More Work Than I Can Stand!

I’ve been noticeably absent from this blog for a very good reason — I have more work than I can stand!

No, I don’t have work that I “can’t stand,” rather I’ve been maintaining what I have. Over the course of the past month I’ve also had to turn down to gigs. That was hard to do, but I simply could not find a place to fit these jobs in.

I’ve actually stopped blogging on most of my sites except for my main automotive site — Auto Trends Magazine. This past September I updated the theme and made a commitment to add at least two articles daily. That move has paid off as it has brought in more traffic to my site and has raised my visibility in the automotive industry. Clearly, if I had a choice to write about cars or some other topic, cars would win out most every time.

Personal Stuff

Even when clients come a-calling, I won’t stop all of my personal writing projects completely. I set aside 1-2 hours daily for my own stuff which I treat as my online calling card to clients. This special time also allows me to write with few constraints which means I can cover the topics I want and choose the writing style most suitable for me.

Financially, I’m on target for the year, but I have been battling a disturbing trend: slow or late payments from one or more clients. As you might guess the financial slowdown makes it hard on me as my own bills are always due at the appointed hour.  As a result, I decided to let one customer go over this and am getting firm with others who tend to push things to the limits. Yet, I know the economy is tough across the board, so I’m not willing to push to the side anyone who offers a good explanation. So start ‘splaining!

Writing Ahead

November and December are typically two months where I find myself juggling my schedule enough to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family. This year, I plan on setting aside one Saturday morning to write ahead — queuing articles I want to appear around the holidays. That way, if I need or want some extra time off, those articles will automagically appear.

You gotta love blog post dripping!

For 2011, I hope to raise my rates and am toying with that amount which I’m currently pegging at 3 to 5 percent. I have a few customers who are working at my 2007 rates, but haven’t asked for an increase given the recession and weak recovery. Let’s see what kind of tax whack is in store this January — I have a feeling we’ll all be shelling out more money to cover the national debt and healthcare.

Midyear Checkup: Are You Thriving or Just Surviving?

Taking stock of your freelancing business.

If you are reading this article on the date that I published it, we are exactly at the half-way point of the year. Yes, I killed the “evergreen writing” component once I wrote the title, but what I am going to say here can be applied any time of the year.

As freelancers we should take stock of “how are you doing?” at various points of the year. If you do not, then you risk missing the mark and whatever goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year, perhaps even when you set out to freelance in the first place.

Freelancing Life

One thing about a personal review is that you can make adjustments to help you get back on track. To that end I have pulled out some of the concerns we self-employed workers have, identifying those areas and how you and I can make improvements. Oh, yeah, I am not about to harp on the “tough economy” angle either—if you are still in business for yourself, you already understand that challenge.

Time Management – Are you making good use of your time? Easily, we can become distracted by the Internet as we do our work. There are freelancer forums, blogs, social media and networking sites and email to woo us away from what we do. Be honest with yourself: are you spending too much time socializing and not enough time writing for pay?

Equipment Upgrade – I finally tossed my Windows-based personal laptop and bought a Mac. Yes, I am now a Mac snob. Seriously, I made the decision to switch when it became evident that registry errors and the usual PC slowness was a major drag on what I do. No more anti-virus and crapware to deal with. I spent more time in the past month writing for pay and less time trying to coax broken Microsoft Windows to work.

Pay Scales – I have been working with a few clients for several years and still charge them the same rate. That is good for them, but not for me as my own costs have increased since then. Are your freelancing rates frozen? Is it time for you to begin raising them? You should be able to pass along a modest five-percent increase without a problem, but if you are aiming for ten percent or more, then be prepared to explain why. Perhaps there is an added benefit such as tweeting and stumbling published work that needs to be mentioned.

New Vistas – I am not going to say that print magazines are dead, but if you are spending an extraordinary amount of time sending out queries with very little to show for it, then it may be time for you to explore other options. I get more queries from potential clients than those I send out, which allows me to cherry-pick the ones I want. Still, if things are a bit slow I will swallow my pride and take on a gig just to keep my writing flow going and my income stream flowing. I still write for two print publications, but the lion’s share of my income is derived from on-line work.

Tax Management – Yes, I am still doing my own taxes. I cannot see that changing unless my tax picture suddenly becomes very complicated. I do not think that it will, but I am not taking any chances. I know when my quarterly federal taxes, corporate state filing and local privilege licenses are due or up for renewal, I can tap a separate bank account I fund for those payments. No more panicking in advance of a tax deadline to pull together monies owed.

Long Term – Funding for my personal retirement has taken a back seat to everything else in recent years, but that is about to change. I will still put money in my children’s education accounts and set aside other cash and finally get serious about a period in my life when work will not be the priority it is today. Honestly, I do not believe I will ever retire—I love to write—but, my flesh and bones may not be so cooperative in my latter years. Plus, it would be nice not to be so deadline-focused, writing just enough to make some money, but without the ever-present calendar with important dates circled in red in front of me.

Your Passion

Six months from now I will be taking a look at a year completed and laying the groundwork for the year to come. One point I did not mention is your personal passion for what you do. If it is gone, can you get it back? If not, might it be time for you to move on?