My Freelancing Income Breakdown

Earlier today I published a post that talked about my epic $6000 month and the takeaways I learned form that month. I thought it would be helpful to share my income trajectory (crazy highs and crazy lows) and discuss what I’ll be doing from now on. This is my freelancing income breakdown and I hope it’s helpful to people who are thinking about freelancing.

I also published a post about the moment where you have to decide between quitting and committing. I’ve decided to “commit” to this new way of making money for several reasons-let me list them for you. Ahem.

• I used to work 80+ hours a week plus commuting time. While I was paid well, I didn’t receive a raise for almost 4 years after the Great Recession. My hours went up-but my income didn’t. Then, when I did receive a raise it was the equivalent of getting .25 cents an hour. Seriously. I even wrote a post about it.

• I like the intellectual challenge of figuring out the “freelancing game.” I don’t want to give up on this until I feel I’ve ROCKED IT. I don’t believe I’ve given this process enough time and focus to get the results that I’m looking for.

• The income upside (of course there’s a downside) I like the fact that typically your efforts in freelancing over time match in income.

• When I’m done with a project or client I can move on. Or, if a client is a bad fit-we can move on amicably and we don’t have to deal with each other anymore. Unlike the students that I worked with at the university. I actually really liked most of them. However, there were a few that were with us for YEARS that I had to deal with. It made me crazy.

• Dealing with fewer people, no commute, my house is cleaner, I’m relaxed, lost weight,  have a social life, and get to see my mom. I think this sums everything up nicely.

Income Breakdown

How Do I Feel About This Breakdown?

I feel very good about the fact that I was able to rock my initial income goal. All freelancers (I think) experience both highs and lows in income. Given that I did give myself an audacious goal which was to start freelancing basically from scratch-I think I kicked a@@. For those of you who are new to my blog I was suffering from epic burnout before I quit my job. In fact, the few freelance gigs that I did pick up weren’t executed as well as I think they should have been because I just didn’t have the energy to rock them out. I went to Australia and rested with the goal of starting freelancing when I returned. I would not recommend this path for everyone but this is what I chose to do for me.

My Initial Freelancing Focus:

February-August

• Administrative projects, social media management, and I randomly ended up editing a podcast.

• Side Hustles

• No freelance writing. I’ve begun to focus on this literally this last week. (September).

My Initial Process:

Umm, I pitched my a@@ off! Seriously, I pitched every single day and I didn’t take a break. I pitched Monday-Sunday Period. When I stopped actively pitching (basically…in May) my income started to drop as client hours dropped, changes in clients, or moving on from clients. If you pitched as much as I did you can’t help but hit a number of home runs. I was averaging around 105 pitches a week. I was very serious about making this work.

Then,  I got distracted. I got distracted by the constant peaceful feeling I had. I got distracted by all of the time that I had…to myself, to hang with friends, to clean my house, basically to live.

Summer Rocked-My Income Didn’t

So, how was my first freelancing summer? In terms of my life and professional endeavors-it was epic!

• Started dating again (nothing serious will share stories later!)

• Lost weight-am still in the process but my friends have commented on it.

• I am so happy all the time. I’m pretty freakin’ high on life. Not the other stuff-I don’t smoke even though it’s legal in Colorado. Other people’s pot money is my travel money.

• Reconnected with my friends.

• Depression is GONE.

• The Shop My Closet Project is growing very nicely and I launched my podcast Girl Gone Frugal.

• I have begun booking speaking engagements and will be on a panel at the Type A Parent Conference in Atlanta in October and on a panel and speaking separately at Chicago Blog Week in November (my first paid gig).

• My Mastermind Group (that I still met with when I was in Australia) is amazing and several of us will be presenting the Mastermind Panel at FinCon15. I won’t be speaking but we’ve been working furiously to create an amazing experience for FinCon attendees.

• Learned to drive and got a great car for cash!

My Income and the 2 Big Mistakes I Made

Please don’t make these 2 mistakes!

• I stopped tracking my income-I had regular pay periods from all of my clients so money was flowing in…until it wasn’t. I wasn’t tracking my income and I wasn’t tracking my side gigs or side hustles. If I had, I would have noticed when it began dropping. Please note: tracked income will grow because you will adjust your habits when income begins to drop. It’s just a no brainer. TRACK EVERYTHING. I spent this weekend going through my records to prepare for taxes, etc. I won’t this mistake again. Period.

• I stopped pitching-Sigh. It’s common sense that pitches=jobs. When you’re freelancing there may be some lag time between when you pitch and when you’re eventually hired. If you’re continuously pitching you will always have work flowing in.

Surprising Insight

The other reason why I didn’t I notice my income was dropping too low. I don’t spend money anymore. Basically, I killed all my consumption habits. I was able to do fun things for free, I didn’t need to buy household items because I already stocked up last year and I’m still working through my amazing pantry haul. I hacked my soda stream and I had a garden. I was in a good place. My entertainment needs were taken care of and I as able to take classes for free too. I just don’t spend money in the way that I did before. Also, I worked very hard for the past 3 years cutting my monthly expenses.

Here is a list of what I do now:

• For clothes-Use what I have or redeem my Thredup.com credits (affiliate link). Get $20 in credits when you sign up with my link 🙂

• Seltzer water-I use my Kitchenaid Soda Stream that I got for $20. I also purchased 2 refillable CO2 containers with my $200 amazon gift card that I won last week!

• Transportation-I walk, ride my bike, or will be driving my car (when I get my license)

• I plan my meals and grocery shop once a week.

• I’m now on a cash budget

So, my habits are so much better. The next thing that I noticed about freelancing and working projects is the following.

You Become Faster 

I am able to do all of my work much faster than before. I have a feel for what I’m doing and that’s why I am currently switching to value based projects-no more hourly. I want to work like crazy. I love the intellectual challenge of the process of connecting with a potential client and seeing if we can make work happen.

Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

Begin pitching again ASAP. I have also begun to focus on freelance writing this month. I have invested in a service that I believe will help me get some great leads as I focus on making money in this sphere.

Long-Term Goals

I’ve never really talked about my long-term business goals…I like to keep stuff close until I’m 100% committed to an idea or believe I can make something happen. I believe that I can make this happen and a lot of the goals that I’ve set for myself are starting to come together.

Here we go:

• Grow Passive Income-As my blog continues to grow I see this as a realistic goal to focus on.

• Begin working with brands-I will begin actively connecting with brands to see if there are sponsorship opportunities to be had.

• Grow my non-existent freelance writing business (contact me: shopmyclosetproject@gmail.com)

• Grow My Speaking Brand-I love to talk, and I love to talk to people. I will continue to seek opportunities to speak at conferences, to groups, and to corporate clients.

• Grow Girl Gone Frugal and seek appropriate sponsors for that podcast.

• Colorado Luv Hub-My site about..uhh…Colorado. I have FINALLY, FINALLY, figured out the direction I’m going to take that site. There are a lot of opportunities to ethically monetize it and-I have a podcast for it too that I’ve already recorded episodes for. Will be editing those and having them go live in September.

• Rock My Income and Pay Off My Debt-Finally. I’m done with this. I just am no longer interested in being indebted. And, I no longer am afraid to welcome wealth and prosperity into my life. I’ve worked my a@@ off and it’s my time now. Boom.

Apparently, I’m going to be working like crazy. But, I’m doing this work already. Now, I have a very clear focus and I know what I want and I’ve eliminated all of the freaking distractions.  Now, all I need to focus on is work and debt. Those are the two pending items on my list.

Time To Get It Done

How did I get into freelancing for myself? I started a blog, I changed my life, and imagined more for myself. It hasn’t been easy but I’m making it happen. If you’re interested in starting a blog check out my post on How To Start A Blog, Change Your Life, and Find Your Tribes. I use Bluehost and if you click on my affiliate link you can host your blog for $3.49 a month. See How You Can Set Up a WordPress Blog in 15 Minutes Please note: I may receive some compensation if you use purchase a package through this link.

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Michelle

I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.

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