PLANNING 2024

In this episode you’ll learn two ways to uncover your Word Of The Year, and learn my framework for setting 3 core business goals in 2023.

WORD OF THE YEAR

How do you want to feel next year?

All goals we set are really feelings we want to have. So make the feeling the word of the year. It’ll remind you that the end goal isn’t the REAL goal, the feeling is, and we can create that feeling in more ways than one rigid end result we want to have.

What is your top desire in your business?

What is one thing you’re struggling with that is in the way of that goal, and why? The why can be your word of the year.

When setting business goals for the new year, it’s all too easy to set goals that aren’t actually ours.

Sometimes, we set goals based on other people’s expectations of us.

Or what society says we should aim for.

Or what our competitors are doing.

Or what we think we should do or want.

But if you want to live a life that truly makes you happy and run a business that fulfills you, you have to be intentional with your goals. You have to bravely shut out the world’s expectations of you and focus on what you want. You have to ignore what your competitors are doing and ask yourself what you really want to do.

So a brand new year is here!! And I don’t know about you, but a new year always prompts me to ask myself… should I raise my prices?

I have a secret that, when revealed on my Instagram Story a while ago, blew peoples mind.

Ready for it?!

I only work 3 days a week.

Yep! But here’s where it gets interesting…

I make more money working 3 days a week than when I worked 5 days a week.

If you’re curious how I made that happen, listen to this episode using the player above or read this episode below!

We’ll cover exactly how I made sure my profits went up even though my work hours went down, how you can do the same thing, the planners I use to help me be super productive on the days I do work, and so much more. 

The one thing we creative entrepreneurs dread is having zero clients. 

Nada. No payments coming in, no work to keep us busy, no solution to the bills that loom over our heads.

This is an especially big fear for new freelancers or side hustlers who want to start freelancing full-time. They're used to their steady income each month, so the prospect of worrying about money when they begin freelancing scares them to death.

The fear of 0 clients also hits experienced business owners-- hard. When you've been working for yourself for years and suddenly hit a slow stage where clients are hard to come by, imposter syndrome sets in and you start to feel like you're not good enough to run a business.

Is your business going through a slow stage? 

Maybe you've just started out, set up your website, created your packages, got yourself on social media aaaaand.... crickets. No one is inquiring about working with you. 

Or maybe you've been freelancing for a while and you've survived until now on referrals- but you suddenly have no clients booked for next month onward. Relying on referrals has always worked for you. How come it isn't working now??

I've been there; I know how you feel. 

You're worrying about how you're going to pay your bills next month.

You're looking at the freelancers around you and you're burning with envy because they're booked six months in advance and they seem like they're always in demand. What are they doing that you're not?

You're wondering if there's something wrong with your website, your services or your portfolio. You're thinking, 'Is there something that's putting clients off??'

There is one major reason why most freelancers struggle to find clients: they don't have a marketing plan.

When you first started your business, you were probably excited about the prospect of doing something you love every day, right? I know I was. In my dreams, I saw myself designing all day, every day. I saw myself working on pretty colour palettes and beautiful logos for hours at a time, totally lost in my creative work. 

In reality, I quickly realized that I'd only be designing 30% of the time. The other 70% of my time had to go on marketing and admin. 

But here's the thing: I didn't like marketing very much.

When I heard the word 'marketing', I thought of sleazy salesmen. I thought I'd have to brag about my work and badger people to hire me.

It just didn't feel right to me. 

Remember a while ago when I wrote 5 ugly truths about being a freelance designer?

Well, today's email follows on from that. If you read those truths and thought "I can take that! I can push through those!" then HURRAY- freelancing is the right path for you. (I'm so excited for you!!)

You now know you're cut out to do this freelancing thing. But where do you go from here? How do you get started?

A lot of creatives who want to become freelance designers ask me:

What should be the first thing I do to kickstart my freelance journey?

What should I do before I start freelancing full-time?

How can I prepare to freelance full-time?

How can I give myself the best chance of succeeding at running my own business?

These are the kind of questions I love because it shows me that (A) you're serious about freelancing, and (B) you're SO serious, you want to make sure you have the best possible start.