What happens when your clients decide they can replace you with AI? In Lizzie Davey's case, three of them eventually came back. In Episode 10 of The Productive Freelancer, I'm joined by freelance writer, Freelance Magic founder, and creator of the Friday Freelance Tips newsletter, Lizzie Davey. Lizzie has spent more than a decade building a freelance writing business, working with SaaS and ecommerce brands including Shopify and Klaviyo. She's also built an audience of over 19,000 followers on LinkedIn by sharing the good, the bad, and the very real behind-the-scenes reality of freelancing. We talk about how Lizzie moved from scrambling from project to project to building a sustainable roster of long-term clients, why relationships have become one of the most important parts of her business, and how she turns one-off projects into ongoing opportunities. We also dig into LinkedIn, referrals, the rise of AI, and why Lizzie believes people are becoming increasingly tired of generic AI-generated content. And because this is The Productive Freelancer, we get into what her working week actually looks like too: protecting her best writing hours, knowing her capacity, setting boundaries around evenings and weekends, fitting business growth around paying client work, and accepting that sometimes productivity simply means reprioritising. In this episode: Why relationships are everything in freelancing How to turn one-off clients into repeat clients How Lizzie keeps her network warm even when business is busy What helped her grow an audience of over 19,000 people on LinkedIn Why other freelancers can be one of your best sources of referrals What happened when several of her clients left to experiment with AI Why those clients ultimately came back What human writers can bring to content that AI can't replicate How Lizzie organises client work, content, admin, and business growth The "block method" she uses to understand her monthly capacity Why she no longer works evenings or weekends What overwhelmed freelancers should stop trying to do all at once If freelancing currently feels unpredictable, exhausting, or like you're constantly starting again from zero, this conversation is packed with practical ideas you can start applying to your own business - today! CHAPTERS: 00:00 Meet Lizzie Davey 01:16 How Lizzie became a freelance writer 03:47 From freelancing to a sustainable business 04:11 How to build a steady roster of clients 06:02 Turning one-off projects into repeat work 06:54 The networking habit that prevents feast or famine 07:39 How Lizzie grew to nearly 19K LinkedIn followers 13:15 Creating content for freelancers AND potential clients 15:09 What happened when clients replaced Lizzie with AI 18:43 What human writers can do that AI can't 22:46 How Lizzie organises client work, content and admin 24:31 Reprioritising when your week gets too busy 26:44 Boundaries, capacity and avoiding freelance burnout 29:50 What struggling freelancers should focus on first 31:42 Where to find Lizzie ********** The Productive Freelancer helps freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners manage their time, work more productively, deliver better work, and build sustainable businesses around real life. 🎙️ Got a question you'd like answered on a future episode? Email me at lauren@lkmcreative.com. I may feature your question in a future episode! 🎁 FREE DOWNLOADS + PRIVATE COACHING: https://www.theproductivefreelancer.com/ 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED PODCAST APP: https://theproductivefreelancer.podbean.com 📺 WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@productivefreelancerpodcast 💌 JOIN MY NEWSLETTER: www.lkmcreative.substack.com 💼 CONNECT ON LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurengouws 📸 FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/the_productive_freelancer/ 🎥 FOLLOW ON TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@theproductivefreelancer 💻 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheProductiveFreelancer
