Here's How Showing Up Online Helped Shoaib to Freelance and Earn £750K+ By Mastering Linkedin Storytelling

What inspired you to start your own business?

Most people start a business for "freedom."

But somewhere between client meetings, drowning in admin and working weekends to "keep up"...it slips away.

I'd work 16-hour days, 7 days a week for 12 months (including EVERY bank holiday). Not healthy. Not sustainable.​

In my 1st year of business, I set myself a £100k revenue goal.

8 months later, I hit it. It felt great. (For 30 minutes). But then I felt nothing. So I raised that goal. I repeated this cycle of:

1. Setting money goal

2. Hitting money goal

3. Setting new money goal

The result? I made more money.

But I also had a lot of mood fluctuations (due to a high-sugar, caffeine diet), was a slave to my Google Calendar (worked 18-hour days) and abandoned my health (no gym → poor diet → low sleep quality).

I was ill almost every month. This is what it takes to be successful...

To "hustle", to "grind", to "win" ...

I started a business for freedom. I ended up in a self-built prison. It's a privilege to be financially secure. (I don't take it for granted). But beyond covering my basic needs, I soon realised that extra money:

a) Doesn't make me happier 

b) Doesn't make me healthier

So I stopped chasing money goals.

So instead of falling in love with outcomes, targets and financial forecasts, I've fallen in love with self-development.

→ The transformative shift in my confidence

→ The brilliant client relationships I have

→ The optimistic mindset I've nurtured

→ The time freedom I'm gaining

→ The digital nomad lifestyle

→ The resilience I'm building

I've fallen in love with deepening these things. In strengthening the foundations of my house and not trying to build another 5 storeys on top of it.

And now? I actively ENJOY business-building.

How did you turn your idea into a business?

I studied like crazy:

How to use Google Analytics, Excel, WordPress

How to grow audiences on social media

How to SEO-optimise a website

(using free YouTube videos).

Didn't wait for life to happen. I stacked skills in marketing daily. (learned through "doing" not studying).

Made 7 'mock websites', wrote 100s of blogs, downloaded datasets and built spreadsheets.

Got proper skills! I started as a copywriter (as the first employee in a startup). Why?

I wanted to learn how to build a business. From the ground up. (and see it from the inside). I earned £5k less salary.

But I knew I'd learn faster in this startup. After a year at the startup, I asked for a promotion.

My boss said: "No."I handed in my notice that week. At the time, I'd been posting on LinkedIn daily.

Building my audience.

Honing my writing.

Networking daily.

After my notice period ended...I posted on LinkedIn. "I'm going freelance". Signed 3 clients that week.

I charged low, delivered top results and turned wins into case studies.

By month 3? 22 clients.

By month 6? Made my first hire.

By month 18? 6 fig annual revenue.

Now I'm in year 4... The rest = history. Top 3 takeaways?

1. No one’s coming to save you.

2. Do the damn work yourself.

3. Take uncomfortable risks.

Skip to today?

I have time and location freedom, a multi-6-figure income, building long-term financial security, diversifying income streams and scaling my reputation as a world-leading personal brand strategist. I’ve worked with 150+ clients and generated nearly £750K in business revenue. I’m also an advisor, keynote speaker, podcast host and B2B influencer.

How did you get your customers?

How I picked up 15 clients and hit a 5-figure month in < 60 days.

1. Sent connection invites to 100 target clients every week.

2. Published value-rich and personal LinkedIn content daily.

3. Optimised my profile (new headshots / bio / banner)

4. Built a website from scratch to showcase my services

5. Collaborated with people more influential than me in my field to create a FREE Personal Branding guide (great exposure)

6. Hosted guide on my website (+ built 1500+ mailing list)

7. Set up referral schemes with other leaders in the space

8. Started with low prices to outcompete bigger agencies

9. Did an incredible job for my clients = more referrals

10. Asked other freelancers for tips! (Literally every day)

Here's what else to consider:

→ Positioning

Is it crystal clear who your target audience is, how you help them (what specific problems you solve?) and why you're better than anyone else at it?

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→ Originality

Do you have a distinct POV that is memorable? Is your messaging, visual brand, and formatting different enough? Are you standing out in feeds?

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→ Storytelling

Does your profile and posts tell a compelling story? Are people reading your content and feeling emotional alignment with what you're sharing?

→ Targeting

Do your posts directly identify, agitate and then solve your ICP's frustrations, pain points and objections when it comes to purchasing?

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→ Writing

Have you mastered writing hooks and my 8 viral copywriting principles (like: introducing a villain, creating curiosity gaps and leveraging entry points?)

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→ Algorithm

Do your posts steal attention? Are you using visual media, engagement strategies & post data to leverage LinkedIn's organic reach potential?

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You can't just 'post and hope'. If you want to convert words into cash...

You need to understand ALL the factors that determine whether your account serves your goals.

Whether that's to:

- Increase newsletter subscribers

- Build more industry credibility

- Book meetings in your diary

- Drive traffic to your website

- Quickly grow your following

- Secure PR & speaking gigs

- Generate inbound leads

And then you need to optimise ALL of them.

Consistently doing these things will 10x your success.