Scott Stockdale

Summary:

Scott is in his mid 20’s and he earns more than 90% of people in the UK by specializing in one specific skill - content writing. 

This is a perfect example of how you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, you just need to leverage an existing skill set, charge people for it and earn money.

Tell us about yourself and what your business does?

Hey, my name is Scott Stockdale and I am the founder of Stockdale Media. My business focuses on SEO and content strategy, where I work with clients to drive traffic to their websites through high-quality content and SEO best practices. 

I primarily operate as a solopreneur, occasionally bringing on other freelancers when needed.. I plan to keep it this way and I have no intentions of growing it into a full-scale agency. 

In addition to my service based business, I also have digital courses on SEO which contribute to my overall revenue, but I will dive into this in more detail later on in this case study.

What is the specific problem that your business solves?

The specific problem my business solves is helping my clients improve their online visibility and attract more traffic. I do this through SEO and content marketing strategies.

Many businesses struggle to rank on search engines, and my expertise in SEO allows me to create processes that drive organic traffic. Whether it's through writing high-quality content, optimizing existing pages, or developing an SEO playbook, I help businesses get seen online.

How did you find your business idea?

I first came across the idea while working a 9-5 job as an SEO manager for another company. I was writing on Medium (purely for fun) about “SEO”, “entrepreneurship” and “making money online”. Some people discovered my content and I started receiving positive feedback about my writing skills. One of my newsletter subscribers reached out to me on LinkedIn, and asked if I could write a newsletter for her. This was my very first client. This then led to more freelance clients, and eventually, after realizing that I could do this full time, I decided to go all in, register my consulting business and commit to the solopreneur life.

How did you find your first customer?

As mentioned above, my first freelance client came from my newsletter. She had been a subscriber for about six months and said she liked my writing style and that she wanted something similar for her own newsletter. So she paid me a couple hundred bucks a month to write her newsletters and blog content.

I’m not going to lie, I kind of got lucky with this one. Not many people get their first customer by someone reaching out to them directly. It usually goes the other way around where you have to do a bunch of outbound to land a client. But this goes to show, do what you love and the money will come. 

How do you find customers on a regular basis nowadays?

I am somewhat unconventional and I use a bunch of creative ways to find clients:

• I get a lot of inbound leads from my content on Medium, LinkedIn, and my newsletter.
• I subscribe to job posting platforms that send daily writing opportunities to my inbox. I can then pick and choose which opportunities I feel I am a good fit for
• I write case studies about people I admire and post them online. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t, but my hope is that the person shares the case study which builds a bit of hype, increases my followers and can sometimes lead to inbound inquiries.
• Lastly, I see job postings on platforms like UpWork and Fiverr and I then do a bit of background research into the company posting the job (if I can find them) and reach out to them directly.

What are your current revenue streams and how much do you earn from each?

I have two main revenue streams at the moment. Client work is the main source of income but I am trying to focus on and build up a higher percentage of passive income:

• Client SEO and content strategy: Around £7,500 / month
• Online courses (SEO and outsourcing courses on Udemy, Skillshare, and Zero to Mastery): £500 - £1,000 / month, depending on the platform's performance. 
  • This is what I am trying to grow so that I don’t have to keep selling my time for money.

What are your future plans with the business?

Transparently (and this might be controversial for the audience that reads this) but I’m currently evaluating what’s next. 

While I enjoy running a little consulting business and being my own boss, I sometimes miss the team environment of a corporate job. I’m considering whether I should scale my solopreneur business into a small agency, or if I should develop a full-blown digital product, or potentially shift back towards being an employee of a business that offers that team collaboration element.

I guess that’s the beauty of being a solopreneur, I don’t have employees I need to consider or any other responsibilities or commitments. I can literally pick and choose what I want to do next and I am pretty employable at this stage as I have the typical “go-getter” and entrepreneurial mindset (which most companies love to see when they’re hiring).

What type of life has running your own business allowed you to live?

It’s been amazing!!

I have complete flexibility over my schedule, typically working 4 - 5 hours a day. I've been able to travel extensively, living as a digital nomad in places like New York, Budapest and all over the UK. I recently bought my own place in England, something that would have taken much longer in a traditional job. Lastly, I get to spend more time with family and friends, which has become a big priority for me recently.

Most people say that running your own business means that you never shut off and you need to work 16 hour days to make it a success. It’s simply not true! Running your own business means you get to choose how and when you work. Sure, if you want to work 16 hour days and earn triple what I’m currently earning, you can, and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you want to work 4 hours a day, earn enough to live comfortably and live the lifestyle you want, you can do that too. That’s what being a solopreneur is all about. Living the life YOU want to live. You can’t do that as an employee.

What piece of advice would you give to someone wanting to start a business?

Just start – So many people wait for everything to be perfect before they begin, but you learn by doing. When I get emails from people asking how to start writing on Medium, I tell them: "Write 50 articles and then come back to me." Most people don’t do it, but if they did, they’d figure it out along the way and wouldn’t need to send me the original email in the first place. 

Where can people find you & your company?

The best place to find me is either on my website, or on LinkedIn. I am super open to chatting to anyone that needs support or just has some SEO questions. Always happy to give back and support any entrepreneur.