Tag: quarterly check-in

How has 2017 gone for you so far? Has it been anything like you expected?

Now that we’re beginning the last quarter of the year, it’s time to start thinking about where we want our careers to go in 2018 — and doing the work that will help us get there.

It’s time for our third quarter check-in.

1. How much money did I earn this quarter?

Between July 1 and September 30, I earned $18,700 in freelance income and received $21,097.37 in freelance payments. (As you might remember from my Q2 check-in, I ended the second quarter with some money owed me.)

I also received $657.80 in ebook and paperback sales for my self-published debut novel, The Biographies of Ordinary People. I’ve made $1,214.65 in total sales, but the payments don’t arrive right away.

My total freelance income for 2017 (not counting book sales) is $50,241.12. I’m a little over $5,000 ahead of my $5K monthly income goal, and that’s before you factor in what I’m earning from my novel.

2. What was the best thing I did for my freelance career this quarter?

I wanted to spend the summer earning as much money as I could, and I did.

In Q2, I started writing for Lifehacker and was invited to take on some new responsibilities at The Billfold, where I’m currently a Senior Editor.

This additional work meant that I was earning more money, but I was also putting in more than 40 hours of work each week. That’s okay for a short-term sprint, but I didn’t want it to become a full-time workload — so I knew I would have to make some changes in the fall.

3. What was my biggest mistake (or, what am I going to do differently next quarter)?

After earning more money in Q3, I had planned to spend Q4 cutting back on the number of assignments I accepted so I could focus on a few core clients, earn my monthly $5K and spend the rest of my time revising my second novel.

However, I’m already finding out that Q4 will be a little different than anticipated. Which brings me to the next question:

4. What do I want to achieve as a freelancer next quarter?

Like many freelancers who are at this stage of their career, my answer is “launch a project  I can’t talk about yet.” Right now I am working with people on a long-term project that, if it is successful, will help both my career and my income. If that sounds really vague, I’m sorry — trust me, I’ll tell you all about it if/when it happens.

I can say that I am not undertaking this project alone; nor is it designed to just benefit me.

Although “freelancer” is often synonymous with “solopreneur,” I’m lucky to be in the position where I get to work with other talented people towards a shared goal. It’s one of the benefits of having five years of experience working in the freelance and publication industry.

I’m also revising my second novel with the goal of self-publishing it in May 2018. So… this quarter is going to be pretty busy!

5. What steps am I taking to get there?

Remember that post I wrote about time-blocking? I’ve blocked off time for my clients, time for my projects and time for my novel revisions.

Yes, this means I’ve had to say no to some other opportunities. I am well aware that I could be making a little extra money each month that I am turning down in order to pursue these bigger goals — and to keep my workload as close to a 40-hour week as possible.

Part of me feel anxious about saying no to paying gigs, because up to this point my freelance career has been about earning as much money as I can, every month. But I’m hoping that my work this quarter will help me achieve something that’s better for my career than a $200 article — and will help me earn even more money in the long run.

We still have three months until the end of the year, but I’m already thinking about 2018 — what I might be working on, how much I might be earning and how I can continue to grow as a freelancer and an author.

2017 has been an unpredictable year in many aspects; I barely hit my earnings goal in Q1, got a bunch of new responsibilities in Q2 and hustled for more money in Q3. Now it’s time to spend Q4 building what might come next — and, of course, keeping up with my daily freelance and editing work!

So I’ll turn it over to you: ask yourself these same five check-in questions and, if you feel comfortable, share your answers in the comments. How has Q3 gone, and what are you looking forward to in Q4?

We’re halfway through the year, which means it’s time for another Quarterly Check-In.

(Did you all pay your quarterly estimated taxes last month?)

I’m going to ask myself the same five questions I asked last quarter — and I hope you’ll take the time to answer these questions as well.

1. How much money did I earn this quarter?

Between April 1 and June 30, I earned $16,386.34 in freelance income and received $11,799.83 in freelance payments. Yes, that means I have a little over $4,500 owed me, and most of it will hit my bank account in July.

I also earned $684.42 in book sales. My debut novel, The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 1: 1989–2000, published on May 23. I haven’t received any of the book income yet, but that will start paying out in July as well.

So far, my total 2017 freelance income (not counting book sales) is $31,541.12. That puts me $1,541.12 above my $5,000/monthly income goal. I’m going to continue to earn above my monthly income goal during the third quarter of 2017; right now, my total anticipated income for July, August and September is just over $20,000.

In my last Quarterly Check-In, I wrote that I wanted to earn more money during Q2 2017 — and I did. A small percentage of that income came from pitching to new clients. A larger percentage of that income came from a new client inviting me to write for them. The largest percentage of that income, however, came from a current client offering me more responsibilities and a pay raise.

2. What was the best thing I did for my freelance career this quarter?

Arguably, the best thing I did for my freelance career this quarter was maintain my reputation.

“Maintenance” sounds like a passive action, and it is, but it derives from consistently delivering high-quality work on time and being available to clients and editors. (Also, although it goes without saying, remaining pleasant and positive during work interactions.)

When Lifehacker reached out to me and asked if I’d like to start writing for them, it was because I had already established myself as the kind of person who could do the work they needed. (If you read my Write Life article about time blocking, you know that I’m all about lifehacks.)

When The Billfold asked if I’d like to take on additional editorial responsibilities, it was because I had already spent three years writing for them, moving up the ranks from freelancer to contributor to senior editor.

The other important thing I did this quarter was expand my reputation — or, if you’d prefer, my brand.

By adding “debut author” to my list of accomplishments, I now have another way to earn money, build an audience and grow my career. I don’t plan to stop freelancing any time soon, but I do plan to continue writing and publishing fiction. Over the next few years, I’d like my novels to become as well-known — and well-read — as my freelance byline.

3. What was my biggest mistake (or, what am I going to do differently next quarter)?

I’m actually thinking two quarters ahead right now, since I am more than fully booked for July and August and will likely be fully booked for September. In addition to the new responsibilities I’ve picked up at Lifehacker and The Billfold, I’m going to be completing a few one-off client projects — including one for The Write Life — that will push my workload past my ideal 40 hours/week goal.

So I’m hoping I can work a lot of hours this summer, including doing publicity for The Biographies of Ordinary People, and then scale back to 40 hours/week in the fall.

In terms of mistakes I made last quarter, most of them involve my book launch, which wasn’t as streamlined or cost-effective as it could have been. I’ve been taking notes on where I’ve been wasting both money and energy, and plan to make some adjustments when I self-publish and launch The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 2: 2004–2016 in 2018.

4. What do I want to achieve as a freelancer next quarter?

I want to complete all of my assigned projects on time, earn that $20,000 and continue to promote my novel. I’m not planning on seeking out any new clients or opportunities; as noted above, my schedule is fully booked and I’ll more than achieve my income goal.

By Q4 2017, I’ll have finished my one-off projects and will be mostly done with book publicity. I should be ready to go back to my usual 40 hour/week workload while still earning my monthly income goal.

But, as we know with freelancing, anything could happen. I’ve been in this business for five years, and I still can’t predict who my next big client will be or which publications might invite me to take on additional work. I just have to keep doing the best work I can, building my reputation as a freelancer and hoping that my writing attracts both clients and readers.

Now it’s your turn. Ask yourself these same five questions and, if you feel comfortable, share your answers in the comments. Where do you want to be at the end of the third quarter of 2017 — or at the end of the year? How are you going to get there?

How has your freelance business gone this year?

Are you earning what you hoped to be earning? Are you analyzing what you’re doing right and what you could do better? Do you have any goals for the next three months?

Believe it or not, we’re already in the second quarter of 2017 — which means it’s time for our first Quarterly Freelance Check-In.

I’ve put together five check-in questions and answered each of them below, and they really helped me clarify what I need to do career-wise in the next three months.

As you read about my challenges and goals, think about your own — because I’m going to ask you the same five questions.

1. How much money did I earn this quarter?

This quarter, I earned $15,070.04 in freelance income, of which $14,555.25 has currently hit my bank account.

These earnings meet my $5,000/month income goal, but just barely.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, I earned over $10K per month thanks to a big, high-paying project. Now that the project has completed, going back to $5K/month is a significant income adjustment.

It wasn’t just the project completion that halved my earnings. One of my clients no longer needed me as a freelancer — it was a budget thing, and we ended on good terms — and I stopped getting monthly Patreon income after I finished the draft of my novel. (If you haven’t yet read the story of how I used crowdfunding platform Patreon to fund the draft of my forthcoming novel, you should.)

So I had some expected income losses as well as some unexpected losses this quarter. I still hit my bottom-level income goal, but I didn’t exceed it. At all.

2. What was the best thing I did for my freelance career this quarter?

I’m deep into production, marketing and promotion for my forthcoming novel, so I’d like to think that the best thing I did for my freelance career this quarter was hold steady.

I knew going into 2017 that I’d spend the first six months hugely focused on my book, which meant that it wouldn’t be a good time to take on a brand-new anchor client.

Building a strong relationship with a new group of editors takes more time and energy than maintaining a strong relationship with your current editors, so I elected to stay focused on my current clients — and on my novel — instead of adding the work of finding and building a relationship with a new client.

3. What was my biggest mistake (or, what am I going to do differently next quarter)?

My biggest mistake was not realizing how much a $5,000/month income might set me back. I’ve lived on $5,000/month before. At one point it was an income stretch goal.

However, things have changed for me in the past few years:

• I moved from a tiny studio apartment with no kitchen into a one-bedroom apartment, and my rent increased by $320 per month. (I currently pay $995/month in rent.)

• I got out of credit card debt and never want to get back into it again. Putting items I can’t afford on credit cards is no longer an option.

• I changed CPAs and now set aside 25 percent of my income for taxes, instead of 20 percent. (I always got huge tax bills at the end of the year when I saved 20 percent, so it’s not like I didn’t need that money for taxes.)
• I want to put 15 percent of my income in savings, not the 10 percent I had been previously saving.

• I’ve opened up a Roth IRA and want to make the maximum contribution every year.

• The basic costs of living have gone up slightly. My health insurance premium, for example, costs $82 more than it did in 2014.

So $5,000/month doesn’t feel like “enough” for me anymore. It feels like the kind of income that is going to prevent me from investing in myself and my career.

4. What do I want to achieve as a freelancer next quarter?

I want to earn more money.

$5,000 per month meets my basic income needs, but it doesn’t allow for a lot of growth, either personal or professional.

With more income I could justify going to more writers’ conferences, for example. I could also save more money, spend more time visiting friends, and buy a new sofa to replace the saggy, uncomfortable Ikea model I currently have in my apartment.

The trick is to balance my income needs with my available work time. Last year, I had a very balanced work schedule and I’d like to maintain that. During the first quarter of 2017, I had a little more space in my workday; the goal for the second quarter of 2017 is to fill just that space — and no more — with the highest-earning projects possible.

I’d like to increase my income by $1,000-$1,500 each month, and I’d like to do it by taking on just two more projects each month. That would give me both the income — and the balance — to live comfortably.

5. What steps am I taking to get there?

I’ve started reaching out to some of my highest-paying clients to either pitch additional articles or express interest in taking on more work. Ideally, these clients will have a few extra pieces I can take on and this problem will be solved.

Right now I’m focusing on clients with whom I’ve already established a relationship, rather than cold-pitching new clients.

If those clients don’t have additional work for me, I’ll reach out to a few clients who have expressed interest in the past, but whom I’ve had to turn down because of time constraints. If those clients don’t have work, then it’s time to reach out to my network and start figuring out who’s hiring.

Now it’s your turn! Are you ready to tackle the check-in questions?

Take the time to think about your own answers — and if you feel comfortable, share them in the comments.

The more specific we get about what we want and how we’re going to go after it, the more likely we are to achieve our freelancing goals.