Build a stronger
freelance business

Build a stronger freelance business

Join our accelerator
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Freelancing should help you earn more and work less

Freelancing should help you earn more and work less

Chances are, you started freelancing because you wanted freedom.

It's an amazing time to be a freelancer – it's easier and cheaper than ever to get started.

But it's not enough to simply do great work. The best freelancers understand how to attract new clients, communicate well, market themselves, sell projects, and run their business.

Not to mention it's on you to worry about health insurance, finances, accounting, and so on.

A lot of freelancers finding themselves working more and being paid less than ever before.

You can do better. Freelancing should help you earn more and work less.

The accelerator can help you with that.

The Unreal Collective accelerator creates a place for founders and freelancers to help each other move faster. The accelerator is intentionally light on "curriculum" and heavy on structure.

It's all about clarity and action. No added "work"  just helping you organize, prioritize, and take action on what matters.

We meet once per week for an hour on a video call, in addition to a kickoff, mid-point, and finale call with the whole cohort.

Our goal is not to give you more to do, our goal is to help you identify the things that are truly important, but not urgent. The things that will truly move the needle in your business.

We provide the structure to identify those activities and the support to get them done. And you don't have to take our word for it!

Start here: Our best advice on selling

Start here:
Our best advice on selling

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Selling shouldn't be hard. This video and guide will give you my best advice for getting more clients.

It's called the EYES and EARS Method, and I'm sharing the lesson with you for free.

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    Introducing
    Freelancing School

    Introducing Freelancing School

    Anna doubled her previous salary by freelancing

    Anna doubled her previous salary by freelancing

    Anna is a conversion copywriter and brand strategist.

    When Anna first joined Unreal Collective, she was just a couple of months into diving into the wonderful world of freelancing full time. She had already taken steps to outline goals for herself, and was looking to Unreal to help hold her accountable.

    Anna says that Unreal helped her learn more about helping run her business, too. And just a year into freelancing, she's found real success being her own boss.

    Learn more about Anna here

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    "I really needed Unreal as a support structure, because while I am really good at my craft, running a business is different. And I needed help."

    Anna Hetzel, Conversion Copywriter and Brand Strategist

    Matt doubled his client base and launched his website

    Matt doubled his client base and launched his website

    Matt is a freelance videographer.

    When Matt joined Unreal Collective, he had started videography as a hobby and was looking to do more. Through Unreal, Matt says he doubled his client base, launched his website, and even had some of his own branding done through other members of the Unreal community.

    Learn more about Matt here

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    "During my 12 weeks of Unreal I doubled my client base and I also launched a website...what used to be a hobby became a legitimate side gig."
    Matt Ray, freelance videographer

    Learn more at
    https://mattray.co

    Val launched a new email strategy incubator

    Val launched a new
    email strategy incubator

    Val is an email conversion strategist and copywriter.

    When Val joined Unreal, she was already on top of her game. She was already earning well over six figures as a copywriter, and was looking at new product offerings.

    Through Unreal, Val finished a course on customer retention and organized a workshop for copywriters who wanted to learn email strategy.

    That workshop was so successful, that Val launched an incubator to help folks go even further.

    Learn more about Val here

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    Ready to join us?

    Ready to join us?

    Join our accelerator
     
    Hey, my name is Jay Clouse.

    I'm the founder of Unreal Collective, host of the upside podcast, and author for Linkedin Learning / Lynda.com teaching product management and freelancing.

    I've been both a founder and a freelancer. Previously, I was the Chief Operating Officer of Tixers, which was acquired in 2015. Then I spent time as a product manager at a venture-backed startup, and left that to freelance.

    Through Unreal, I've worked with over 100 incredible individuals who have had multi-million dollar exits, six-figure crowdfunding campaigns, left their jobs to go full-time freelance, and bootstrapped technology companies.

    I'm here to help you identify the important work and get it done. And not only am I here to lead the accelerator and facilitate our discussions, but I participate along side you with my own projects. I will be working through the same exact process that you are.

    You can learn more about me here. I'm excited to work with you.

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    Hey, my name is Jay Clouse.

     

    I'm the founder of Unreal Collective, host of the upside podcast, and author for Linkedin Learning / Lynda.com teaching product management and freelancing.

    I've been both a founder and a freelancer. Previously, I was the Chief Operating Officer of Tixers, which was acquired in 2015. Then I spent time as a product manager at a venture-backed startup, and left that to freelance.

    Through Unreal, I've worked with over 100 incredible individuals who have had multi-million dollar exits, six-figure crowdfunding campaigns, left their jobs to go full-time freelance, and bootstrapped technology companies.

    I'm here to help you identify the important work and get it done. And not only am I here to lead the accelerator and facilitate our discussions, but I participate along side you with my own projects. I will be working through the same exact process that you are.

    You can learn more about me here. I'm excited to work with you.

     

    How it works

    How it works


     
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    It all starts with a 12-week planning roadmap with your facilitator.

    Before you are matched or meet with your group, we work together to outline a detailed 12-week roadmap for your Unreal experience. 

    We cover goals, current state, milestones, and anticipate any challenges.

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    You are carefully matched with four other individuals based on your goals and background.

    You will meet on a 60-minute Zoom video call every week for 12 weeks with your group and facilitator. We share perspective, feedback, ideas, and advice to help you break through roadblocks.

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    Outside of the calls, we leverage Slack for communication.

    Your group has its own private channel, and public channels connect the whole Collective. We've been a part of over-grown Slack communities that become too crowded to be effective or helpful. So we keep our group small and focused, staying under 100 members at a time.

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    Outside of the calls, we leverage Slack for communication. Your group has its own private channel, and public channels connect the whole Collective.

    At the end of each call, members self-declare action items.

    At the beginning of the next call, we check against them and share progress. Together, we work towards your 12-week goals.

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    • Monthly community video calls
    • Access to our members-only resource center
    • Half off enrollment to Freelancing School
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    Pricing

    Freelancing School

    $249


    • 48 video lessons

    • 7+ hours of material
    • 5 bonus workshops
    • CRM Template
    • Proposal Template
    • Budget Template
    • 12-week goal setting template

    • Marketing for Freelancers
    • Selling for Freelancers
    • Business for Freelancers

    Enroll Now

    Accelerator Base

    $995


    • Group matching

    • 12-week goal setting exercise

    • 12 weeks of facilitated calls

    • One year of community membership

    • Members-only resource center

    • Freelancing School Discount

    • Monthly community video hangout

    • Dedicated 1-on-1 coaching

    Join Waitlist

    Accelerator Premium

    $1995


    • Group matching

    • 12-week goal setting exercise

    • 12 weeks of facilitated calls

    • One year of community membership

    • Members-only resource center

    • Freelancing School Discount

    • Monthly community video hangout

    • Weekly 1-on-1 coaching

    Join Waitlist

    Hear what other members have to say

    Hear what other
    members have to say

     
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    “At the beginning of Unreal Collective, Exploring With Words had 8 listings on Etsy...now we have almost 200. I went from making about $200 per month in revenue to $1,100.”
    Clayton Fuller, founder of Exploring With Words
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    “Jay created a diverse group of individuals in age, thinking styles, and career paths, who bring different skills and experiences. That is difficult to do on your own.”

    Helayne Angelus, Principle at Kalypso
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    "12 weeks after starting Unreal Collective, we have an amazing team...a really solid foundation...and we have prospective clients."
    Andy Curran, founder and CEO of WeVote
     

    Ready to write your own story?

    Ready to write your own story?

    Join our accelerator