My 3 Year Freelancaversary!

Today is my 3 year freelancaversary! 

While there are lots of things I still haven’t done, there’s also been a lot of wins and a lot of reasons that I should treat myself to some new shoes and/or Connoisseur Vanilla Caramel Brownie (depending on how many invoices have been paid). 

But most of all there’s been A LOT OF LEARNINGS. (Note: ‘learnings’ is a fun, non-harsh way to say ‘mistakes’. Also a professional way to say ‘oh crapballs’.) More than mistakes, it’s just things I’ve learnt along the way that I think will help others. 

Here are my top learnings – from me to you.

You are skilled enough. 

Ever been paid to do what you do in any capacity? Then listen up: YOU ARE SKILLED ENOUGH. 

It’s not uncommon for us to move from big-paying jobs to freelancing then suddenly completely undervaluing ourselves and think: ‘why would a client pay me for this?’. Er, because someone else did! I fell into this mindset and it was a big flopping waste of time. 

SO say it with me now: I am skilled enough. I got this. Maccas chicken nuggets are the best. (Repeat.)

You’re a small business owner. Welcome!

This one took me a LONG time. I would say ‘I don’t own a business! I’m just a freelance writer!’. Newsflash: they the same thing. 

Why did it take me so long? Who knows! Maybe because I didn’t think I could be a biz owner. But I am. I find my own work, I get myself paid, I do my own taxes and income reports, I create my own website/content/[insert all the other things here]. 

If you’re a freelancer or a sole trader or any kind of self-employment: you ARE a small business owner. Own it. 

Get accounting software ASAP. 

Now this is one of the genius things I did do. It is SO worth the $25‒$60/month, (depending on what platform you choose). 

I use Rounded and it’s fantastic. It’s made for Aussie freelancers (meaning I can’t pay anyone from it or anything like that) but it factors in GST, creates invoices, tracks my income, expenses, generates reports, links to my bank feed – it honestly saves sooo much time (three o’s necessary). 

Invest in a platform early. Don’t spreadsheet it – trust me. 

Calculate your rates accurately. 

High chance your rates are too low – mine were!

Calculate standard base hour and day rates, but remember that often every client wants something a little different so you’ll need to adjust.  

Rate factors
For example, when you’re a writer, you’ll need to adjust rates to factor in:

• Time it takes PLUS TAX 

• Word counts (obviously a 1000 word blog costs more than 600)

• Rounds of edits (which can end up taking a bit of time with some clients)

• Research and/or interview time (if any)

• Ideation and topic development (again, ideas take time and creativity so if you’re doing it, it should cost more than if you’re given a detailed brief)

• How many added extras (i.e. if you’re writing the metadata, social media captions etc)

• IMMEDIACY FEE! (If the client comes to you late, wanting something ASAP – they gotta pay)

Some clients or companies may just commission at standard rates, but the majority of the time you have to calculate the value of your work and time – so make sure you do value it. It’s something I’m still learning to do too, but I've definitely gotten better at it. 

I also have some standard rates for key deliverables – e.g. blog posts. My base blog rate is $300 and it’s adjusted based on client needs from there. 

Not sure what to charge? 

• Ask other freelancers or professionals doing what you do (freelance writers in particular are a very helpful bunch)

• Got a friend or ex-colleague who works for a business that pays someone to do what you do? Ask them. (Be prepared to be surprised.)

• Google and read some standard rates reports 

Be your own PR, biz dev, and marketing dept.  

As mentioned: you ARE a small business owner which means you NEED to spend time on your business, on your own creative work, or building your brand or business – however you want to frame it, you gotsta do it. 

That could be spending an hour a day or putting a day aside each week to:

• Create content for your website, blog or Instagram 

• Send, research or develop pitches  

• Work on your business development strategy 

• Search job boards for work 

• Implementing tactics to get your name out there (like guest blogging, writing for medium or asking for referrals) 

As a freelancer, you are:

• PR Director – so you are responsible for maximising and building a positive brand presence. 

• Business Development Director – meaning you have to bring in work, clients and income revenues. 

• Marketing Director – and need to execute campaigns to sell yourself and your services to your target audience.

It’s a lot of hats – but don’t worry, you look cute in hats.  

Brand your deliverables.

Make sure that ANYTHING you’re delivering – word doc, Google doc, powerpoint, deck, pitch, video, spreadsheet – has your logo or website on it. Those little brand reminders all add up. 

Remember: it’s not location, location, location anymore ‒ it’s branding, branding, branding. 

Create and use templates.

Templates save SO. MUCH. TIME. 

I have templates for strategies, insight reports, blog docs, content plans, content creation anything. If you have a client you write regularly for, create a doc template that’s formatted with yours and their branding, the date, headings and key elements. Then, each week or month, you simply duplicate the file and get going – no wasting your time with formatting. 

There are SO many potential clients. 

When I first started freelancing, I had this weird mindset and only reached out to brands and companies I knew – instead of just Googling any company that has a blog on topics that I can write about. 

Literally just Google small businesses in a topic, see if they have a blog and offer to write for them! Better yet, if they don’t, offer to start one! 

There are how many companies in the world?! There’s no way you can’t find wonderful clients within that bazillion willing to pay you and love you and shower you in accolades.  

Aim for 5-10 reg clients. 

Client’s needs change constantly. For instance: one client might need me to write a blog every week for a year, then suddenly the next week, they only need one per month. (Also meaning that suddenly I’ve lost ¾ of that client income.)

At first I had NO idea how many clients I needed and just tried to get as many as possible. (Spoiler alert: that was a terrible strategy and backfired BAD.) I’ve since found having five active clients – meaning I’m actively delivering regular work for them – with a few more in the pipeline in case some fizzle out is a good place to be in. 

Often they all come to you at once, needing things yesterday – fun! – but that’s the way to triple choc chip cookie crumbles. It’s just about ensuring you have enough in the pipeline to cover you if another project falls through. 

Set up a rainy day bank account. 

One thing you can be sure of: freelance work fluctuates. And invoices aren’t always paid promptly. (So you can actually be sure of two things.)

I’ll go from having so much work I can barely do it all, to having a week where I only have to deliver one thing and end up watching way too much Netflix. If you’re a social media manager or something in that arena, it might not be so up and down but I find that writing definitely fluctuates – meaning my bank account does too. 

My advice? Take the work when you can, appreciate the breaks when they come – and put money aside for a rainy day. (My ‘rainy day’ bank account is actually called ‘Fire’ – yes, I read Barefoot Investor – but it’s my saved buffer money for when I don’t have much coming in.)

Note: I would set up your ‘rainy day’ savings separately from your regular savings so that you don’t end up overspending from your savings if you need the buffer. (This is coming from someone who has no financial expertise – unless going from very much in debt to having a healthy bank account counts – but lots of bad financial experience.)

Go outside everyday.  

When working from home, it’s very easy to look down and then suddenly realise it’s 5pm and all you’ve done is walk from bed to the coffee machine to your desk. (In fact: I’ve done it right now!)

So go outside – either before you start work; work from a cafe or park a couple of times per week; take a lunch break. Just go outside, okay? Thanks. 

Lastly: remember why you started 

When overwhelmed, remind yourself why you did this and that you’re doing a good job. It’s hard but so rewarding and freeing – so make sure you take advantage of the benefits.

You’re not just ‘working from home’ – you’re running your own business, building your own brand, can set your own hours and schedule, work on more personal projects. Be sure you make the most of the benefits.  

If you’re scared of failing, just remind yourself that if worse comes to worse, you can always get a job – any kind of job. No matter what, you will be okay. 

From one freelancer to another: you got this. (And drink more water – I’ll be you haven’t had enough today.)