My 2022 Wrap-Up and 2023 Business Goals

2022 was one heck of a year. Overall a great one for my career trajectory, but definitely not without its challenges.

In this post, I’m gonna break down how my year went business-wise and what my goals are for 2023.

My hope is that, if you’re new to freelancing, reading this wrap-up of my year will help demystify things a little bit. There are still plenty of challenges to deal with once you’re an established freelancer - but the wins make it all so worth it!

Challenges

The economy. The biggest barrier to accomplishing my goal of a 6-figure year (which, spoiler alert, didn’t happen) was absolutely the economy. About mid-way through the year, I noticed a big shift. Almost every single one of my clients cut way back on content, and I ended up losing one completely. Looking at my income spreadsheet, it’s really stark. March was my most profitable month ever, and June was my least profitable since taking my business full time.

Procrastination. I’m a terrible procrastinator. I perform best under pressure, and I have zero motivation until I start feeling said pressure. Typically, that doesn’t happen until about 48 hours before a deadline… but I absolutely despise this trait of mine. With a slightly lighter workload this year, my procrastination was more noticeable than ever. I was taking days off left and right, when I should have been working ahead. This lead to some long, stressful days where I really phoned it in as a mom - and I hate that, because being a happier, less stressed, and better mom was why I took the leap into freelancing in the first place.

Email. Inbox Zero sounds so nice, but seems like such a faraway dream at this point. I feel so burdened by my email, as first-world-problemy as that sounds. I really need to cultivate some discipline in this area. Most of the email I get is from PR reps who want to let me know about cool new products, connect me with interesting people, and send me free stuff, so I really shouldn’t dread dealing with my inbox as much as I do.

Wins

Great new clients. I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many amazing new (and old) clients this year, and most of them came to me! One I’ll mention by name is Carb Manager. I never told anyone on the Carb Manager team this (because I would die of embarrassment, haha), but when I first started freelance writing I was told to make a list of dream clients or bylines. There were two on my list that I still remember: Serious Eats and Carb Manager. So when they reached out to me at the end of 2021, I was floating in the clouds. In addition, I did some cool consulting work on some major projects for a couple of brands, and earned new bylines in some big media outlets. I was also *this close* to having my first print articles published in a keto magazine, but unfortunately the whole magazine was pulled for reasons out of my control.

More manageable workload. As my rates have increased, I’ve found my workload steadily decreasing while I’m able to maintain my income. That makes it so much easier to balance the other half of my life: homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, gardening, working out, watching reruns of my favorite shows… I’m slowly developing a more streamlined routine that allows me to work during my peak hours for focus while staying on top of everything else that life demands. Still definitely a work in progress, though.

Self-assurance. Something that’s new this year in regards to my business is this weird sense of confidence and self-assurance. I’m not afraid to ask for what I’m worth anymore, which has only resulted in good things. I’m not constantly worried about finding my next client, because I know exactly how to turn the faucet on. I don’t couch my emails to clients or editors in a million apologies for inconveniencing them by daring to communicate (I used to be SO bad about this). And, I’m no longer taking everything my editors say (or don’t say) personally.

Looking Ahead to 2023

Continue improving my systems and processes

I want to make 2023 the year of submitting assignments the day before they’re due. I’m so tired of being such a procrastinator. Time blocking works really well for me when I go to bed and wake up on time, and make myself stick to my schedule. So that’s going to be one of my big focuses for health in the coming year.

I also want to refine my systems for email and invoicing. I think it’s time to stop doing everything manually. Here are a few things I plan to implement/have already started implementing for 2023:

• Switch to Harlow for invoices, contracts, time keeping, and task management - all of which I have been doing MANUALLY for 3+ years

• Create a library of email templates to reduce the time I have to spend in my inbox

• Create an “exit interview” for departing clients to to help me collect testimonials and serve future clients better

Have my first 6-figure year

I really want 2023 to be a 6-figure year, and I’m feeling pretty confident that it can happen barring any more economic shake-ups. I made it within striking distance in 2022, and I think some of the business automation and streamlining I’m adding in will help me to be more productive and profitable.

Invest in community

Freelancing can be lonely, and I’ve realized over the past few months how important it is to be plugged into a community of writers.

I joined a couple of freelancing/content communities (Peak Freelance and Superpath). I plan to stay involved on LinkedIn in 2023 and keep building my network through this newsletter too.

Takeaway

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be unplugged through New Year’s Day to celebrate the birth of Christ, the new year, and some really special birthdays in my family.

I hope you’re able to take time off to rest, spend time with the people you love, and reflect on your dreams and goals for 2023.

Happy holidays, merry Christmas, and happy New Year!