Deliberate Freelancer

If you’re like me, you’ve learned the hard way that if you don’t plan for January right now, you might have a very slow start to the new year.  A lot of places shut down between Christmas and New Year’s Day, which can make that a great time of year to take off from your freelance business — but it can also be a great time to catch up on work or work on your business,  But those last two weeks of the year are not usually a good time to reach out to clients. I highly encourage you to do that outreach now to ensure some income come January. I’ve said before that my best way to get new clients is through referrals. And while referrals work well for getting new clients, the easiest way for me to get new projects from existing clients is simply to email clients. In this episode, I share my very basic formula and some suggested email language for January outreach. I focus first on a top-tier group, my favorite clients to work with, and then a larger, broader group. I track it via a spreadsheet.  Another t

This week I’m excited to recap the third quarter of my business. Some great news first: I’m starting to feel like myself again, after a summer of grief and anxiety. Even before that, I was definitely languishing through the pandemic, and I’m not sure I’ve felt this great since before the pandemic—almost three years ago!  As for quarter three, you might have noticed there was no Q2 recap, in the midst of my horrible summer. So, I’ll mention it briefly here, as it relates to Q3.  In quarter two, I averaged working 26 hours a week and I exceeded my monthly goal. I spent the most time on non-income work: preparing for attending the AM&P Network AMPLIFY membership association conference in June; then on my new podcast, Association Station; followed by administrative work; work on this podcast; and doing networking and marketing.  In quarter three, I took four weeks off, but only one of those was a true vacation. I averaged 24 hours of work a week (this does not include those four weeks off), but I think that i

I have been at a client’s conference all week, so I wanted to share a previous episode that I hope you find it valuable. I originally recorded this episode in February 2020, but it’s definitely relevant today—we all need reminders from time to time on the importance of setting boundaries in your personal and work life.  In this episode, I aim to give you a mix of a pep talk, tactical advice on how to set boundaries, and actual language on what to say to people. I hope you find it helpful.  For the most part, I have figured out how to set boundaries. But I also admit I was quite lucky that when I started my freelance business, my family and friends understood that I was actually working throughout the day and that this wasn’t some hobby. I know some of you are not so lucky and have people occasionally bugging you to help them out with things or hang out with them during the day because you “of course you can’t be working.” Boundaries tell you and those around you what is acceptable, appropriate human be

Today’s guest is Erin Brenner, an editor in Massachusetts. Erin is the owner of the editorial services agency Right Touch Editing, which specializes in providing small and midsized organizations with writing and editing teams. Erin also offers training in writing and editing, particularly for editors and for professionals who write.  Today, Erin talks about how she is building a team of contractors for her editorial agency. I believe her advice and the lessons she’s learned will be helpful both to those of you who WANT to build a small agency from your solo business, as well as those, like me, who DON’T want to build an agency but sometimes want or need to partner with another freelancer on a particular project. In this episode, Erin dives into the details of how she finds and vets contractors, how she charges clients and then pays contractors, and how she onboards her contractors to represent her business well. She also talks about what you should consider before building a team and what challenges she

Today’s guest is Lauree Ostrofsky, who is a coach and speaker living in the Hudson Valley of New York state. Her business is called Simply Leap. Lauree’s clients are A-students and introverts wanting to feel more confident putting themselves out there in a bigger way, including in their own businesses.  Lauree has written two books: a happy how-to called “Simply Leap: Seven Lessons on Facing Fear and Enjoying the Crap out of Your Life,” and “I’m scared & doing it anyway,” about reinventing her own life after being diagnosed with a brain tumor at 28.  When Lauree was in the hospital with a brain tumor, she had an epiphany about how powerful humans are when we set our minds to something. She realized that while she couldn’t control this thing happening to her, humans do have some control over some aspects their lives even in hard times—the words we choose, the people we surround ourselves with. Lauree realized she wanted to help others recognize how powerful they are, so she decided to take a coaching certi

In the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group I asked listeners: What questions do you want to know about how I run my six-figure freelance business?  One listener replied: I know you achieve an incredible amount in a relatively short period of time. What’s the secret to this? Do you use a timer? Do you have to shut down distractions?  So, in today’s episode, I talk about self-discipline—how I achieve it, how I strive to achieve it and how I often fail at it.  I think self-discipline is critical to making it as a freelance business owner. My husband, also a business owner, likes to talk about the need to overcoming inertia and then building momentum from there.  Self-discipline is an executive function. It’s a cognitive process. Some people are fantastic at it. Some people have to work at it—or are great in some areas, not in others. And then some people are horrible at it and need to work on it first before they can achieve great things.  To achieve self-discipline, you need to first know what your business go

A recent “escape” or vacation, and big family news are both helping me get through this summer’s grief, languishing and brain fog. So, in today’s episode, I am thinking about ways we can learn to love our business again when we need a fresh start in business or in life.  I want to embrace this “fresh start” concept starting in October and for this final quarter of the year. You might not be ready for a fresh start right now. Maybe you’re doing fine or you’re in the middle of some struggle and don't, frankly, have the time to think about a fresh start at the moment. However, I think we all should consider a fresh start at various times in our business. Maybe for many of you that will just be organically in January as we get back from the holidays. Others of you might be in a similar boat as me, where you have that fresh start feeling after a big life change or maybe the end of a big contract or you have a revelation about your business.  Whenever the time is right for you, here are seven things to try out in y

In today’s episode, I talk about the power of finding and really zeroing in on your very specific niche and how that’s unique to you. I think there are a lot of benefits to knowing exactly what your niche is and not getting sidetracked by other work—getting to the point where you turn down other work and not just say “yes” because someone asked you to work for them. Today’s conversation is actually from November 2021. At that time, fellow writer Austin Church invited me to speak about niches as part of his fantastic virtual masterclass event. The conversation you hear today was originally a video conversation we had during that masterclass.  Austin lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. He helps e-commerce founders stand out online with their brand strategy, and he also coaches freelance creatives. He first came on Deliberate Freelancer in May 2021. Scroll down for the link to that episode.  Although technically Austin is interviewing me today, it’s really a back-and-forth conversation, with Austin also sharin

Today’s guest is Sabrina St. Peter, founder of SmartSpark Business Solutions, a bookkeeping firm that supports brand builders and storytellers, such as professionals in public relations, marketing and advertising. Sabrina, who is based in Chicago, is passionate about small businesses in every form—from the freelancer to agencies with multiple employees. Understanding that most people did not start their business to pour over their bookkeeping, SmartSpark Business Solutions launched in February 2020 to make bookkeeping simple. Sabrina and Melanie start off by talking about mindset and how we should think about our bookkeeping and finances. Being intimately familiar with your finances coming in and where that money is going will help your business grow more quickly than if you ignore it. Sabrina also talks about how to reframe financial situations. For example, you might be nervous to pay your quarterly taxes or hate “giving” away that money, but paying taxes means you earned a profit that quarter!  Sabrina sta

This week’s episode is unique in that it’s a cross-post episode. What that means is that I, Melanie, was invited on Hilary Sutton’s Hustle & Grace podcast recently. Not only does that episode debut on Hilary’s podcast this week, but I agreed to share it here on Deliberate Freelancer.  Hilary is a writer, speaker and consultant. And she has become a real-life friend who lives here in the DC area near me. I encourage you to check out her podcast for great interviews from entrepreneurs and other freelancers and consultants. So, the tables are turned and Hilary interviews me this week. In this episode I talk about: My career journey and why I left employment and became a freelancer. Tips on taking that leap into freelancing.  Why I launched Deliberate Freelancer.  Why I launched a second podcast, Association Station, this year—and how I used lessons from Deliberate Freelancer to make the creation process more efficient.  How podcasting has improved my business and built my community, in surprising way

Trigger warnings: pet death, pet euthanasia, pet illness, grief over the death of a loved one, anxiety, bike accident I’m back! Back from my extra-long summer hiatus—longer than I expected or planned for. In this episode, I explain why it took me so long to return and share the grief, anxiety and other mental health struggles I’ve been dealing with this summer.  If you are dealing with grief or anxiety or similar feelings, scroll down for some links to previous Deliberate Freelancer episodes that deal with these issues, including interviews with therapists. This, obviously, does not replace mental health counseling, and I am not an expert, but you might find these episodes soothing or helpful in dealing with your struggles.  I sought out a new therapist this summer who said something I couldn’t believe that I’d never heard before: Anxiety can be a symptom of grief. My cat’s death in April, it seems, was affecting me in multiple ways and leading to my newfound anxiety this summer. After a horrible summer 2022,

Deliberate Freelancer is on a summer hiatus and will return toward the end of July. Take this time to listen to some previous episodes or relisten to favorite guests! Or make a playlist of specific topics, like finding clients or financial tips.  The Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group will still be active during this time, so please join us over there for great conversations with other listeners. You can ask for advice and share your experiences.  Also, please consider supporting the show by telling your freelancer friends, sharing episodes on social media, and leaving a rating and review on the Apple podcast app.  You can also support this free podcast financially at Buy Me a Coffee. Resources: Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.

In April 2021, Jasmine Smith quit her full-time job to pursue freedom and creativity through self-employment. She is the Founder of SmithCo, an experiential marketing agency, and co-founder of Open Door Concept, a rental space centered around community, conversation and creativity in Washington, D.C. Motivated to share her experience and the experience of other Black entrepreneurs, Jasmine launched the podcast Built To Quit in February 2022. Jasmine centers both her life and business ventures around her personal pillars: builder, connector and human and is adamant about only doing work that’s in alignment with each of these areas.  Jasmine had had many side hustles and had been freelancing on the side for a year before she quit her job. She was burnout, exhausted and didn’t want to do some of the things she was being asked—like more sales work. Instead, she wanted to explore more of her side hustle work and have more freedom over her time and her work. As an employee, Jasmine was one of only about 5–7 Bla

Trigger warnings: pet death, pet euthanasia, pet illness, grief over the death of a loved one.   On April 25 my cat Bella died. We had to make the agonizing choice to humanely euthanize her. And I was heartbroken and full of guilt. But I still had a freelance business to run. So, how did I do that when I could not think or concentrate clearly?   In this episode, I share what led up to Bella’s death and how I coped in the immediate days after when I had several client commitments and deadlines. I also asked for advice on the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group and share some of that advice.   The six tips I learned and that we should all keep in mind when grief strikes:   Take time off. Ask for deadline extensions.   Recognize that you are going to work slower.   Get outside.   Do visualizations or meditations.   Reach out to people.   Honor your pet or the person who died.   Biz Bite: Make a to-do list of things that don’t earn your business any money.   The Bookshelf: “Bewilderment” by Richard P

Today’s guest is Susie Jackson, a finance and pricing mentor for freelancers from the U.K. Susie helps freelancers figure out how much to charge and how to manage the financial side of our businesses so we can earn a decent living doing what we love. Susie is also a freelance copy editor and a Spanish-to-English translator specializing in academic texts for the social sciences. Susie likes that she’s able to build her business around her energy levels. She also builds in one weekday per month to get out into nature, which is critical for her mental health. A few years ago Susie became a financial and pricing mentor. Her dad was in banking, so she grew up with healthy conversations and lessons about money. She began offering her “Charge with Confidence” group program in 2020. Susie doesn’t like the approach that many people take: setting their rates based on industry averages or what other people charge. There’s no guarantee that those rates will cover your needs, which can result in a feeling of helplessness

On today’s show, five Deliberate Freelancer listeners are sharing their tips. Specifically, they share the systems, processes and tools they use that have helped them create a successful freelance business.   Some of these listeners are previous guests. See the resources below for links to their previous guest appearances.   You will hear from: Amy Ragland Treasa Edmond Poornima Apte Danna Lorch Clare Hastings   I hope you find their experiences helpful!   Biz Bite: How to easily record phone calls   The Bookshelf: “Into the Drowning Deep” by Mira Grant   Resources:   Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.   Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.   Episode #115 of Deliberate Freelancer: Time Tracking Lessons from Deliberate Freelancer Listeners   Episode #59 of Deliberate Freelancer: Parenting while Freelancing (with or without a pandemic), with Amy Ragland   Episode #129 of Deliberate Freelancer: A Script for Tough Client Conversations, with Treasa Edmond   Episode #118 of Deliberate

How did your first quarter of the year go with your business? I’m recapping my Q1 in this episode, but I’d love to hear about your Q1 also. Please share in the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group your successes, challenges, lessons and any questions you have for your fellow Deliberate Freelancers.   As I talked about in January, I had a slow start to the year because my mental health was struggling. I was definitely languishing. Things perked up in February and March, so I began to do a bit more work and have more energy.   Accounting for vacation time in Q1, I worked 299 hours over 11 weeks, which averages out to about 27 hours a week. Interestingly enough, without me keeping track of my weekly hours from week to week, that number is close to my average of 28 weeks last year. Therefore, that seems to be my mental lode in a good week. That’s what my energy level can take.   When I analyzed how I spent my hours, I was happy to see that although my paid work was way down, I was meeting or exceeding my secret h

On today’s episode, I want to be open and candid about a failure I had this year. Here are three main thoughts or lessons around failure that I’m trying to always keep in mind: #1. Failure is not necessarily a bad word. There can be times when you completely mess something up, but there can be times when something just didn’t work out or the client failed, but you feel like a failure anyway. It sounds cliché, but I think it’s important to learn from our failures. Do a candid debrief with yourself: How did this happen? Why did this happen? How can I prevent this in the future? #2. When I set an overarching goal for my business—and I remember to stick to that goal—I’m less likely to fail. Here’s what I mean: My overall goal is to be a go-to and respected writer and editor in the membership association industry. While it’s important sometimes to go out of your comfort zone, I also do better when I stick to my goal and choose projects and clients related to my goal. #3. Stick to Katherine Reynolds Lewis’ 3 P’s mo

Today’s guest is Katherine Reynolds Lewis, an independent journalist based in the DC area. After Katherine was laid off in 2008, she started freelancing in the middle of the Great Recession. What does Katherine love about freelancing? Being self-sufficient, being able to write on a variety of topics and having control over her schedule. Katherine shares her 3 P’s model that she uses when assessing whether to take on a project: pay, portfolio and passion. Any project or assignment we say yes to should fulfill at least one of those P’s and ideally all three. As you work on the project, always keep in mind why you are doing the work, which P it falls under. At the end of the work, this model will also help you decide whether it was worth taking on the project or client—and help you assess future projects. A few years ago, Katherine was setting new goals for what she wanted to do in her career. One of those was to write a long-form journalism narrative article for a big magazine. So, she started looking for oppor

Please email me your favorite organizational tips, tools, systems and processes for an upcoming episode!   What are the processes and systems that you have implemented that have improved your business? What tactic or app or software program can you not get enough of? Let’s share with each other and help each other out!   Here’s all you need to do: Use the voice memo app on your smartphone to record a short message, maybe 1–7 minutes, explaining your favorite system or process or app or software and how it has helped you in your business.   Then, just email that file to me at melanie@meledits.com. That’s it! I’ll use your name and your voice memo on a future episode.   Resources:   Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.   Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.