How my turnover has changed over 7 years of freelancing 👀
The three things that helped double my income, plus join my programme this January for freelancers who want to thrive.
Hello, Happy New Year and welcome to what I hope will be a year filled with more peace and prosperity.
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen that I shared a post over the betweenmas break, explaining the exact turnover I’ve made each year that I’ve freelanced.
It went a little something like this:
Obviously this is quite a vulnerable post, but as I’ve said before and explained in this newsletter there are reasons why I’m purposely open about money. Mainly, it comes down to neuroplasticity - stretching the realm of what we believe is possible for us by seeing it being done before.
As Instagram is limited somewhat, I wanted to delve into this more here. Because if you’re a numbers person (I like numbers and words - which I think makes me weird 😬) you may have spotted something from the above.
That in years 2016 - 2018, I was averaging about £4-5k per month as a freelancer if you divide the total turnover over 12 months. (Which I appreciate is still a great freelance income - totally aware this is all relative and please bear with me as I’m only using the numbers to illustrate the learnings - not to brag, humble brag or anything else).
Then, if you skip to years 2020-2023 you’ll see this jumps up to nearer £9-10k months, again, if averaging the total turnover out across the year. And that I managed to maintain that level of income, despite dropping my working days down to just three days a week (and that’s when nursery sickness bugs hadn’t hit 😅).
So what changed? When I reflected back, I realised it came down to a few key things:
I learned how to properly package what I offer
One thing I find in my work as a mentor to other marketers is that how effectively you can package up what you offer makes a big difference to your potential earnings. By packaging I mean being able to name and price what you offer, and communicate this. Whether that’s on calls with clients, or in a written proposal. When this clicked for me in 2020/2021 I was able to charge so much more and get bigger projects which actually compensated me well for the work I was doing and the knowledge I had.
It’s likely not a coincidence that I also did some personal development work in a group programme at the start of 2021 which helped me delve into my money mindset and made me feel confident in valuing my work.
This ultimately made a huge difference to being able to double my income, despite offering similar types of services - I just got better at packaging them.
Blended high-value one-off projects with sustainable long-term retainer work
During 2016-2018 retainer projects with clients made up most of my income. This is where I’d charge a company £1-1.5k per month to run something like their blog, or their email marketing. These retainers were great as they gave me a regular income, but there were also downsides, which meant I was working a lot (managing 5+ clients at once is no joke) and it was really hard to ever take proper time off.
FYI: I cover the pros and cons of different freelance models like retainer vs project fully in my upcoming programme.
When I returned to freelancing the second time, I started to offer other services that were more akin to strategy/consultancy, alongside retainer work. The weird thing was, I’d been giving this strategy/consultancy advice as part of my retainers. I just hadn’t been packaging or valuing this properly (see above).
Splitting my workload into retainer clients and project-based clients gave me the perfect blend - it allowed me to have regular income from one or two retainer clients, then fit in big projects throughout the year which would bring in much higher amounts. The space between the projects gave me time to rest, or travel, but meant I could keep my income high.
This also worked extremely well after I had my daughter, as I could pull in additional childcare or work the odd Saturday for a few weeks while working on a big project, then go back to normal once the project had passed.
I delivered what I promised - every time
Likely the most underrated thing of “successful” freelancing (whatever that looks like to you) is making sure I always deliver to my clients. This sounds obvious but I believe it’s where many freelancers drop the ball, either overpromising or not being able to manage their time/workload/other enough to maintain happy clients who come back and recommend.
Over the years I’ve learned how much energy I have and I use that energy wisely. Without being conscious of this, it’s really easy to burnout and leave clients wanting, despite your best efforts.
So if you’re wondering if you can run a “six-figure” business, as a freelancer and company of one, AND also as a Mum/Dad and the main childcare person for your child/children then I hope this expands your realm of possibility.
One of the reasons I left my last fulltime job was because I believed I could match, and exceed, the meagre maternity offering if I was freelancing. But I didn’t know for sure that it would be possible until I’d done it. And I didn’t even realise until this Christmas when I stopped to look back, that I could still earn what I’d done pre-children while working far less.
Therefore I hope that by sharing the design of my business that at least one person gets to see something they wouldn’t have otherwise known was possible.
It’s also great to look back and reflect on the numbers - definitely give it a try if you haven’t already, as I bet there are patterns to be seen.
Yours, with revived freelancing optimism,
Beth
Join my programme this January
All of the above is just a snapshot of what I’ll be sharing in my brand new programme that’s starting in a few weeks’ time for freelancers and aspiring freelancers.
Over four weeks I’ll be running four weekly sessions sharing specific freelancing advice such as:
How to build, and maintain, a steady client pipeline
Different ways to package up what you offer
Pros and cons of different services you might offer clients
Time-based pricing vs project-based pricing
What to put into a compelling client proposal
How to earn more as a freelancer, without working more
Tips on how I get paid on time by clients - 7 day payment terms only
How to keep evolving your business over time
How to face challenging times (recessions, quiet periods etc.)
If you would like to grow, change or improve your freelance business in 2024 then please come join us! I’ve put my heart and soul into the content and I honestly believe there’s nothing else out there like this for freelancers currently.
Even if you’re a seasoned freelancer I believe this can help give you a fresh look at your business and help you to try different ways of working - or packaging - what you offer.
Thanks for reading ❤️
Hi I’m Beth 👋 a freelance marketer who helps manage and execute marketing for startups and growing businesses 🚀.
I also offer mentoring for freelance and in-house marketers looking for fulfilling, financially rewarding careers. Join my Thriving Freelancer programme here.
You can find out more about what I do on My website or Built by Content.