Let's talk about sustainable freelancing.
Happy Monday, TWC crew.
This week, Jenni and I are back, talking about a topic that I don’t think freelancers talk about enough: getting to a place of neutrality and sustainability in your business.
Many of you who follow the podcast may remember me talking (a lot!) about burnout. Around summer of last year, I hired a therapist.
One of the first things my therapist urged me to reflect on was why I was always propelling myself forward. That had to do with my upbringing: when you’re a first-gen kid, there’s always something you have to do next. I didn’t have the privilege of being complacent. She helped me see that this mentality has caused me to crash and burn, and what I thought I knew didn’t serve me or my mental health at all. It was time to rewrite the rules.
I told her that I felt like there wasn’t much more space for me to grow as a freelancer. I was already writing for the publishers who could get my stories to a broader audience. I was already earning six figures. Publishers believed in the big stories I wanted to pursue. I panicked: there wasn’t an obvious next, so where should I even go?
She challenged me to stay in this space. And honestly, I’ve been here since summer - and my business has felt much more sane since. I’m still working on projects I care about, and with good people. I’m still more or less hitting my financial goals. I’m still here. Feeling the space, and getting in tune and enjoying what I’ve created for myself.
Freelancers rarely talk about sustainability, maybe because it can feel like the antithesis of growth. At the same time, we can grow to a place of sustainability which means we get both sides of the coin. That’s what this episode is about.
How do you think about sustainability in your freelance business? What boundaries have you set to make it sustainable? Email or tweet at us, we’d love to hear from you.
Other announcements:
Coming soon on Patreon in January: If you’re looking for some face-time, we are offering a new tier, Office Hours! You and five others will join Wudan on the third Wednesday of every month at noon Pacific to ask any questions you have about running your freelance business. Be on the lookout at: patreon.com/twcpod.
Group coaching opens up in January: We are just wrapping up our first continuous cohort of group coaching, and will be opening up another group for January - April 2022. This is perfect if you’re chasing ambitious quarterly goals and want accountability. Be on the lookout for spots on Patreon, or email us if you’d like to have us hold a spot: thewriterscoop2@gmail.com
January event (Tuesday, Jan 18, noon PST) is all about finding new clients. If you’re spending your holidays dreaming up your ideal freelance business for the year ahead, this event will help you brainstorm tactics to finding new clients.. Featuring veteran freelancers Jen A. Miller, (season two guest) Matt Villano, and hosted by Tim Herrera, of Freelancing with Tim. Tickets and details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-year-new-clients-tickets-220341556527
If you’re looking for 1:1 coaching, we are booked up through official TWC coaching. I have some spots open in January, and more availability in Feb 2022. Details: http://www.wudanyan.com/coaching
Wudan
PS. Today’s episode is sponsored by OutVoice, which has a mission we can get behind. Too often, freelancers have to spend months tracking down overdue, unpaid invoices. OutVoice fixes that. It’s the only freelance management system built for publishing, by freelancers.
OutVoice empowers publishers by using automation and CMS integration to radically improve freelance management and invoicing. Contributors can be paid instantly -- let me repeat that, INSTANTLY, with the same click of a button that publishes their work. No need to even generate an invoice. This means everyone saves time and money, so publishers love OutVoice as much as Freelancers.
Right now, In Style, Foreign Policy, Fanbyte, Clickhole, and Adweek have already moved onto this system, with some of the biggest publishing companies in the world announcing their transition to OutVoice soon. So next time you see someone struggling with a broken invoicing system, or next time your client pays you late, tell them to visit OutVoice.com and leave all their headaches in the past. If you’re interested in joining them on their mission to fix these industry-wide payment problems for good, follow them on Twitter at @OutVoicePay.