so inspiring Sam and I've just been following your journey ever since I met you at Mcon like I saw your quality of work and I'm like this is someone who truly loves what she does like I feel like you are really aligned with with your higher purpose and you're just showing up every day and doing what you love and that's what's
freelance work is about, right? Like showing up and doing something that you're passionate about, like being your own boss. And I think that's just so inspiring because there's so many people stuck out there in our current culture that are stuck in jobs that they hate for, you know, like things like benefits and things like that. So I love that you're able to embark on this career as a freelancer.
And we have OPLIS are here to support you, you know, with getting all the things like benefits and W2s and pay stubs, all those things, we're here to support you if you need assistance as a freelancer. So I think there's definitely synergy here and potential to go further in this partnership. Absolutely. I love it.
what you guys do and it's really, really important because as a creative, you know, Blacks benefits, unfortunately, because of the system. I see the need for it and, you know, yeah, I'm really grateful to know that opulence exists.
Awesome, and we're super grateful to be connected and something on this space I want to do today just for anyone who's looking to learn more about freelance culture and in the different challenges that you face as a freelancer. If you could go over like if you transitioned from a traditional job to freelancing, what were some challenges you face and how would you over
come now. Yeah, you know, so my I guess corporate job was about maybe 10 years ago and so it's a little unfamiliar but I just remember the transition was so hard, you know, for many reasons, but number one, I consistent paycheck, you know, that was one thing I
to be okay to live without for a while so that I could live how I want in the future. And the unknown, not knowing what's going to happen in the lack of consistency in general was really scary, but
You know, it's paying off and I believe that it always does, you know, as long as you're consistent. So one of the things also that I had to do was just build a plan, going back to the self-made thing. I didn't know how to start, I didn't know what it's like.
but I just knew that okay you know if you want to get from A to B you have to have some sort of plan so although I left like I didn't go to college I taught myself as much as possible and so just studying business and maybe not knowing formally how to create a business plan but coming up with a plan
and a strategy to turn my hobby and passion into a career. And so, you know, still learning to this day, 10 years ago, there's still learning different ways, strategies and systems and operations. So things that come with corporations that we may not know about or
and see day-to-day that need to be in a creative business to make it sustainable and actually live longer than that. So if you don't already have those things in your creative business, wish this was told to me like I need to do it, but I really like the way I'm creating structures and processes.
That's one thing that's really helpful. I think that's so useful just just to throw that out there like having a plan and executing on it. I think that's so important, especially as a creative freelancer. And you know, I actually went to art school sound and like what I learned is that you know, it goes a little bit more
a lot further than just being an artist and just creating you really have to learn entrepreneurial skills. If you want to be successful as a creative freelancer, you need to monetize that skill set. You need to become the marketing team. You need to become the creative. You need to become the business expert. And you kind of learn those things as you go. You learn these challenges as
they come up, like when I started my own business, you know, I was making my products, I was doing the labels, I was doing the branding, the partnerships, you know, lending beverage deals. And I learned like, holy shit, when you're freelancing, when you're running your own business, you wear so many different hats and you really need to get the business and planning part down 100%.
Exactly. And those are the things that you may not think about when you're starting your, you know, your passion as a, as a business. But very, very important to keep in the life, you know, for decades or centuries. And I think where Opolis comes in and really helps freelancers here is like,
like allowing people to focus on doing the work that they love and not have to worry about all the red tape stuff, right? Like you should be able to sit for like eight hours and design a really badass piece and not have to worry about if you're being compliant with your taxes or where am I going to get a W2 if I want to get a house or take out a mortgage or get a Tesla, you know?
So we handle all that stuff on RN so you can focus on doing the work you love. So I definitely think there's synergy here, Sam, and moving forward with a partnership and also welcoming you to join the employment comments if that's something that makes sense for you, we could sync on that further. So my next question for you, Sam.
I appreciate so as a creative freelancer, how do you stay motivated and inspired to consistently deliver high quality work for your clients? That's an excellent question. You know, it's so funny. I'm like a beach right now and it's a question I had
to continually ask myself and implement into my life because I tend to work too much. Just got back from a European tour and went right back in the period and working and I had to take a moment today to remember also to have fun. I mean, although my job is fun and I really love it, it's very
going to take time for yourself and be sure that aren't relevant to your job and great craft. I think having balance for the first nine, eight years of my career, I didn't know what that word meant. I was burning myself out consistently. When you can
I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean,#
as you know Rachel like self care is so important you know whether that's different and looks different to everyone and you need yourself and you know what you need but for me I make sure to implement that throughout my months or throughout my months like weekly I have different things that are not necessarily so you know starting the day with a
and not so in the nature of being rushed into business or doing what I need to do today. I've been getting into practice as a youngster this year. This new day we regimen essentially.
And the goal with that is to not to not feel like my craft runs me and not feel like my business wants me but more so I run my business because there would be days where I you know a lot of times where I wake up and I'm like You know by a call they need something from me and then I've just been aware of how
that feels throughout the rest of the day, versus, you know, a morning I can wake up and meditate. So just being aware of what you need for everybody's individual, you know, burnout is real and longevity is my goal. I think the soundboard is appropriate here.
love that. Run your business. Don't let your business run you. Take control of your time and make sure you're blocking out time for self-care. I think that's so important. Every morning on my calendar, I have a time slot allotted for a morning meditation. I don't always hit it, but I love that it's there because it's just a reminder to me. Take time for self-care.
And also another thing that kind of like a life pack that I've grown to really love is using super foods and nutrients to boost my creativity and boost my focus with the work I'm doing. So for me, like, self care, it comes down to like nutrients, what you're putting into your body that really elevates you and makes you feel
better and having the ability to work and show up and be more present. And I love the also the mention of the work life balance Sam. So I actually had a question for you on that on how you manage your time and maintain that work life balance. And also I was curious if you work on multiple projects simultaneously.
All the time. I feel like it's impossible not to. Um, yeah, so constantly working on several projects at one time, um, which all different like because I run different businesses, they're like all of them are always working on different things. So time is key. Um, you know, I use, uh, because I have
an iPhone and trying to keep everything efficiently. I'll just use the iPhone calendar religiously. It's funny because I posted a video. I went back to my calendar about 10 years back from like just three months ago and every day for 10 years it was blocked like every
little you know every day was very blocked off and just structured and it is cool to see you know the consistency but I think that's really important time management and how best fits for you for so as a creative because I am a business you know I do this I manage my businesses I'll take days to do that and then I'll set days
just to create and then I think they just do self-care. So, um, and they're because I create my scheduling, it's always so different. I, that doesn't, it's not consistently like I don't always take a Saturday off or anything like that. But what I do is I always make sure to take home off, probably like, you know, Monday or Sunday. Um, so,
time management and then yeah like you said nutrients at what I am so big on what I put in my body it I had to learn a learn this the hard way you know through someone in my family getting cancer and just it blew my mind and I completely changed my lifestyle and you know I was one of those people who would
maybe have a cliff for all days, but you know not care about eating and not consuming nutrients and so that's something if I can you know another key is just caring about your body that's the vehicle that you're going to be into the less of your life and if it's not good you're not getting anywhere you know so very big time and
I love that. I think these are excellent tips. And like I mentioned earlier when we spoke, I'd really love to take some of these tips and make some content for this to share from the office account and to share from your account as well, just sharing tips for freelancers and people who want to embark in a journey as a solo entrepreneur. I think these are really useful.
tips. So I know you do have limited time today. I know you said you have 30 minutes so we're coming up on the half hour mark. But one more question I have for you, Sam, is what are some common misconceptions about freelancing? And what advice would you give to anyone aspiring to become a freelancer or start their own business?
So I think a miscommon conception is like it's easy or it's all fun and games. I can't tell you how many interns that come in and you know and probably have an initial idea of what I would
live my life life but it's completely different and so you know just knowing that you're going to have to sacrifice a lot you know knowing that you're going to have to do things you don't want to but knowing it'll be worth it in that end.
I think having really stated expectations, and I thought, you know, when I was, I'll share a little, I don't know if I've ever talked about this from initially when I first started my brand, I read the fact that a brand should be established within eight or three to eight years, like actually more five, five to eight years.
It took a brand to become established and for me over over achievers, I'm like, oh, I'm gonna do that at three and you know, it was really hard on myself and I would beat myself up over these like expectations that weren't impossible.
I'm not saying that it's not possible, but I would say give yourself grace and set goals that are huge, but also achievable within the time that you allow yourself. That's some tips. I would love to create some distance to content.
So more now than ever, we're getting to a time where we're sharing, you know, how we got here, how we do things, but I would love to see that happen more because we need to just help each other grow and lift one up another. So I'm here to help however, I feel free to
follow me and I appreciate you guys today. Rachel thank you so much for having this thing. Awesome thank you I've just been really inspired by your work and by your hustle going on a world tour with your business and like making fashion and Amsterdam for like government officials like you are just on
You're killing it in your career. So I want to bring you up today just to educate other people who want to get involved in a freelance career or start their own business. So thank you for all these tips today, Sam. I really want to go through this recording and get some clips so we can continue sharing out this content, help people and guide them through their journeys of free time.
So thank you so much. And I also just want to bring attention you guys to the pin tweets that we have today. So a couple of things that I've shared. Firstly, I want to share about Lil Fresh Sam's website. So if you go three tweets over, I've shared the website for LilFreshSam.me and also in
So we have an ambassador program which our lead ambassador steward Miguel is on this call. The application there is there on our pin tweet. You can fill out the type form and we also have a friends farming program. So we actually have a referral based program for our partners and little fresh sound.
If you want to sign up for friends farming as well, that can open up a stream of revenue generation for your company as well if you were to send over any other freelancers to OPLUS. Currently, our referral structure is $100 per qualified lead that comes to us. And then an additional $200 on top of that with a thousand work tokens.
they actually sign up. So if you're running a business and this sounds attractive to you, feel free to check out these links and sign up for friends farming or apply to become an ambassador. Now lastly, my position at Opel is focuses on nurturing web three partnerships. So if you're interested in joining the coalition, if you feel like there would be synergy with our projects,
I know I'm already in conversations with some folks on this call to move forward with partnerships, but feel free to reach out to me or fill out the form to join the coalition. So yeah, I think that's it as far as ways to get involved in Irmuth Opolis. Now, can I see a show of hands for if anyone will be at consensus?
Oh, Sam, you're going to be hecking senseless. What? Oh, sorry. I love what you're doing. What you and I people to do. I'm so grateful for you. And I love that you're at a beach right now. You're taking time to care for yourself. And you're still hustling while you're doing that. I have a matter of respect, girl.
And also like I remember a mere first working on my blazer when we were designing that together. I was also at a beach talking to you and doing the same thing that you're doing. So it's funny. It's kind of what I respected that. Right, right. We had a really large show last night and I was like, I need to on the way home just stop.
to be so thank you so much again for what you're doing I love all that I'm doing and I'm excited to partner and talk more about that and then the last ingredient to be in a free land so actually the first ingredient is to believe in yourself so I want to end this call
with this, you know, encouraging everyone to believe in whatever their biggest goal is on it and just know it's possible. Awesome. Thank you so much, Sam. Mike drop. We're so grateful today that you're able to join. Definitely looking forward on sharing these tips out so we can continue to support freelancers
and help fuel the gig economy. Now, the last thing I'll share before we wrap up here are actually two things. So the first, if you're going to be at consensus, I'd appreciate if you guys can check out the tweet I shared, I'm going to be speaking on a fireside chat at consensus with Web 3 lounge and we'll be talking with some projects like
I'm a great chef, a nifty kid, and a bunch of other projects, so in 40 Acres Dall. So if you guys could like and retweet that, I'd really appreciate it, and it would mean the world to me. And if there's anything that you guys want me to tweet and share from my account, or if you're interested in partnering with Opelus and sharing things from our account, reach out to me and I'm open#
That being said, even if you're not going, if you guys could show that tweet some love, it would be really awesome. So yeah, thank you guys so much. And the last thing I'll share is if anyone wants to come up and share anything you're excited about, any plans you have for your weekend or upcoming initiatives you're working on, feel free to come up if you'd like.
Thanks again for having a great day. Thank you so much Sam. And yeah, let's see, last thing before we end off here. Tomorrow is Earth Day. So for any of our region friends out there, if you're in the Southern California area, I'm actually volunteering at Earth Day Ocean
and clean up tomorrow with a nonprofit on partnered with called stand up to trash. So if anybody is in the Southern California area and wants to get involved and come clean up a beach, that's separate from opolis things. But if you guys are interested, reach out to me, my Twitter's Rachel Rose B. And yeah, thank you everybody for joining today. Much love for all of you.