Hey Reader, Hannah here :)

I've been in the VA and freelancing space long enough to watch the landscape shift in real time. And one pattern I see over and over again is that the people struggling to find clients are almost always looking in the wrong places...

...or in the right places, in the wrong way.

I just published a full blog post on this, 10 Places to Find High-Paying Freelance Work in 2026, and I want to share a few highlights here with you.

Here's what's working right now:

• LinkedIn: Not through the jobs tab, but through the feed. Founders are constantly sharing their challenges and hiring needs. Be visible, be human, and trust shows up before the sales call ever does.
• Niche communities: Facebook groups, Slack workspaces, Skool, Circle, masterminds. I know a podcast manager VA who joined a podcast coaching program (where her clients hang out) and booked herself out as a result.
• Referrals: One happy client can become ten. The most trusted hire is always the one who arrives already recommended.
• Direct outreach: Done generically, it's spam. Done with attention and a Loom video showing you've actually paid attention, it can work like a charm.
• Partner networks: A web designer who refers to a VA, a bookkeeper who refers to an OBM, a coach who refers to a project manager. A few strong relationships can completely transform your pipeline.

The bottom line: By the time an opportunity hits a public job board, you're often competing with hundreds of others for it. The people thriving in 2026 are the ones who are visible, connected, and easy to find when the right opportunity arises.

💡 Quick teaching nugget:

Most of these strategies- referrals, communities, outreach, LinkedIn- work because of trust. And trust builds faster (and compounds more quickly) when the person you're talking to immediately gets what you do and who you do it for.

Visibility without clarity is just noise. Clarity is what makes the visibility land.

Which brings me to something exciting happening tomorrow. 👇

I'm running a live masterclass, Niche Like a Pro, and I'd love for you to be there.

📅 Tomorrow, June 5th

⏰ 1 pm EST

We'll be working through my 3-layer framework (skills + market + values) to build a niche that actually attracts well-paying clients, without boxing you in or making you feel like you're shrinking yourself.

You'll walk away with a real positioning statement you can use immediately.

This is the missing piece that makes every single strategy in that blog post work better. I hope to see you there.

Hannah

PS. If you haven't read the full blog post yet, it's a good one: 10 Places to Find Clients in 2026 (That Aren't Just Job Boards). Worth bookmarking.

PPS. See you at the niching masterclass tomorrow!