6 Reflections for a Freelancer’s New Year
Think strategically and plan for what’s next.
The end of a freelancer’s year can feel like a combination of racing or limping to the finish line (or maybe both). Wrapping up client deliverables, sending out final invoices, taking time off for the holidays… it can feel overwhelming.
Yet it’s important to carve out time to reflect. Reflect on your business, reflect on your goals, and think about potential changes for the upcoming year
(Wow, that sounds like corny / generic advice, right?)
Let’s do this instead: use these prompts as a launching pad. Sit down with a notebook and a warm holiday beverage and write out your responses.
Then put your responses away, come back to them a week or so later, and think about how you can turn your reflections into action items. There’s no rule that says all of your planning needs to be done by January 1.
Reflect now, plan later.
1. Did I reach my income goals?
Did you have an income goal this year?
This year was rough for many industries, especially tech. Layoffs were everywhere and the market was wild. I know many people (myself included) who left or were forced out of the 9–5 world and turned to freelancing as an alternative.
The side effect of the current economic environment is a double-edged sword for freelancers. Companies may be slashing budgets and not hiring freelancers (less demand). Or they’re using freelancers to replace the work of full-time employees ( more demand).
As you look at your finances for next year and setting / meeting an income goal, think about unique ways to get there that don’t involve “more work” or “more clients.”
- Can you create add-on services to increase your contract value?
- Can you raise your prices with both existing clients and new clients?
- Can you create a resource (like an eBook or a course) that you could sell online to supplement your income?
I usually create two income goals for myself: an expected goal (a reasonable target for myself) and a “stretch goal” (where I’d like to be — but would take some changes to get there).
2. How do clients find me?
New clients always going to keep your freelance business alive and healthy.
So look back over your year and ask yourself how you’re finding new clients. Referrals? Cold outreach? Social media?
And then look at your biggest source for new work and how the sales cycle played out. If cold outreach leads to a lot of meetings, but ultimately doesn’t land many clients, that might not be a sustainable strategy — unless you think you can change up your tactics in your cold outreach.
As you think about growing your client base, think about what sets you apart. Why do clients choose you instead of another freelancer? What makes you unique?
The more you can “show” in public (though your own social media platform, blog, or other forums), the more you can draw in clients. You’ll become familiar and clients will get a sense for the type of work you do.
3. Is there work I don’t enjoy?
One of the best parts about being a freelancer is that you can say “no.” That’s often why we became freelancers in the first place, right? Control over our time and control over our work.
Work that you don’t enjoy can fall into three buckets:
- Necessary work for your business
- Services you offer
- Clients you don’t like
Being a freelancer is operating in every capacity of a business (sales, marketing, accounting, etc). It’s natural that necessary work for your business may have component that you find boring or difficult. Whatever the reason, even if you don’t enjoy it, it still has to get done.
Consider hiring a VA if you can afford it, or automating redundant tasks with a tool like Zapier. Hire a professional to help with your finances. Any necessary work that you can remove from your plate leaves you more time for client work.
If there are services you offer that you don’t enjoy, ask yourself if they’re a necessary part of your value as a freelancer. If the answer is “no,” consider removing it from your offerings. You can start with new clients and gradually let your existing clients know that you’ll no longer be doing that work. If possible, refer your clients to other freelancers.
It’s also a good time to look at expanding your service offerings. If there’s something you’ve wanted to try, pursue it. You can always do a “soft launch” by bringing up the service with existing clients before pitching it to new clients.
And if you have clients you don’t like? Put in the effort to replace them. Find new clients. Bad clients can bog down a freelancer’s work and make us less productive overall.
4. What am I spending too much time on?
You may have work that you enjoy, but it is too time-consuming. Maybe the amount you charge doesn’t reflect the hours you put in. Maybe the time you spend promoting yourself on social media doesn’t yield new clients.
This can be a hard question, especially if you’re not explicitly tracking your time. But it’s important to scrutinize your time. After all, there’s only one of you and your time is precious.
If you’re spending too much time on client work, you have two options: raise your prices or cut back on the scope. Maybe you can put in 90% of the effort and your client won’t know the difference. After all, clients often don’t know what happens behind the scenes.
The new year is often a good time to have a discussion with your clients about your rates. Or, if that feels too overwhelming, you can create reminders for yourself to talk with clients on the anniversary of them becoming your client — and do this every year, as part of an annual review.
Anna Burgess Yang
5. How can I increase my skills and knowledge?
Like any career, the more you know, the more you can earn and advance.
For a freelancer, that doesn’t necessarily mean branching into new territory (could fall into things you don’t enjoy or things that take up too much time). But it does meaning honing your expertise in your craft so that you’re more valuable to clients — and can charge more as time passes.
It also means at a minimum, staying on top of current trends. In today’s world, for example, that might mean exploring AI tools. Now is the time to think about how you can stay ahead of the curve.
For the new year, set some goals to:
- Read books or listen to podcasts in your field
- Attend conferences, either in person or virually
- Subscribe to newsletters from experts
- Take a course, either live or self-paced
- Join a community
These investments will position you for the long term. You have the skills to do better work, but you also have a track record of being a knowledgeable professional. Talk about your efforts in public, like on your social media accounts, as proof to current and potential clients that you are a continuous learner.
6. What were my biggest successes and challenges?
It’s probably easy to think back on the struggles as a freelancer. Tricky client, bad project, never enough time to get everything done.
But you should reflect on your successes as well. Look back over praise from clients, or think about the big contract you landed. How did you feel in that moment? Revel in the success — you’ve earned it.
Then bring the two together: what made your successes so delicious and what made your challenges so difficult? Ultimately, you want more of the good; less of the bad. These might be tied to your other reflections, such as work you don’t enjoy or meeting your income goals.
But they also might be less tangible. You might have been proud of a project for reasons that you can’t quite put your finger on.
Spend some time thinking about the why. Grab a pen and paper and start with your successes — what you’re proudest of — then move on to your challenges. In the end, you should have a list of elements that can help you figure out how you can enjoy more success and have fewer challenges in the new year.
Need to review the health of your business? Check out my quarterly planning checklist for solopreneurs.
