Tuning In to True Wealth: Optimizing Your Freelance Business
I recently started reading The Wealthy Freelancer and the book is chock full of fabulous information and ideas. It’s got me mulling over the way I do business, and how I can improve my freelance operation.
The book is not just about building a financially viable business; it’s about achieving true wealth, which includes living the lifestyle you want.
Realizing What You Want out of Freelancing
For the past few years since I started freelancing full-time, I was so focused on making money and staying afloat, so I never took the time to spell out what I wanted—I just kept going. Working. Making money. Enjoying what I do, but always wanting to do more of the things I wanted instead of working for clients I didn’t necessarily enjoy. Most people do this when they start—but if you’ve been freelancing for a while, it may be good to rethink what you want out of your business.
The authors of the book suggest answering four basic questions and writing down the answers in order to visualize what you want, and ultimately, attain it. When I read these questions and really thought about them, the “aha” button went off upstairs—most of what I’m doing isn’t aligned with what I want. So I need to make some changes. It started, ironically, with writing down answers to these questions.
Moving Past “Just Staying Afloat”
This hit me hard because I have put in years of planning into my business, but like I said, was so busy on staying afloat to really hone in on what I want to do. I could write well and projects have continuously kept coming in, but I don’t spend the majority of my time doing the types of projects that I love. It’s okay when you’re trying to pay bills and you’re making it, but for me, after a while, I wanted more. (But I don’t regret the past few years either, because I’ve completed a variety of projects and touched upon different types of copywriting for a multitude of industries.) So now that I have a strong background, it’s time to tune in to what I really want…and you can too!
Many freelancers didn’t intend on starting their businesses, so don’t feel bad if you don’t have everything mapped out. Now that you have some experience, it’s a good time to really think about and clarify what you want. You can mull things over in your head, but if you write it down, it will help you to make the changes you want happen. Pin up your answers or put them in a place you’ll see them often to stay reminded about what matters most.
The Wealthy Freelancer Worksheet
One of the tools that was super-helpful to me was the book’s worksheet, which asks four simple questions to help you define what you really want out of your life as a freelancer.
- The types of projects I want…
- The types of clients I want…
- The income I want to earn for my project work…
- The lifestyle I want for my freelance business…
Looks pretty simple, right? Wrong! Sit down and take some time to respond to these questions. Think about your business. Some of us, like me, don’t really do this too effectively. I have always kept what I wanted in mind but never really articulated it. Now that I have, I feel like I am working closer to get exactly what I want out of freelancing.
You may find that you are in check with the things that you want…great! But if not, hopefully checking in and answering these will help recalibrate your freelance business and bring you greater wealth. Whether it’s money, more time for family, or more opportunities to do the things you like, building true wealth begins with these four questions.
Sure, I will still complete projects I don’t necessarily enjoy. But doing this exercise has helped me redeploy my energy on projects I love and spend less time on the projects that I don’t like as much. To me, that’s huge progress.
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Very nice article, well written and totally applicable.
Great article! This came at a perfect time for me. I’m a web designer, and find myself often in that same boat of getting by, but nothing more. Projects are always rolling in, but there is a small leap of faith required to get from good to great. I appreciate the encouragement, and I believe that I’ll take your suggestion and post my goals somewhere visible.
Looks like a great book. Nice and fresh too, just came out. I just ordered it. I thought it was going to cost alot more too – must be that price because it’s new. So new it’s not even in stock yet! Thanks for the tip.
Look’s like a neat read, I’m going to try that questionnaire myself sometime this week when there’s downtown between university and clients :p
Great article. I’m always thinking about what I need to do to try and work harder at what little freelancing I do. This article got me thinking that I should plan out what I hope to accomplish, like a business plan, but not as detailed. Perhaps sit down and figure it all out before I try to delve straight into it.
Great article! It’s always good to state your objectives and have goals that keep you motivated and driven. Freelancing isn’t the easiest way to draw a paycheck, but it can certainly be rewarded if you’re determined to succeed.
Good post I like the freelancer worksheet.
Great article, Kristen. I just finished this same book this weekend, and it is excellent. I’m still working through the answers to those 4 questions, but confident it will help me get to the next level. Today I implemented one of the other handy tips, the 50-minute focus. Originally from Dean Jackson, the idea is to dedicate 50 minutes of pure focus and reward yourself with a 20-minute break afterwards. I did 4 separate 50-minute sessions with no email, no phone, and was amazed at the progress I made on several projects. Plus the breaks were most welcome! I highly recommend this book to both newbies and more seasoned freelancers.
Thanks, Mary! Glad to hear you found the book useful. I have to agree with you on the 50-minute focus. My productivity shot up 30% immediately upon implementing this. Which is hard to believe at first because the system is so simple! Many of my days are a series of 50/20/50 sessions. And yes, the breaks are awesome! That’s actually when I get my reading done (something I had a hard time fitting into my schedule before).
Sounds like a great book, Kristen, and one I’ll be checking out. Those four question would be really hard for me to answer. I’m still trying to plan out my business and am having a hard time nailing down which way I want to go. Great post!
Great article Kristen!
I will have to read this book sometime because I have been questioning what exactly do I want from freelancing. At this point in time, I have no financial worries, but I feel like I still need freelancing one way or another. I will have to write out the answers to those questions sometime and figure out what I really want to do.
Kristen – Thanks for the kind words about our book. So glad to hear it helped you get clear and refocused.
I truly believe that taking a step back and looking at your freelance business strategically 3 or 4 times a year can have a MASSIVE impact on your income and level of happiness. We believe that a “wealthy” freelancer is someone who consistently gets the clients, projects, income and quality of life they want. You can have all four of these — it’s not a trade-off. And asking yourself the tough questions a few times a year is the first step to getting you to that level.
Great tips. My copywriting business could use a little boost and I look forward to reading the book. I just got my copy today and plan to dive into it tonight! I know a couple people who would benefit from the advice as well. Very timely book that fills a great need!
As someone who is just starting off on a freelance career, I found the information in this post very helpful. Also, the 50-20-50 rule is something I will be trying. I do find endless emails and phonecalls coming in slow things down for me. I’ll definitely be getting this book.
That’s exactly what this book was for me, Maureen–a boost. Not even so much the book in what it said, thought that was great, but just having it and reading about the concept of it (and doing the exercises) made me more conscious about what I want. Great book!
Thanks Kristen, these are good points.
To me it was a huge revelation couple years ago that my business was just floating, I was doing ok but at the same time I didn’t know where I was going.
I worked that out and headed in that direction.
My business grew since then but funnily enough only couple of days ago we realized that we need to look at our business again as we feel we diverted from our initial plan.
So I guess the trick is to ask yourself those 4 questions you mention regularly, not just once and forget about them.
I can’t wait for my copy to reach me. Shipping to India takes forever!
what a great book! I want it!
It is very true that if you never physically write down your goals that you will nver achieve them, or even understand them for that matter. I have my own freelance business that I started about 12 months ago, however I still don’t have a clear path that I want to follow to success. Taking heed from this article I am going to sit down and plan my future and answer some very important questions.
I bought this book about 3 days ago. I’ve been savoring it ever since. This will probably become my bible for the next year.
Truly recommended for any freelancer, whether starting-off or well off.
Love this article. A lot of freelancers I know never get past the “Just staying afloat” stage. They didn’t even know that it exists and they are in it. It’s all “work and earn money” for them. Sometimes I feel that doing things I don’t exactly like takes the “free” out of freelancing. It’s like I’m forced to these things because I need to stay afloat. And this is clearly not a lifestyle that I want.
Awesome point, Sheng!!
Really good article… It’s interesting to see that many freelancers share the same path. You actually described my current situation: lots of work but quite boring projects. So there’s light at the end of the tunnel
Cheers!
My best tip is to keep your prices low! Sounds ironic, but I spend a lot of time researching all my competition on Google and then beating their prices and showing it off with guarantees that I will beat any other agency’s written price. After I started this guarantee I have been swarmed with customers and even though I’m making less, if I can get the job done quickly then I’m fitting in more jobs.
Sure fire way to get your sales cranking, your name into the public, your portfolio updating and more of an impact to a great income. I’m earning more than I ever did before.
Thank Kristen, looks like a book I’ll be eating up.
I’m relatively new to the freelancing business (the hubby and I are currently exploring the underbelly of the US and Canada in our Winnebago, Walter –http//:whereswalter.ca). We’re letting life bump us along, but having fun without any proverbial water wings.
I’m still learning a great deal about the industry, but the most important thing I gleaned over the last six months is to treat your client as a partner. We know design and content strategy. Our partner knows its business. Instead of being a company that provides a service (aka pay me minimum wage and demand animated GIFs and Comic Sans on a site that had so much potential), we work as a team. We educate you about the purpose and steps of the design process. You educate us about your business. We explore the problems together, and this prevents you, our partner from ‘solutioneering’ (http://lt10.ca/1t). The site becomes an investment for us and we foster credibility and trust by being equals. Partners.
Not service providers.
So far, it’s working well for us.
Cheers!
thanks for the article, i’m gonna buy and read the book.
These are great ways to help build a successful freelance business! I will keep these tips in mind.
I really want to say “THANK YOU” for these tips. I know I’m on the right path now and way closer to my life long dream then ever before!