Here’s how to prepare (and then thrive) if this happens to you
“I got some pretty hefty news today at work. I’ve been fired. I’m one of quite a few people across our offices who’ve been let go […]”
We got the WhatsApp two days after his bachelor party in Amsterdam.
The company’s reasons?
Slow growth. AI.
The usual.
It should be the most joyous of times for Ben. He’s marrying the woman of his dreams and they’re moving in together.
Now, he’s been spat out by a system that doesn’t care.
I feel for him. He’s been busting his ass at the same company for seven years. Seven years. And just like that — one HR meeting later — he’s been thrown into the job-hunting jaws of LinkedIn.
So what should you do if this happens to you?
No one is safe
Ben worked his way up, managed a team of five, and helped the company save money. (Something to do with systems and automations.)
Yet even he was let go.
Seeing his fate reminded me that no one is safe in today’s corporate world. You’ve got to prepare. And the only person you can depend on is you.
It’s one of the reasons I’ve lept back into self-employment.
18 months ago, my six figure writing business crumbled after the death of my step dad. I took the “easy” route of getting a job.
But a couple of weeks ago, I had the last day at my 9–5, and now I’m building a fully remote service business.
I’m currently making $2K/month.
And I plan to scale it up to $7.5K/month by the end of 2026.
Here’s how.
Step 1) Develop a skill that makes businesses money
I’ve been working in search marketing since 2019.
It’s a strand of digital marketing.
Basically, I help business owners get their websites to show up at the top of Google search results (as well as ChatGPT and Claude) and bring more traffic to their sites.
One thing to note?
Digital marketing is hella competitive. There are literally thousands of freelancers out there, and with AI, your only real differentiator is experience.
But don’t let this put you off.
Just pick a skill and get your hands dirty. Make stuff. Fail a lot. Here are some interesting skills to consider:
- Sales
- Digital marketing — paid ads, SEO, conversion rate optimisation (CRO)
- Web design with Framer
- Building AI agents
- YouTube video editing
Step 2) Put in the reps
This is the step most people skip.
Please don’t.
Once you’ve spent a few days learning a new skill, practice. Build a website. Edit videos. Help a family member set up Facebook ads.
Whatever it is, put in the reps.
Do it for free.
And when you do a good job for someone, ask for a LinkedIn recommendation. You can leverage these on your sales page.
Step 3) Reach out to companies
I’m an introvert.
The thought of doing cold outreach used to terrify me.
But a few years ago, I stumbled on a method that generates results and leans into my introvert tendencies:
Email.
Below is one I recently sent, which has led to me working with this company.
I’ll break down the specifics of each part:
Part 1
“Hi Jim,
I’ve just been listening to your Advice Line appearance on “How I Built This” (I’m a huge fan of the show), and I LOVE the look of your [product].
My grandad is a big photography fan so I’ve gently nudged him to your website haha!”
This is all about context and building rapport.
In two sentences, I’ve told Jim how I discovered his product and I like it.
So far, so simple.
Part 2
“I couldn’t help notice that there’s SO much opportunity to generate even more sales organically through your website using SEO. For example, there are only two mentions of the word “camera strap” on the main [website name] product page […]
[screenshot to show this]”
Here, I’m explaining why I’m reaching out. I’m also suggesting a practical tip that demonstrates my expertise.
(i.e. A small content tweak that could bring more traffic to their website.)
You don’t need to go into too much detail here. We’ll go deeper if they reply to this email.
Part 3
“I’ve been working in SEO since 2019 and have helped hundreds of founders sell more products on their online stores, including Shopify.”
This one sentence demonstrates my expertise, and Shopify is the company’s website builder.
If you don’t have lots of experience yet, mention some of your own projects and results.
This is why you put in the reps first.
Part 4
“Anyway, sales pitch over! I know you must be a busy man, especially with the B&H partnership. Really, I just wanted to say how much I love what you’re doing, and if you’re ever open to a conversation, I’d love to help.”
- “[…] especially with the B&H partnership.” — Another detail from the podcast to show my understanding.
- “Really, I just wanted to say how much I love what you’re doing, and if you’re ever open to a conversation, I’d love to help.” — Makes my intentions clear, but in a low-pressure way.
Not every company you reach out to will reply.
And that’s normal.
Aim for a 1:5 response rate.
If you don’t get this, your emails probably need tweaking. It could be the subject line. It could be the content within the email. You might just simply need to follow up a few times.
Experiment and keep going.
Step 4) Deliver something of value
Depending on the reply (if you get one), keep giving value. The way I do this is through a free SEO audit. It doesn’t take loads of time and gives something valuable that the business can implement right away.
If your skill is video editing, you could make a few YouTube Shorts based off their main channel.
CRO? Analyse one of their sales pages.
AI agent builder? Build a custom agent to answer support emails.
You get the idea.
Here’s the response I received from my initial outreach email:
“We are just about to have a meeting with a different SEO strategist […]”
I got lucky with my timing!
The fact they were already chatting with a different SEO strategist shows they had buying intent.
This is half the battle.
Here’s how I introduced the idea of a free audit:
“To give you a better sense of what I could offer, I’m happy to put together a mini audit for free — no strings attached. That way, you’d have something concrete to look at rather than just taking my word for it.”
Here, I weave in the idea of delivering a free audit.
This is useful because:
- I can further show my expertise.
- I can deliver something of value, even if we don’t work together. This is important to me because it makes the sales process feel less yucky.
- I can quantify the additional revenue I could generate for their business.
- The audit becomes a gateway to a sales call. (More on this soon…)
“Would the mini audit be useful?”
Ending the email with a simple “yes-no” question made it easy for them to reply.
They said yes.
So next, I spent a few hours doing an audit of their website.
I put the findings into a six-page Google Doc and formatted it with my brand colours:
I already knew they were looking to hire someone.
So really, I just wanted to demonstrate my expertise as much as possible, and give them a sense of what it would be like working together.
I emailed them a link to the audit, along with a runthrough on Loom:
They really liked the audit:
“Would still love to hop on a quick call with you […] if you are open to it!”
Time for the sales call!
But before that…
Step 5) Build a sales page
I built my website on Squarespace back in 2023.
And I knew I wanted a sales page that details my search marketing packages. (These are the things I sell to clients.)
The thing is, I wanted this sales page to be separate from my main website, but I didn’t want to pay for extra hosting.
My solution?
After chatting with Claude, I realised a subdomain was the way to go.
In other words, putting something at the front of scottstockdale.co.uk means I wouldn’t have to pay for a separate domain, yet it could still be part of my main site.
And I could hook up this subdomain using Netifly.
The specifics of how to do this are a little complex, but it’s easy enough to figure out with AI.
Step 6) Deliver a sales call
Once you have your page, it’s time for the sales call.
By this point, the value you’ll have given will have done most of the heavy lifting.
Now, you just have to steer things along.
I recommend writing down a few questions before you jump into the call:
- Did you have any questions about the [thing you delivered]?
- Have you worked with a [name of your profession] before?
- How much is a customer worth to you?
Lean into your educator energy.
Be helpful.
You’ll feel less pressure in the role of a teacher than a salesperson.
When there’s a natural jump off point, share your screen so you can walk through your sales page.
The first couple of times you do this, it’ll feel clunky — and that’s okay! Make notes. Look for improvements.
If you’re looking for further advice on how to conduct sales calls, Sam Laliberte has a fantastic podcast episode with Jayd Hernadez where they walk through this step-by-step.
I highly recommend it.
Ben’s got some thinking to do.
He’s never worked for himself before, and I suspect he’ll be reluctant about doing so now.
So how could he ease himself into the process?
Ideally, he would work through steps 1) to 6) and try to land at least one client before leaving his job. Better yet, he would make at least 50% of his current salary from his service offer.
This would give him the confidence to go all-in.
Unfortunately, Ben doesn’t have this luxury.
So instead, with his wedding in just under a week and a honeymoon straight after, I’ve encouraged him to forget about work and enjoy married life — at least for the next two months.
Then, he could think about job-hunting whilst building a new skill.
You’ve got to have an abundance mindset.
And that’s a hard thing when you’re worried about paying bills.
“One of the secrets to getting what you want in life is creating the perception that you don’t need a thing.
“That can be a difficult energy to project — especially when you’re struggling — but committing to that perception will make you more attractive professionally, personally, and even romantically.”
— Curtis Jackson
Don’t believe you’ll get fired? That’s what Ben thought too. But remember, there’s only one person you can truly depend on.
You.
Go get it.