Hello Fellow Freelancer,
The end of the year brings on lots of reflection. Did I achieve what I have planned? Where this year has brought me personally and professionally?
I don't have a habit of making resolutions at the end of the year, but
I do make a wish at midnight on the 31st of December - a tradition that we have in our family. Believe it or not, all these wishes came true. I can't tell whether it is a divine providence or hard work though. Some wishes were not work related, but about family and friends health and wellbeing. This year at midnight on 31st of December, I will make a big wish:
to have peace in this world. For the sake of my family, your family, all families in the world, for the sake of everyone's wellbeing.
When we look back at what we were able to achieve in a year we have to look at it in perspective. I had to slow down my business and was active 1/3 of the time. Do I feel like I was underperforming? Yes. Did I feel bad about it. Yes, but just for a second. The rest of the time was dedicated to my family.
Something I am truly enjoy doing now. And I feel great about it.As I was trying to figure out my best working schedule, I run a poll on
FBC Instagram about how many days freelancers work and how many days would they like to spend working.
54% said they would like to work 4 days, 23% would like to work 3 days, but
78% actually work the full week (5 days).
55% shared that this is because they have too many clients and projects, 36% answered that they are lacking organisation. Some responded that this is for financial reasons, another person said it is because of kids.
And here is what I have to say:
- To the 55% that have too many clients that make you so busy, the tip is very simple: raise your prices and free up some time for yourself. For a dose of inspiration, you may want to rewatch this video of Luk Smeyers.
- To the 36% that are still not organised: get your sh*t together in 2023 and ...free up the time for yourself. Karen Visser may give you that kick in the butts. You can find more of inspirational talks on your YouTube.
The best way to realise where you can improve is to connect with others and hear how they do things.
Betoobe is throwing a mega offer: you can join their masterminds group
for free until the end of the year (750 EUR value) and participate in their highly productive masterclasses. Reach out to
Jean-Paul Delmeire for more information if you are eager to start a new life as of next year. As Jon Younger nicely pointed out
in this article "freelancer success is meaningfully increased when helped by a more experienced colleague". Don't be a stranger, find your tribe.
A few other things for you to read during the holidays:
And while you are reading this,
I am doing to finalise the 2nd edition of the Freelance Business Book - another crowdsourced piece of wisdom, based on the takeaways from the Freelance Business Month. BTW, you still can access
the replays from the event and the best part is that we are opening the top sessions from past editions too.
Enjoy the rest and have a great holiday season when it comes!
p.s. If you are a commercial organisation, scroll below for the end-of-the-year offer to boost your visibility. As always, hit
reply and let me know what you think or suggest topics for next newsletter.
Regards,
Elina
