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Amy Posner lives in Olympia, Washington. She calls herself a serial entrepreneur and has been a business owner for three decades — she had a computer start-up, a New York City agency and then built a very successful (and lucrative) sales team in the telecom industry.   But for the past decade, Amy has been an in-demand conversion and direct response copywriter, coach and copy chief. She now mostly focuses on coaching and training.   Amy currently runs the Magnetic North Mastermind, where she helps each member decide — and then create — their ideal business life. She also has a YouTube channel called Cut to the Copy, which offers short tips about business. And she co-hosts a podcast called Business Badass.   Amy offers a “coaching on demand” service, in which people hire her for coaching for 30 minutes or 60 minutes on one specific issue. She also offers “copy chiefing” in which people have her vet their copy before they submit it to a client.   As a six-figure freelancer, Amy initially had the goal to replace her employee income, which was six figures at the time.   She wasn’t interested in becoming a agency, but she does have a small team of subcontractors, including a new position she recently hired for, “vision and growth manager.” She got the idea for that role after hearing about the position of an “integrator,” who serves as a project manager for the vision. She wanted someone to help her both create the vision but also to create the growth. She finds it exhausting to be both the person focused on growing her business and the person executing work for clients.   She also has her own copywriter for her business, a tech person and a virtual assistant. She hires subcontractors for copywriting clients also.   Persistence and gaining confidence have been critical to Amy’s success. “Your success is directly proportionate to your attitude or your ability to handle the obstacles,” she said.   Don’t dwell on failures or other people’s opinions. It’s OK if you’re a sensitive person, but it’s important to learn how to remove your feelings of failure and move on.   Amy shares her pricing formula: internal hourly rate + your intuition + your gut sense. She stresses that it’s essential that you time your projects at various times throughout the year so that you know how long projects take. That will allow you to price properly. She says freelancers tend to have “leaky boundaries” around their time.   The price that you give a client that feels really good on Monday can often feel too low on Tuesday. So, you should always sleep on the price. Amy also believes if you don’t charge enough, you aren’t seen as that higher level of a professional.   Amy is always considering if a client is a good fit. Red flags that she looks out for include people who think they know more than they do or who want her to execute on bad marketing ideas. Also watch out for those “trial projects” for lower rates with a promise of a future project. That compromises people’s professionalism, and the “more projects” don’t often materialize.   Amy also admits to a “weird” red flag: people who don’t have any sense of humor. Melanie can relate to this and also lists this as one of her red flags!   Amy finds the right clients by getting in the right rooms, where people there need what you offer. Have you figured out what audiences are your potential clients and which ones you’re wasting your time on?   Amy struggles with a couple of boundary issues. She admits to being a Type A workaholic. She also struggles with over-delivering on a project.   Biz Bite: Make a Plan and Work Your Plan (and Remove the Emotion from It)   Resources:   No Sweat Sales Calls course discount link ($100 off): https://amyposner.podia.com/no-sweat-sales-calls?coupon=MPP   Amy’s website   CutToTheCopy.com YouTube weekly channel   Joanna Wiebe, founder of Copyhackers   Book “Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business” by Gino Wickman   Book “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters” by Priya Parker  

Today’s guest is Austin Church from Knoxville, Tennessee. Austin helps e-commerce founders stand out online with their brand strategy. He also coaches freelance creatives.   After Austin got laid off in spring 2009, during the U.S. recession, he became a freelance copywriter. Does Austin consider himself an agency? Not exactly. He likes to pull in other creatives as necessary, and he serves as the project manager. He calls it the “antique shop” model — bigger antique shops don’t own all the antiques; they provide the space for other dealers, sell their products and earn a commission.   When he first started freelancing, Austin wasn’t great at keeping tabs on his income and expenses, and he didn’t save for or pay his quarterly taxes. When his accountant sister fired him as a client, it was a wakeup call. The book “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz helped Austin figure out a better way to handle his money, mainly by getting several checking accounts and allocating each one toward certain things, like quarterly taxes.   Austin is also a fan of the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. Clear says if you make habits obvious and easy, they’re more likely to stick. That resonated with Austin and helped him institute some better business and personal systems.   One system he highly recommends is to create email templates, especially when you’re asking clients for referrals. After a project goes well, at the end, when the client is happy, customize that referral template quickly and email it to your client.   Austin also recommends tracking every client and project lead imaginable and having a simple way to track them. Check in with that spreadsheet every week to see what leads you need to follow up on. It can take several “touches” or interactions with a potential client before you land a project, and without those multiple check-ins you could lose out on great projects and clients.   Austin says we have to put in a statistically significant number of activities. We often give up too soon. But, for example, if you are using Instagram to get clients, you need to have conversations with 100 people, not three.   Austin builds his business on selling strategy. He recognized that about 3 out of every 10 clients know exactly what they want, and he helps them with that. But most are unclear. For example, they might ask for a new website, but what they really need is an entire marketing strategy.   Austin started offering strategy, or strategic planning, which he now calls a “wayfinding workshop.” After talking with the client, he gets the sense of whether they’re lacking clarity and need strategic help. If they’re not willing to pay for that, it’s a red flag for him and isn’t a fit for him as a client.   He also sells “strategy retainers” where he meets with clients every two weeks to work on their strategy. With those packages, he’s not responsible for the implantation phase. He says most freelancers probably skew toward one or the other — they either like the strategy or the implementation. But going back and forth between the two with the same client can cause whiplash.   When Austin sees other freelancers struggling in their freelance business, their challenges often fall under one of the six 6 Ps: positioning, packaging, pricing, pipeline, psychology, process.   Biz Bites: Get a Text Expander App (atext) and Don’t Open Your Email Until 11 a.m.   Resources:   Austin’s website and his free freelance course: AustinLChurch.com   Austin on Twitter   Austin on LinkedIn   Episode #79 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: Consistently Sending LOIs and Using Upwork, with Laura Pennington Briggs   Episode #80 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: Writing B2B Tech Content, with Satta Sarmah Hightower   Episode #81 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: Focus on a Niche and Partner with Other Freelancers, with Lynne Testoni   Episode #82 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: Embracing an Entrepreneurial Mindset, with Gresham Harkless   Book “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz   Book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear   Book “The Business of Expertise” by David C. Baker   Book “Give and Take” by Adam Grant   Book “Million Dollar Consulting” by Alan Weiss   Book “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown   “The Chef Show” on Netflix   iKamper rooftop tent    

Today’s guest is Quiana Darden from Richmond, Virginia. She is a launch copywriter, which means she supports coaches and service providers who are launching or rebranding their high-ticket offers. She offers sales page copywriting, email marketing sequences, social media copy, landing pages and ad copy.   She started as an elementary school teacher, but later decided she wanted to home-school her daughter so she brainstormed on how she could work from home. She started as a virtual assistant and then a freelance writer focused on content marketing, but did some copywriting.   She was scared at first to jump into copywriting because there is an expectation of conversion. But a coach encouraged her to go all in. Zeroing in on her very specific niche in copywriting means she can demand higher rates.   Freelancers rely on their online presence to educate their audience about the services they provide. That means quality copywriting — a sales page, social media posts, landing pages.   Freelance writers often think they can write their own copy, but that could be a challenge. It might be difficult to write about yourself or you might have difficulty maintaining the same tone as your service (sales copy tone should match the tone of your blog, podcast, course, etc.). You may tend to write about your own services in a more stilted, robotic way. Or, writing your own copy often gets pushed at the bottom of your to-do list.   When you write copy, you shouldn’t focus solely on the products and services included in the offer. People buy the transformation, so you need to explain what they will gain by purchasing your offer.   Before you hire a copywriter, get clear on the details of the offer, the transformation it will provide, how you are different from your competitors, who your audience is and what their pain points are.   As you decide which project to outsource to a copywriter first, think about what has been on your to-do list for a while but also what is going to give you the most “bang for your buck.” That may mean an email marketing campaign to grow your email list. Or, maybe you need a new sales page because your current one isn’t converting into that many sales.   I also talked to Quiana about her business and her clients. She talks about demanding higher rates after thinking about the value she provides clients and the money they can earn based on her strong copywriting.   Quiana only offers one primary service right now. It’s a Launch Copy VIP Day package — with a turnaround time of 48 hours — and the price is listed on her website. She knows exactly how many of those she needs each month. And the quick turnaround time gives her the flexibility she needs to home-school her daughter.   Quiana shifted to this approach because she was tired of creating custom writing packages for every single client.   When she was a content marketing writer, Quiana found a lot of clients through cold emails or LinkedIn connections and through Facebook groups with business owners. She answered content marketing questions there, which showed she was an expert, and people reached out to hire her.   Now, she is finding her clients through Instagram, after her coach recommended that platform based on Quiana’s audience. Doing weekly live video on Instagram has helped increase her audience. She uses videos to answer common questions her audience asks and also shares her process as a copywriter working with her clients.   Biz Bite: Find Your Power Hours (the time you work best)   Resources:   Subscribe to the new Deliberate Freelancer newsletter at MelEdits.com/newsletter.   Please record a voice memo on your phone about your time tracking lessons and experiences. Email it to melanie@meledits.com for a future podcast episode.   Quiana’s website: The Write Choice   Quiana on Instagram   Episode 56 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Use Instagram to Grow Your Business, with Jessica Thiefels  

This is a rerelease of episode #22 from August 2019. I am rereleasing this as I catch up on all my work right now, which is ironic considering the name of this episode. Laura Poole offers great advice that we might all need right now about creating a work-life balance that is right for you. But beyond that, Laura is peppy and fun, so I think you’ll enjoy hearing from her.   Laura is a a freelance editor from Durham, N.C., who has been a freelancer for about 24 years, almost her entire career. She provides copyediting for scholarly nonfiction publishers and training for editors and freelancers. She is also a trained, certified life coach.   Biz Bite: Take a few moments of peaceful clarity and think about what you want more of in your life. What do you need to change to make that happen?   Resources: Laura’s book: “Juggling on a High Wire: The Art of Work-Life Balance When You’re Self-Employed” Laura on Twitter   

On today’s show, I introduce you to Cal Newport’s new book, “A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload.”   First, I talk about his concept of the “hyperactive hive mind” and the problem with email and instant messaging tools like Slack. Then, I talk about his solution briefly. And then I share my own thoughts and tips for getting your email under control, as well as how to reduce the amount of email you get.   Newport points out that our current office environment was not planned so much as it just happened to all of us when email became commonplace. He calls the current workflow of many corporate offices the “hyperactive hive mind.” Freelancers can often push back at this, but we are a part of it because our clients are a part of it.   The constant need to respond to email prevents many of us from doing our actual work—cognitive work, which Newport calls “deep work.” Instead, many of us are constantly task-switching throughout the day. But our brains are not meant to task-switch. Try it—can you think of two separate things at exactly the same time? Nope.   First, I recommend you consider how you can set tougher “I’m checking email now” rules for yourself. How can you stop checking it so often?   Newport argues that tricks to help manage our email systems and clean up our email boxes are all just Band-aids on the problem of the hyperactive hive mind that our workforce lives in. I understand, but currently we are in that hive too, so we should figure out a better email solution.   Newport’s solution to this hive mind is to set up processes and project management systems instead, such as Microsoft Teams, Sharepoint, Asana, Basecamp, Trello and more. I love processes and project management tools and use them for several projects. But, these aren’t perfect. Email may simply be replaced by the chat function in Microsoft Teams, for example.   Newport talks about examining all your emails in one day. Take a look at all those emails going out and coming in and ask yourself what systems you could put in place to eliminate some of those emails. Are there processes that you could establish that would decrease or eliminate the need for some of those emails? I think this is a good practice and good place to start.   By creating checklists, forms, processes and systems, you can decrease your work time, improve your file keeping and reduce the risk of errors.   In addition, despite what Newport says, let’s figure out ways to better manage our email.  First, analyze your email inbox. Does it stress you out? What don’t you like about it? What do you want to fix? Make a list of what you wish your email work life looked like.   Here are some potential solutions:   Stop aiming for inbox zero. Instead, pick a realistic number. Then, use folders to sort your emails. I have a folder for each client and then subfolders for each project. When I’ve dealt with the email in my inbox I immediately move it to the correct folder, primarily as an archive.   Delete hundreds or thousands of emails, even the old unopened ones. Are you really going to get to those? In Gmail, it is possible to do batch deletions, including by entire years.   Next, take the time to actually unsubscribe from newsletters. Don’t just delete them. If you don’t have time right now to unsubscribe, create an unsubscribe folder and move those email newsletters into that folder. Then, when you get some admin time, go through and unsubscribe one by one. Or, let your virtual assistant into your email system and have them do it for you.   You may want to create new folders that allow you to prioritize tasks, such as: Action needed today, Action needed this week, Action needed before the end of the month. The key, of course, is that you will go through those folders and reply. But, this makes it more manageable.   Gmail also now has a Snooze feature. If you see an email and know you have to deal with it that day or that week, but you don’t have the time right at that second, you can hit the Snooze feature. That way, it’ll pop up as a new email at the time of your choosing so that it won’t get lost in your inbox.   Use the Boomerang tool to schedule email replies during work hours.     Biz Bite: Move the beans over   The Bookshelf: “Sea Wife” by Amity Gaige   Resources:   Subscribe to the new Deliberate Freelancer newsletter at MelEdits.com/newsletter.   Please record a voice memo on your phone about your time tracking lessons and experiences. Email it to melanie@meledits.com for a future podcast episode.   Episode #94 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Time Tracking Audit for Q1—I Need a Better Schedule   Cal Newport’s new book, “A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload.”   Boomerang to schedule emails   Clear Your Gmail Inbox   Easy Ways to Delete Multiple Messages in Gmail   Snooze Gmail emails until later   Create rules to filter your emails  

Today’s guest is Cathy Wilkes, who coaches people through a transformation, helping them figure out what their true dreams and goals are and how to jump-start that transformation.   Previously, Cathy built and led high-performing sales teams in the financial services industry. She used her philosophy of building people up, and helping them find their greatness, to create a better sales team.   Even if you love your freelance business and where you are today, there are still so many good lessons in this episode about mindset, whether our thoughts are holding us back from trying new things — or, whether we’re letting other people’s beliefs and comments about us hold us back.   Cathy says, “I believe there are seeds of greatness in every human being. … When we look at ourselves in the mirror, most of the time we look at our faults. We look at what’s wrong. We’re talking negative. We’re thinking what could happen. We’re sitting in fear, doubt and worry.”   Worry is just a misuse of the imagination. We could easily use that imagination to create something wonderful in our lives.   Cathy sees several things that hold people back in their careers and businesses. One of those is when we ignore our internal wisdom and we consider other people’s opinions about us more important than our internal voice and where we want to go.   Melanie shares that oftentimes it’s more her internal voice pointing out all the barriers to her big idea that keeps her from doing it. Cathy says she thinks often of “paradigms,” which she defines as “mental programs stored in the subconscious mind.” They can work for us or against us, such as thinking patterns that shut us down.   Creatives in particular may be comparing our inside to somebody’s outside, comparing our thoughts and ideas with the success we see someone having — but those are the great qualities that they choose to present to the world and may be only of the final product they created. We don’t see all the work and struggle that went into it. But, we shut ourselves down before ever trying something similar.   Cathy points out that thoughts create feelings, feelings create actions, and actions create results. But it starts with how we think about ourselves.   What if you asked yourself, “What if I could …?” You would likely start to get excited about something, but then your pattern of thinking would start to think of all the barriers and shift to the negative: “But, how are you going to do that?”   Cathy uses the word “transformation,” rather than “change.” She uses a structured step-by-step process with clients to help them transform, which involves leaving behind what is not working for them and gaining new skills and new ways of thinking that will serve where they want to go.   Cathy talks about the difference between self-image — how we see ourselves — versus self-esteem — how we feel about ourselves. Self-image should be primary, and self-esteem, secondary. So, think about where you want to end up and what you want your life and/or business to look like, not “but how am I going to accomplish that?”   Think about the end, rather than the means. The end will draw you to that place. Take a step forward today.   Cathy breaks down goals into three levels: an A goal is something you know how to do; a B goal is something where you know how to get the resources to achieve it; and a C goal is something you would love but have no idea how to do right now. Are you setting C goals?   In your business and in your life, ask yourself: What would I love? Or answer “Wouldn’t it be great if …”   Life is risk. To make a leap in a new direction, you need to choose a different set of risks. Not taking a risk is a risk itself. Taking a risk is exploring your own potential.   Cathy reserves an hour every morning just to think about her business. She takes time to imagine and “live in possibility.”   Cathy grew up thinking failure is bad. But she taught her sons the opposite: Seek failure. Try new things. Fail often.   Failure gives us more freedom to try new things. And what did we learn from that failure?   Cathy and I talk about one of my favorite business topics: mindset. She says the first step is knowing what your mindset is. How do you think about your business? Are they positive or negative thoughts?   Biz Bite: Challenge the conventional approach.   Resources:   CathyWilkes.com   hello@cathywilkes.com   Cathy on LinkedIn   Cathy’s Facebook group: Amplified Living NOW — Blueprint for a full throttle life   Episode #3 of Deliberate Freelancer: Host a Solo Business Retreat      

On today’s show, I’m doing an audit of my time tracking for the first quarter of the year. I used to do time tracking using pen and paper, mostly to keep me on task. That worked, but it didn’t allow me to easily track and analyze my data to improve areas of my freelance business.   I now use the Toggl app to track all of my work time. Today, I will talk about what I learned from time tracking the first quarter of 2021.   Time tracking and analyzing that data can help you figure out whether you’re pricing projects accurately and whether you should delegate or outsource parts of a project. If you track your time for a certain type of project, it can help you create a more accurate project rate for a similar type of project in the future. It can show me whether you underpriced a client and need to increase your rates for them the next time.   I worked, on average, 23 hours each week of 2021 so far, over about 4 ½ days a week. I’m definitely sitting at my desk more because I did not track my break time or social media time, which I plan to track in the second quarter.   That doesn’t sound like I work a lot, which is partly my goal. But I also struggle with the idea that I could do so much more, that I could make more money, that I could expand this podcast or other side projects.   Even though I’m a morning person and don’t do deep work in the afternoon, I also get really tired in the afternoon. I am not sleeping great and could possibly be dehydrated, so I’m going to work on those two things.   Plus, I would like to have a more regular schedule and have a bit more structure to my day.   Here’s what I want to do in quarter two to have a healthier day, feel less tired and create more of a structure: Track my social media time. Set a timer for 7 p.m. to remind me not to snack after that. Set my light alarm for 6 a.m. and take advantage of my morning peak productivity time and energy. Use a water reminder app to make sure I’m staying hydrated.   As for my client work, I learned a few good lessons from time tracking the first quarter. But, the results were mostly good news, confirming that I am charging appropriately. Listen to the episode for detailed information on a few projects, what I charged and what that earned me per hour of work.   Have you tried time tracking? If so, have you analyzed the data, which then helped you improve your business? I’d love to hear what lessons you have. I’d love to feature several of you on a future episode of Deliberate Freelancer! Email me at melanie@meledits.com.   Biz Bite: Find an expert.   The Bookshelf: “Writers & Lovers” by Lily King   Resources:   Subscribe to the new Deliberate Freelancer newsletter at MelEdits.com/newsletter.   Episode #5 of Deliberate Freelancer: Track Your Time for Better Efficiency   Episode #91 of Deliberate Freelancer: All Things Pricing: Project Rates, Day Rates, Retainers and More, with Jennifer Duann Fultz   From the Front Porch podcast—episode 11, Literary Therapy, Volume 6, mentions “Find an Expert”   Kendra Adachi and The Lazy Genius Way

On today’s show, I want to talk about something super positive: post-pandemic life! Let’s look ahead and see where we want our business to be once lockdown is over.   Most of us were affected in our business lives in some way when the pandemic hit last year. We lost clients, or had to suddenly work from home 100% of the time, or had to rethink and change client projects. In-person everything was canceled.   Many of us worked hard last year, working long hours, to try to find new work. And when we did, some of us had a scarcity mindset and that “must work all the time” mentality because we weren’t sure if the projects and clients would keep coming. That was completely understandable last year, but we all know it’s not the way to run a business long term. So, if you haven’t recovered from that mentality yet, I am here to be your cheerleader—and guide—to help you think about how to refresh and renew your business as we head out of full lockdown.   Here are six questions I encourage you to ask yourself.   They revolve around what your business looks like right now versus what it looked like before the pandemic and what you want it to look like post-pandemic.   Do you like your current clients?   2: Do you like what you are doing? Evaluate the services you offer and whether you want to change those up.   What will you do if the clients you lost come back to you in some form? Don’t feel obligated to work with those past clients if you don’t want to. You can say no. But even if you love them, take the time to check in with yourself and see if you need to change anything about the relationship first.   4: What would allow you to be pickier? Oftentimes, the answer is money. So, how can you make more money in less time? Would this involve creating a passive income stream?   5: Do you need to slow down work and take care of yourself? There will definitely be some aspects of our lives that will change soon. We should make time to decide how to treat ourselves and what we want this new life to look like.   Consider creating a Power Hour After list. A power hour is where you take time to blast through that annoying to-do list of chores and errands that you’ve been putting off. Well, there were a lot of things couldn’t be done during the pandemic. So, make a list now of all the things you need to get done, like doctor’s appointments, dry cleaning and dropping off donations.   And then, think of all the fun things you want to do too! (Bookstores, libraries, sporting events, family visits!)   Planning for these things now, while asking yourself these big questions and bettering your business, can lead to more financial freedom and hours in the day. Then, you can spend time with your loved ones and do the things you have missed so much this year.   6: Do you need to plan a new marketing strategy? Reevaluate your marketing and networking. Did you do some marketing efforts last year that really worked? Will they work post-pandemic? Or, are there new things you need to try to find more and/or better clients?   And think about in-person opportunities and how to prepare for those—maybe you need to create a better social media strategy, revamp your website or perfect your new elevator pitch.   So, to recap, what does your ideal business look like post lockdown? And how can you start planning now to make that happen?   Biz Bite: Simplify your kitchen time.   The Bookshelf: “The Sun Down Motel” by Simone St. James   Resources:   Subscribe to the new Deliberate Freelancer newsletter at MelEdits.com/newsletter.   Jennifer Goforth Gregory’s poll results: “Why the majority of writers in the FCMW Facebook Group made more in 2020 than 2019”   Episode #11 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Find the Right Anchor Clients   Episode #63 of Deliberate Freelancer: How I Got a PPP Loan as a Sole Proprietor talks about the Biz Bite “Create a Power Hour After List”   Imperfect Foods

Today’s guest is Kat Boogaard. Kat is a full-time freelance writer in Wisconsin who provides blog content for software clients in the productivity, project management and business ownership spaces. Some of her past and current clients include Atlassian, Trello, QuickBooks and Loom. She also provides advice and resources for freelancers through her blog, weekly newsletter, private Facebook community and a shop filled with tools and templates.    To maintain strong relationships with clients, first and foremost, you have to deliver great work. But Kat also likes to keep in touch with clients. She sometimes does this outside of the work she’s providing them, so, for example, sending the client an article or tip she thinks would be helpful to them.   Moderation is key — keep in touch without feeling pesky. And don’t underestimate the power of a friendly check-in: “Hey, how have you been?” That outreach keeps you top of mind with clients.   Kat also keeps connected with clients on social media, although she doesn’t usually do hard sells there. She follows her editors and her brands on social media and sometimes “likes” or comments on their posts. Have organic conversations.   Kat has learned the value of refining her processes and taking ownership of the process. That means she sets out the plan and expectations and leads her clients through the process. That shows she knows what she’s doing and increases the trust between her and her client.   Kat thinks of “onboarding” as her client’s first steps with her, and this is where it’s important to make a great first impression. She has developed an onboarding process that includes a series of defined steps that include signing the contract, sharing any materials or tools either party needs, outlining the workflow, and informing the client about her invoice timeline and how she accepts payments.   Onboarding lays the groundwork so you can get into the creative collaborative work with the assurance that all the logistics are taken care of out of the way. On the flip side, “offboarding” is at the end of the project. Business owners tend not to focus on this side as much. You may think you say “thank you” and send the invoice, but there can be so much more to a successful offboarding process.   “Last impressions matter just as much as first impressions. Way too often I see freelancers wrap up projects with clients they loved working and they just turn in the assignment, send their invoice … and they just let that client ride off into the sunset.”    As you develop your onboarding and offboarding processes, reflect on previous client projects and think about what went well and what didn’t. Map out a flow of activities that need to be taken care of and put them in logical order. Processes aren’t set in stone, and there may be a trial-and-error period. Start small before you invest in automation tools or fancy forms.   Biz Bite: Batch your tasks.   Resources:   Subscribe to the new Deliberate Freelancer newsletter at MelEdits.com/newsletter.   Subscribe to Kat’s newsletter at KatBoogard.com.   Kat Boogaard on Twitter   Kat Boogaard on Instagram   #FreelanceChat happens every Thursday on Twitter at 12 p.m. E.S.T. (U.S.)    

Today’s guest is Jennifer Duann Fultz from Bloomington, Indiana. Jennifer is a freelance writer and business educator specializing in creating online courses for business owners who want to leverage their expertise through scalable information products. She is also the founder of Chief Executive Auntie, a blog and podcast where she helps Asian American and other BIPOC freelancers and creatives earn more money.   Jennifer thinks of money as a tool. It’s a proxy for time and expertise. Money is a way to achieve your goals and live out your values. Jennifer took a MoneyType assessment and discovered she is a “producer,” which means she likes to earn and save money. But her second type was “nurturer,” which shows that she likes to use money to help others. That helps as she thinks about things like charging nonprofits less and giving money to charity.   Jennifer takes several things into account as she considers whether to take on a project and how to price that project. First, she considers the time it will take and the “opportunity cost” — what she won’t be able to do, both in her business and personal life, if she takes on this project. She also considers the value she is providing to the client.   Jennifer generally recommends against hourly pricing because it punishes you for being good at what you do. If you work faster, you earn less money. And it doesn’t take into account the value you bring, nor all the time it took you to gain your expertise. It also turns you into just a commodity.   Jennifer has been aggressively tracking her time to determine how long certain types of projects take her, which helps her set better project rates and not undercharge. In determining a rate, she also considers the time it takes to create that initial proposal as well.   Jennifer jokingly recommends a “tortoise fee,” which is the opposite of a rush fee. It’s for those times when a client is slow to get you the content you need or respond to emails. If you haven’t been actively working on a project, it takes time and mental energy to get back up to speed. You should charge for that, if you can spot it ahead of time.   Jennifer always sleeps on a quote, instead of rushing to get the proposal out the door. She looks at it again with a fresh perspective the next day. She never lowers the price after sleeping on it, and it also gives her time to reconsider if she’ll resent anything about the project, including a price that is too low.   Jennifer talks through charging clients “day rates” and for “VIP days.” She also talks about monthly retainers, which can be great for stabilizing your income and workload. However, they can also reduce your flexibility for other projects.   A retainer can be based on a fixed amount of time or a fixed scope of work. Retainers are meant to be paid up front — they are paying you to keep that time available for them. Include in your retainer contract how much notice they have to give you before they cancel the contract.   Service packages are a set scope of work or deliverables. Jennifer has a “website in a day” package. To create a service package, first choose a specialty, then the final deliverable. Work backward to set up the scope of work that it would take to get to that deliverable.   Jennifer also has a project minimum — she won’t take on projects unless they earn her that set amount at minimum.   Biz Bite: You cannot fix what you don’t track.   Resources: www.chiefexecutiveauntie.com   Jennifer on Instagram   Jennifer on Twitter   Download Jennifer’s Freelance Rate Calculator   MoneyType quiz   Episode #66 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Price Your Projects   Episode #5 of Deliberate Freelancer: Track Your Time for Better Efficiency    

This is a rerelease of episode #73, from September 2020, about the devastating effects the federal PRO Act would have on independent contractors in the U.S.   I am rereleasing this now because the House has announced its plans to vote on this act next week, the week of March 8. We need your help! We must all tell our House representative and our two senators the impact of the PRO Act on our careers. We must explain that we are not “gig workers,” that we are career professionals just like lawyers and accountants. Please tell your story about how you benefit by being an independent contractor.   The PRO Act will likely pass the Democratic House. But, in the 50-50 split Senate, there is hope, but we must get the word out and talk to our legislators and senators now.   This is a call to action!   Here is the edited version of the original show notes from September, with resources below: Today’s guest are Kim Kavin and Karon Warren, two longtime freelance writers who have built successful freelance businesses. Both are active in the fight against the national PRO Act. Kim was active fighting against a similar state bill in New Jersey, and Karon heads up the national efforts to defeat the PRO Act through the grassroots organization Fight for Freelancers. The PRO Act (Protecting the Right to Organize) was introduced in Congress in late 2019. The initial intent of the bill was to protect workers who are misclassified and give them the ability to join a union. However, the bill was amended to add a classification test taken directly from California’s disastrous anti-freelance bill (now law) known as AB5. That test is called the ABC Test and was written in the 1930s for factory workers. The way the ABC Test is currently written prohibits most independent contractors from working with clients. It doesn’t matter if you call yourself a freelancer, consultant, an agency, whatever — if you are a W9 independent contractor, this affects you. The rest of the PRO Act does not harm freelancers, so freelancers need to focus their efforts on getting the ABC Test part of the bill changed. The push for this bill is union funded, and Democrats—including President Joe Biden—support the bill. In California, legislators “weaponized” the ABC Test by deleting some of the original language. The ABC Test has three prongs (A, B, C) that independent contractors must pass in order to do business. It’s the B part that is the problem. B originally had two parts: Part 1 says you can’t be in the same line of business as the company that is paying you to do the work. But Part 2 negates Part 1 if you do all of your work off company premises. Most freelancers can pass Part 2. However, California deleted Part 2, leaving only the part that says you can’t be in the same line of business as the company paying you. That went into law in January 2020 in the state and destroyed careers of all types of independent contractors, who could no longer work for companies in their industry. This included respiratory therapists and other medical professionals who contract with various hospitals — they lost work when they were needed the most during the pandemic. Other careers and industries affected include journalists, content writers, editors, real estate appraisers, comedians, theater workers, symphonies and orchestras, truck drivers, translators and more. In fact, California has found more than 300 industries hurt by AB5. California freelancer writers managed to get an exemption in the law that capped their submissions to 35 a year for each client. The exemption partially helped some writers, but it also had a lot of problems — for example, content writers, blog writers and newspaper columnists could quickly and easily hit 35 submissions, ending their work for that year for that client. Forbes, Hearst and New York Times were among those who have stopped hiring California freelancers. In December 2019, the AB5 copycat bills started popping up in Democrat strongholds (blue states), including New York and New Jersey, where Kim lives. The bill was introduced in New Jersey with about six weeks to go in a lame duck session. New Jersey freelance writers organized quickly to educate lawmakers about the damage to freelance careers. In New Jersey, lawmakers seemed to pay attention when the writers explained that they were “career professionals,” who earn anywhere from $50 to $300 an hour from clients. They compared themselves to specialized accountants and attorneys. They told individual stories that showed that they were professionals, not victims. The movement created the Twitter hashtag #IRSNotABC, which represents that the IRS standard is a better standard than the ABC Test. We should advocate for the PRO Act and state copycat bills to change their language to follow the IRS standard, not the ABC Test. The IRS standard already exists. It was written in the 1980s and has been updated since. The standard has about 60 questions to evaluate the relationship between a person and a company. The IRS website says, “The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work, not what will be done and how it will be done.” Unlike the B part of ABC, the IRS standard allows independent contractors to work in the same industry as their clients. Most legitimate independent contractors can pass the IRS standard. Laws already exist to protect exploited freelancers, and individuals can file a report with the IRS if they believe they have been exploited, like if they were hired as a “freelancer” but the company required them to work a full-time schedule and on the premises. That is not freelancing. The U.S. Department of Labor in both the Obama and Trump administrations prosecuted cases against companies who have misclassified employees. Some freelancers have said that the PRO Act or a state version doesn’t affect them for various reasons. Let’s go through some of these myths to debunk them and let independent contractors know they are in jeopardy: Myth 1: “I’m protected if I’m an LLC or S Corp.” Not true. While the test says “established business,” you must pass the B prong of the ABC Test to be able to work as an independent contractor. New Jersey advocates asked lawmakers to amend the bill to state that being an LLC or S Corp would exempt independent contractors from the law, but they would not add the language. Myth 2: “This is a partisan issue and those fighting against it are all Trump supporters or Republicans.” Not true. Karon explains that advocates are not taking political sides; they are talking about fixing this piece of legislation. It’s just a fact that Democrats, including Joe Biden, support the PRO Act and the ABC Test. Therefore, it’s critical to educate Democrat lawmakers about why the ABC Test is harmful to freelancers. Melanie’s opinion: If you are a Democrat like me and have Democrat representatives and senators, I think it’s even more critical we speak up because it’s the Democrats’ minds we have to change AND we are their constituents and members of their party. Both Democrats and Republicans can educate their Democratic lawmakers and also ensure their Republican lawmakers know about the PRO Act and will work to change it or vote against it. Myth 3: “Those vocal against the PRO Act are paid by anti-union operatives.” Not true. These are all independent contractors who have created grassroots organizations out of necessity to save their freelance careers. This myth makes it even more important that individual freelancers explain their business and their success to legislators so they can understand who we are. What You Can Do: Educate yourself about the PRO Act and how to fight against it. See resources list below. Contact your U.S. House representative and your two state senators THIS WEEK. Ask to speak to them directly or email them. You can gather a small group of freelancers in your state and request a Zoom meeting. Tell your lawmakers your individual freelance success stories and the benefits you get from freelancing. Explain how much you are contributing to the economy. Then, ask them to change the PRO Act so that it uses the IRS standard, not the ABC Test. You can share data that shows most independent contractors want to remain as such. However, keep in mind that your individual stories affect lawmakers more than a bunch of statistics do.  Share the message widely with other freelancers. Write op-eds for your local newspapers. Share on social media and retweet #IRSNotABC tweets and posts. In September, the Freelancers Union (which is a nonprofit, not a union) held a webinar with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York who supports unions and the PRO Act. However, Schumer acknowledged in the webinar that he recognizes the problems AB5 caused in California and said he is willing to work with freelancers on the PRO Act. This was a huge acknowledgement. Let’s hold him to that promise. (See press release in resources below.) Resources: Share this new video from Fight for Freelancers USA explaining the problems with the PRO Act: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeSiRVOHeMc&feature=youtu.be www.fightforfreelancersusa.com Fight for Freelancers USA Facebook page — this is where you will find the most updated information and how to organize Fight for Freelances USA on Twitter #IRSNotABC on Twitter Fight for Freelancers press release “US Senate Minority Leader Acknowledges Major Problem in PRO Act” Freelance Forward 2020 — Upwork’s latest research on freelancing (statistics to use) NPR article “Jobs in the Pandemic: More Are Freelance and May Stay That Way Forever” Contently article “Does the ABC Test Already Exist in Your State, and Could It Harm Your Career?” Wrapbook blog post “Employee or Contractor? The Complete List of Worker Classification Tests By State” IRS.gov’s information on independent contractors Fight for Freelancers New Jersey The chaos in California

Today’s guest is Emily Derouin, a licensed psychologist in Denver, Colorado. She works as a clinician and supervisor at a community mental health center, where she is a generalist, helping people with a wide variety of issues. She also works one day a week in private practice, where she specializes in eating disorders.    As we approach the one-year anniversary of the pandemic lockdown, Emily helps us figure out how to deal with our emotions around that. Milestones and anniversaries are difficult, partly because they remind us that time is passing. In the case of the pandemic, we’re reminded that not only is time passing, but it’s passing and we still can’t do a lot of the things that we want to do.   Grief has been a common emotion this past year. A lot of people think of grief in terms of a death, and maybe a breakup, but grief applies to any kind of loss—loss of routine, predictability.   A lot of us feel we should be used to this, the lockdown routine, by now. Emily jumped on Melanie’s use of the word “should,” saying “should” is not who we are. “Should” is an idealized version of ourselves or the situation. Stop telling yourself how you “should” feel or what you “should” do.   Emily gives validity to whatever we’re feeling: “There is no right way to feel. Whatever you are feeling right now is valid. You aren’t able to control what pops into your head or the emotions that you feel, and that’s OK.”   The pandemic over the past year has been a rollercoaster as COVID-19 numbers have gone up and down throughout the seasons. And, humans are not built for the long-term stress we’ve been forced to deal with, and our pandemic stress compounds—one thing on top of the other, on top of the other.   Some of the trends Emily has seen: a lot of anxiety early in the pandemic, along with novelty around it as we tried to figure out so many new things, which were a bit distracting from our anxiety. Many of us thought lockdown would only be a few weeks or a few months. Plus, summer was starting, allowing many people to be outside a lot.   Now, a year later, there’s more of a fatigue and depression than anxiety. People feel stuck: “We’re still doing this.” And it’s winter, so we feel more trapped and isolated. (In case you’re wondering, a study in Minneapolis showed that people can stay inside about a month before it starts to affect their mental health.)   Now, people are feeling new emotions related to the vaccine rollout, including anger at the messed-up, inequitable rollout and envy of those who’ve been vaccinated. Some people who got the vaccine may also feel guilt. Emily got vaccinated because she is a health care worker exposed to people with COVID-19, but she had some “weird feelings” about getting the vaccine before others because she’s young and healthy.   By 2022, as the U.S. hopefully beings to open up again, with crowds at sporting events, concerts and busy restaurants, people may feel new emotions, like disappointment or anxiety over being around too many people. We may also go through a grieving process, as some things will never go back to “normal.” We may also grieve the version of ourselves that we lost.   Emily uses acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)—learning how to make space for the things we are feeling, without getting rid of them, while also focusing on the things that make our life meaningful.   You don’t have to engage with your negative feelings. The more you engage with a negative feeling, the worse it feels. Instead, acknowledge your feeling without feeding into it. That’s easier said than done. But, it can be helpful to learn this process of acknowledging your feelings, without trying to get rid of the feelings.   It’s important to know what works for you when you’re feeling certain feelings. For example, when some people are anxious, they find it helpful to exercise, clean their house or play a video game. Know what works for you.   Emily suggests “grounding,” which is anything that helps you connect to the present moment. You can use the five senses to ground yourself: What are five things you can see? What are four things you can touch right now?   Anxiety doesn’t often live in the present. You’re often anxious about a past or future event or situation.   Doing a body scan can help you figure out how you are feeling. Start at your head and scan down. Perhaps you notice tightness in your shoulders or your jaw, which could single stress for you. Perhaps an upset stomach signals anxiety.   In loved ones, including children, be on the lookout for behavior change as a clue to emotions.   New resources, such as online therapy and low-cost therapy, are making it easier to connect with a therapist. Melanie saw a therapist virtually briefly in summer 2020 and found it helpful to learn tools to help her new anxiety but also to talk through her concerns with a nonjudgmental, objective person.   Self-care continues to be important. However, self-care doesn’t have to be a huge thing, which can feel overwhelming or like one more item on your to-do list that you don’t have time for. Self-care can mean getting outside, doing some exercise, eating healthy, getting more sleep.   It’s critical that you are taking care of yourself, that you are “filling your cup.”   Melanie encourages people—especially parents, especially moms—to let some things go on the to-do list. Or, as Emily put it “changing where the bar is.” Maybe you don’t fold the laundry, or clean as often as you want, or you don’t care if the kids don’t make their beds or they heat up a frozen pizza for dinner two nights in a row.   What will this long-term stress do to us? Too much stress can hurt our memory and concentration. Chronic stress—and high levels of cortisol—impacts the brain. Intense stress can kill brain cells. Genetics plays a role, but some people might be suffering from this long-term stress right now.   Resources:   Lower Cost resources for Therapy: Open Path Collective   Your local Community Mental Health Center, which offers sliding fee scales if someone does not have insurance. It can be as low as $5 a session. Many of them are also taking private insurance now too and have lots of other services such as groups, psychiatrists, case managers and other great resources. Google the county you live in and “mental health.”   Online apps like TalkSpace and  Better Help   National Crisis hotline 800-273-8255 While they often have “suicide” in the name, you don’t have to be suicidal to call. The national number will route you to your local call center.   Deliberate Freelancer #48: How to Cope with Coronavirus Anxiety, with Therapist Mira Dineen   Deliberate Freelancer #70: Techniques to Deal with Anxiety from My New Therapist   “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers” by Robert Salposky   The Happiness Trap website—free resources online that Emily likes   Washington Post article “‘Oh, we’re still in this.’ The pandemic wall is here.”   AARP article “COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Comes With a Dose of Guilt and Envy”

Today’s guest is Mario Boone, a science writer for a science organization in the Washington, D.C., area. In fall 2020, Mario gave a presentation as part of the Association Media & Publishing virtual annual conference. The session was about how to attract and embrace diverse employees. During Mario’s portion, he talked about what it was like to be the “only one”—in his case, the only Black man, often the only Black person, working at TV news stations in the U.S., which is how he started out his journalism career.   I thought it would be informative and important for Deliberate Freelancer listeners to hear what Mario had to say, and he graciously agreed to talk with me about his experience working in TV news—the racism, the microaggressions, the fact that, as a Black man, he was not allowed to make any mistakes. These are important conversations for all of us.   Before becoming a science writer, Mario worked in at least five TV newsrooms, working his way up from small to medium to large markets. He was often the only Black man at the news station, sometimes in the entire TV market, until he landed a job in the bigger market of Orlando, Florida, where there were other Black reporters.   He talks about the intense pressure of being a Black man at those stations, how much hasher he was judged compared to his white counterparts. “It is a like a pressure cooker, and it’s tough, and you have to have very thick skin to survive.”   Mario went to college at an HBCU—a historically Black college and university—which he says was like a “utopia” that doesn’t exist in the real world. There, nearly everyone was Black and was supporting him and wanting him to succeed.   Mario developed an ulcer because of the physical toll of the stress he faced in newsrooms. He also wasn’t making much money, so on top of the racism and pressure, he had to worry about paying bills.   By the time he got to the Orlando station, he was not the only Black journalist in the market, so he received support from other reporters. But the competition was extremely high and intense, with no room for error.   Mario shared one microaggression he faced as a Black man at every news station he worked at: A regular problem was photographers (cameramen) refusing to do the extra work and use the equipment to light Mario properly for TV cameras. He would complain and have to get management involved to get the photographers to light him properly. This led people to call him a “diva” and label him as a complainer.   As a general assignment reporter, Mario said he was given what he called the “Black beat,” the stories that happened in predominantly Black neighborhoods or were about Black History Month or Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “I’m not in a box; I’m not only capable of telling the stories that have to do with Black issues, and you shouldn’t want that. Everybody in a newsroom should be able to tell a story regardless of who the subject is.”   He believes that was a disservice to the entire newsroom because it did not allow diverse voices to cover a variety of issues and bring new angles and approaches to a story.   That also meant that Mario wasn’t given the city-wide stories about, for example, the mayor’s budget or other happenings in city hall. This limited him, not allowing him to be fully a part of the team.   Mario left TV after he felt like he accomplished everything he wanted to accomplish. He was ready to try something different. He is now working as a science writer for a science organization, and it’s the happiest he’s been professionally.   He wants to tell his story to help young Black reporters know about the realities of TV and what to expect. “I always feel if I can share my little bit of what I’ve experienced professionally, personally, and that helps a Black journalist, especially one who is just starting out, then I have an obligation to do that.”   Mario talks about how Black people are often put in a position of educating white America on what is acceptable in terms of race. “That is exhausting,” he says. Living every day in America as a Black man is exhausting enough, he says. Adding the so-called responsibility of educating white people about what they can say and do is too much.   It’s also lazy for white people to be let off the hook and not do the research themselves. Also, if they expand their pool of friends, they can learn by observing and listening to all different types of people.   This expectation from white people increased after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the outpouring of Black Lives Matter protests. Mario wanted to ask “where have you been?” Racism has been going on for a long time, but some white people seemed to just discover it and had a lot of questions.   Mario is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), which believes strongly in helping mentor young Black journalists. It also advocates on behalf of Black journalists. For about seven years, Mario has been a volunteer instructor for the NABJ four-day multimedia journalism short course at North Carolina A&T State University campus in Greensboro, which immerses about 25 Black college journalists in a TV newsroom setting. It also provides students the opportunity to have frank conversations with professional Black journalists and get a “helping hand” about the politics of a newsroom, what they should wear, how to wear their hair, how to handle racism, and more. It’s one of Mario’s most rewarding experiences.   Resources: HBCU = Historically Black College and University   National Association of Black Journalists   NABJ four-day short course at North Carolina A&T State University   Mario on Twitter

There is no new episode of Deliberate Freelancer this week. However, I have several upcoming guest episodes that I’m excited about, so please listen to this week’s short message for a few teasers and announcements. I also encourage you to listen to last week’s episode—#88, Positioning Yourself as an Agency and Partnering with Other Freelancers, with Reggie Holmes—which has received a lot of great buzz. Please feel free to send me your freelance business topics and questions you’d like covered on the show and/or your guest recommendations (diversity is a plus). Email me at melanie@meledits.com or DM on Twitter @MelEdits.

Today’s guest is Reggie Holmes, the owner and creative director of Enthuse Creative LLC, a branding and design firm based in Tysons, Virginia. Enthuse Creative is a strategic creative partner for businesses and organizations and specializes in brand-focused strategy consulting, brand design and brand management.   Reggie is also a graphic designer, but he’s a strategist first, with his clients and the projects he takes on.   Today, Reggie talks about how, even though he’s essentially a one-person business or a freelancer, he positions himself — and thinks like — an agency. He talks about how and why he embraced that mindset and what it allows him to do with his business.   Being a one-person agency means Reggie often works through partnering with other freelancers or one-person agencies. He sees these people as collaborators, not competitors. And this allows him to bid on larger projects, presenting as a team.   It’s also a mental thing — Reggie aspires to be a bigger agency one day and has found embracing that mindset now helps him move toward his goal.   In the past, at networking events, Reggie would introduce himself as a graphic designer. But a business coach taught him that that’s limiting, that he can do so much more for his clients. “Graphic designer” was “comfortable and convenient” but did not communicate the full scope of value he could bring to clients.   He knew he had to position himself mentally first, believing he was an agency, before he could go out and promote himself as an agency and a strategic creative partner.   It took Reggie awhile to realize there was enough opportunity for everybody — that freelancers should not look at each other as competitors. He began to think about partnerships and collaborations to provide services beyond the skills he personally could do. He now looks for ways to work with friends and colleagues in his freelance network.   Partnerships also are helpful during downturns in the economy, providing more opportunities for work and larger projects. In turn, he’s also creating opportunities for other people, which is important to him.   Reggie says he’s in the “people business, not the pixel business.” He has more opportunities because he builds relationships and has developed a network.   Don’t worry that you’re only one person but are using the corporate “we” as an agency. Speak for your business, with a business name, and what value you can bring.   Reggie also thinks about his company culture, even though it’s just one person (and an intern) right now. He is setting the foundation for his agency with employees down the road. Thinking about your company culture as a company of one helps you know who you want to work with, the type of work environment you want, the boundaries you need to set.   Reggie gets a lot of his work through referrals and LinkedIn outreach. He is strategic about his networking (virtual networking now) and the events he takes part in. You can’t be everywhere. He used to be “wide but not deep.” Now, he takes part in fewer events but does so consistently, thinking of networking more strategically. He is connected with a networking group that meets twice a month and also his local chamber of commerce, where he chairs the marketing committee.   Reggie says it’s also important to maintain connections, especially during the pandemic, with previous clients. He emails them to see if their needs are changing and if he can help with anything new.   Reggie has also been intentional about focusing on strategy, not just design, not only because it’s more lucrative but so he can be involved in the project earlier. (The graphic designer is often brought it after strategy has been decided.)   Position your business and price your projects based on the value you provide, not an hourly rate and not based on a rate sheet that someone else created.   Biz Bite: A project has to meet three criteria: I need to willing, able and available.   Resources:   Enthuse Creative LLC   Enthuse Creative on Instagram   Enthuse Creative on Twitter   Enthuse Creative on LinkedIn   Enthuse Creative on Facebook  

On today’s show, I quickly go over my top 10 favorite books of 2020—and the one I absolutely hated—before listing out my most anticipated books of 2021. The 2021 list will include several nonfiction books that could help you as you think about your freelance business.   For more in-depth descriptions and information on my top 10 list for 2020, read my blog post “The Best—and Worst—Books I Read in 2020.”   My Top 10 Books (listed in the order I read them) of 2020:   “Daisy Jones and The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid “Long Bright River” by Liz Moore “Evvie Drake Starts Over” by Linda Holmes 4. “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett “The Family Upstairs” by Lisa Jewell 6. “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson 7. “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart 8. “Eight Perfect Murders” by Peter Swanson 9. “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia “Know My Name” by Chanel Miller   Honorable mention: “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” by Grady Hendrix My most hated book in 2020: “Leave the World Behind” by Rumaan Alam   My Most Anticipated Books of 2021   12 Fiction: “Hour of the Witch” by Chris Bohjalian — available April 20 in the U.S.   “The Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah — available February 2   “The Survivors” by Jane Harper — available February 2   “Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid — available June 1   “The Whispering House” by Elizabeth Brooks — available March 16   “The House on Vesper Sands” by Paraic O’Donnell — published January 12   “Before She Disappeared” by Lisa Gardner — published January 19   “What Comes After” by JoAnne Tompkins — available April 13   “My Year Abroad” by Chang-rae Lee — available February 2   “The Wife Upstairs” by Rachel Hawkins — published January 5   “Ring Shout” by P. Djèlí Clark — published October 13, 2020   “The Women in Black” by Madeleine St. John — paperback published February 11, 2020   9 Nonfiction: “A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload” by Cal Newport — available March 2   “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind” by Dr. Judson Brewer — available March 9   “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It” by Ethan Kross — published January 26   “Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting” by Lisa Genova — available March 23   “Unbound: A Woman's Guide to Power” by Kasia Urbaniak — available March 9   “Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019” edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain — available February 2   “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power” by Deirdre Mask — paperback published January 26, 2021   “The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart” by Alicia Garza — published October 20, 2020   “Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America” by Maria Hinojosa — hardback published September 15, 2020; paperback available August 31, 2021   Biz Bite: No Talk Mondays   Resources:   MelEdits blog post “The Best—and Worst—Books I Read in 2020.”   Episode #51 of Deliberate Freelancer: Reading and Book Recommendations during Coronavirus   Episode #69 of Deliberate Freelancer: 9 Nonfiction Books that Improved My Freelance Business   Read in January 2021: “The Promised Land” by Barack Obama

Today, I want to hopefully motivate you, inspire you and encourage you to consider the aspects of your business that need improvement or to make a plan to work on things that you personally struggle with. This episode goes through seven areas that I would love for you to improve upon, if you haven’t already. They are:   Embrace a business owner mindset This idea is what this podcast is based on. Think of yourself as a freelance business owner and all that that entails. Words matter, and the words you tell yourself and others can help to change your mindset.   Raise your rates The pandemic has been a hard year economically too, so raising rates for all clients might not be doable. But there are some clients who fared well, and it may be time to raise your rates. It’s certainly time to raise your rates for potential clients — they don’t know what your past rates were!   Also, if you have a secret hourly rate — which helps you determine project rates and/or is the amount you aim to earn every hour you are working for clients — I encourage you to raise it by at least $25 an hour.   And don't ask your client about raising your rates. Remember, you are a business owner and costs go up. So, you can send an email and say “I wanted to let you know that my rates are going up as of such and such a date. My new rate will be this.”   Don’t put all your eggs in one basket It’s important to have anchor clients, but when you commit too much time to an anchor client or become too comfortable with that gig and that income, it can hurt you if you lose that client. Ideally, I would consider not having one client that is more than 35% of your income.   When I talk about don’t put all your eggs in one basket, I also mean your services. This can mean your services and/or your industry. Do you need to expand your niche to have niches that are similar? Can you use your skills to add more services for clients?   Don’t compare yourself to others Sometimes you do this without even thinking about it. You look at others in your field, even friends of yours who are freelancers, and see their amazing careers or their clients or the big achievements they’ve reached. I can fall prey to this just like anyone else.   We have to stop comparing ourselves to others. You are a unique individual, and your business is unique. You have different strengths and weaknesses and values and responsibilities and desires.   First, social media. What social media platforms are you on often and how do they make you feel? Are you happy when you scroll through Instagram and see what people are doing and read motivational quotes? Or does it make you feel lazy or like a failure or that you need to do more? Maybe it is time to get off Instagram! This goes for all social media platforms. Take a critical look at how your viewing and interaction with these platforms make you feel.     Another suggestion: Start a gratitude practice. Perhaps you want to start a gratitude journal to write down one to three simple things that you are thankful for that day. I embrace the word “savor” and try to remember to savor all the little things throughout the day.   Another way to express gratitude in your life is to acknowledge and thank other people. You can still do that as a freelancer. You can let your direct client know if a staff member is really helpful on something. Complimenting and acknowledging people is like volunteering; it makes you feel good to make other people feel good.   One more way to stop comparing yourself to others is to be alert for the word “should.” Anytime you say you “should” be doing something, catch yourself or have your partner or a friend call you out on it.   “Should” often comes with shame and guilt. It makes you feel bad and does little to improve any situation. So stop shoulding yourself.   Set boundaries Boundaries tell you and those around you what is acceptable, appropriate human behavior. They vary from person to person. Knowing what your boundaries are and setting them is critical to building healthy, respectful relationships in your life. So, please check out episode #45 of Deliberate Freelancer for tips on setting boundaries.   Get ahold of your finances For many of us, 2020 blew up our financial goals and plans. Now that the dust has settled a bit, if you haven’t already, I highly encourage you in this first quarter of 2021 to get ahold of your finances. This could be a variety of things — it will be different for everyone,   If you need help with your finances, I highly recommend episode #28 of Deliberate Freelancer, with my guest Pam Capalad. Pam is a certified financial planner and a whiz when it comes to this stuff.   Take a vacation or staycation Plan time off now! Some freelancers tend to be bad in general about taking time off. My argument is always: If I’m going to take only 2-3 weeks of vacation a year or less, when I’m my own boss, than why am I my own boss? I shouldn’t treat myself worse than an employer would. Freelancing means freedom. If you don’t schedule vacations, staycations and days off, they often won’t happen.   Even if you can’t really go anywhere because of the pandemic, you can play a staycation or other days off.   I want all of you to get into a regular habit of planning and taking vacations — and DO NOT check email or do or check in on client work. That’s not a vacation.   It can be done. Remember, you’re your own boss. You tell your clients you’re going to be away. Depending on how regular the work is you may have to work ahead to get stuff done or hire a subcontractor to fill in. Or, take advantage of slow work times.   You can also create working vacations, like I do in Indiana for two weeks most summers. The freedom to work anywhere gives you the flexibility to go places and keep in touch without having to completely log off work.   Biz Bite: After/then habits   The Bookshelf: “Behold the Dreamers” by Imbolo Mbue   Resources   Episode #1 of Deliberate Freelancer: Change Your Mindset: You Own a Freelance Business   Episode #39 of Deliberate Freelancer: Raise Your Rates—Without Emotion   Episode #23 of Deliberate Freelancer: Five Questions to Evaluate and Diversify Your Services   Episode #45 of Deliberate Freelancer: You Need to Set Boundaries   Episode #28 of Deliberate Freelancer:  Take Charge of Your Finances, with Pamela Capalad   https://tinyhabits.com/design/

New Year’s resolutions fail for a lot of reasons, but January can still be a good time to take a new look at your business and personal life. Instead of resolutions, I like to choose a word (or two, or three) of the year. It sets my theme for the year and reminds me to focus on something in particular all year long.   I was inspired to do this a few years ago by marketer Chris Brogan, who actually chooses three words every year. I started out with three words, but in 2019 I chose just one word: Leap. I wanted a visible reminder throughout the year to try new things outside my comfort zone. It reminded me that before I say no to something in my business, think big and truly consider leaping forward instead. It isn’t a coincidence that I started this podcast in 2019, finally taking the steps to make the leap after thinking about it for more than a year.   In 2020, I started with one word: Explore. I wanted to explore new directions and new projects in my business, as well as new places with my husband. Sadly, the pandemic halted any travel plans we had. But before the pandemic, as I considered my word “explore” I reread James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits” to start off my year right. In the book, he talks about the idea of “motion versus action.” Basically, sometimes we feel like we’re doing new things, working on projects, being productive, but everything we’re doing is just “motion.” Motion is the research, the planning, the preparation, but it’s not the action of actually doing something.   That really hit me, and I realized that I loved motion and was really good at it, but I needed something to push me to act. So, I added the word “act” to my word “explore” and made a sign that hung on my wall throughout 2020: Explore + Act.   While 2020 didn’t turn out like anyone had planned, I was able to do some exploring and acting in my business anyway, as I had to figure out how to pivot when the pandemic hit and I lost business.   For 2021, I chose the word: Simplicity.   Simplicity feels like meditation or curling up with a good book. It feels like relaxation and leaning into the slow life and the calm. And I really need that during the pandemic and the political upheaval in my country.   Simplicity in my business means focusing on the work and projects I love to do and going after that type of work. But, for me, 2021 does not feel like the “go big or go home” year. I want to take it easy, do the work I need to and keep it simple.   How will you choose your word of the year? Here’s what I recommend: Think briefly about what you want your year to look like. Set a timer for five minutes and write a bunch of words on a piece of paper. Narrow down your list and maybe look up the words in the dictionary and thesaurus.   Say each word out loud. How does each word make you feel? What does it make you think about? Then, choose your word of the year!     Biz Bite: Calendar blocking and batching   The Bookshelf: “The Stranger Diaries” by Elly Griffiths   Resources   Psychology Today article “Why New Year's Resolutions Fail”   My January 2020 blog post “Choose a Word of the Year”   Twitter thread about people’s words of the year   Chris Brogan’s three words for 2021, his words in past years, and tips for choosing your words   Hilary Sutton’s podcast Hustle & Grace   Episode #68 of Deliberate Freelancer: Yes, You Need to Build a Personal Brand, with Hilary Sutton  

Happy New Year! On today’s show I talk about where my head is at for 2021, which is essentially that I am not setting huge goals for myself this year. I’m trying to continue to give myself grace—not be so hard on myself—and to focus on my personal wellness, while maintaining a steady income.   I did an audit of my business in 2020, crunching the numbers and analyzing the data, and I share that data and the lessons I learned—and how that info may be able to help you—in today’s episode.   When the pandemic hit in March, I lost my primary anchor client (which is still “on hold”) and a few smaller assignments that were in the works. I had to immediately figure out how I was going to pay my bills and find new clients to recoup about 50% of my income. I quickly sent a mass email to my larger network—current clients, past clients, other freelancers and other colleagues—and let them know I was available for work and how I could help them.   I received a great response, which was so heartwarming. Some of that even led to new clients. From that one email, I earned $40,000 from new clients last year, and another $10,000 from current editors with new assignments.   You don’t have to be hit with a pandemic to send out an email like that. I’ve sent them out individually on a much smaller basis, telling clients and colleagues that I have availability coming up and listing the ways I can help.   With other work in 2020, I was able to make six figures again, but it was way less than I earned in 2019, even though I also received a $20,000 PPP loan.   This financial stress, along with the anxiety surrounding COVID-19, caused me to experience anxiety like I never had before. Initially, in March, I interviewed therapist Mira Dineen on the podcast to talk about dealing with that anxiety, which was a great episode (all links below). Soon after, I brought on my acupuncturist and friend Rachel Brumberger to talk about embracing self-care without the guilt, whether we’re in a pandemic or not.   But later that summer, with my newly discovered and self-diagnosed anxiety, I sought out therapy for the first time. My new therapist gave me some great tools to use when I was feeling anxious and also before I was feeling anxious. You can hear about those tools in episode #70.   Because of the outreach I did in March, by August I was back to my pre-pandemic income levels, without the big anchor client I had lost. But it wasn’t always steady work. September and November were lighter months, and I was constantly working to get new writing assignments, which I don’t do in a typical year. But one-off writing assignments and a few new anchor clients helped me pay the bills and get to six figures in 2020.   In this episode, I also break down the percentages of the type of work I do, the type of clients I work for and where that work came from (networking, referrals, social media, past job connections or LOIs).   A huge chunk of my work comes from past job connections and ongoing referrals, which was not a surprise to me. And most of my work comes from membership associations. The majority of my work is managing editing, followed by writing, then copy editing and proofreading. With the loss of my anchor client, for which I was a managing editor, I thought that percentage would decrease a lot. But in 2020, the income from managing editing was still 57% of my income, partly because I had that main anchor client from January to mid-March and because I gained a new anchor client by August.   Managing editing is my favorite type of work, and I’m trying to figure out how to increase it in 2021. I can’t manage a ton of magazines because it takes a lot of time, but if I’m able to gain more of these types of clients, I may be able to outsource pieces like some of the writing.   The second type of work I do is writing. Writing pays well, but I don’t want to write every day, all day. But new writing assignments helped me survive 2020 because it’s easier to get one-off assignments when I need them, as opposed to ongoing anchor clients. Plus, I write about health care, which came in handy last year.   Although I did time tracking in the fall and winter of 2020, I did it on paper primarily to keep me on task. But I had little interest in doing the math from all those scraps of paper, so I still don’t have as much data as I would like to show me how I am spending my time. Therefore, I started using the time tracking app Toggl in December and hope to use it all year so I can have better information on where my time is going.   If you haven’t already, I encourage you to crunch the numbers for 2020 and analyze what you liked doing, where the money came from and the type of clients you enjoy working for. Hopefully, those three areas will connect—or you can make a plan to figure out in 2021 how to work for the clients you love, doing the work you love, for the highest financial reward.   Here are a few questions to ask yourself:   What five things did you love doing in 2020? Write them down.   What five things in your business did you dislike or were frustrated or bored by?   Are there things you want to accomplish or achieve, but you’ve just felt stuck? How can you get unstuck from projects? Is 2021 the time or should that wait till after the pandemic? Can you take baby steps in 2021 to set you up for an amazing 2022?   Were there red flags with clients? Does that mean you need to deal with those issues or just fire that client? Does that bring up things you personally struggle with that you need to deal with?   Let me know what you learned from your own business audit and how that affects your plans for this year! Message me on Twitter @MelEdits or email me at melanie@meledits.com. I really love hearing from you.   Biz Bite: Use Toggl   The Bookshelf: “Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family” by Robert Kolker   Resources: Episode #3 of Deliberate Freelancer: Host a Solo Business Retreat   Episode #40 of Deliberate Freelancer: Reflect, Analyze and Plan Now for the New Year   Episode #53 of Deliberate Freelancer: Pivoting and Finding Resilience   Episode #48 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Cope with Coronavirus Anxiety, with Therapist Mira Dineen   Episode #52 of Deliberate Freelancer: Embracing Self-Care without Guilt, with Acupuncturist Rachel Brumberger   Episode #70 of Deliberate Freelancer: Techniques to Deal with Anxiety from My New Therapist   Episode #79 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: Consistently Sending LOIs and Using Upwork, with Laura Pennington Briggs   Episode #5 of Deliberate Freelancer: Track Your Time for Better Efficiency   Episode #26 of Deliberate Freelancer: Delegate, Automate and Terminate to Improve Your Business   Episode #13 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Set Better Goals for Your Business, with Andrena Sawyer   Episode #44 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Track and Reach Your Goals (creating S.M.A.R.T. goals)   The Writers’ Co-op podcast, December 7, 2020 episode: Our End-of-Year Biz Audit    

Deliberate Freelancer will be on a holiday hiatus until Thursday, January 7. Please feel free to send me your freelance business topics and questions you’d like covered on the show and/or your guest recommendations: melanie@meledits.com or DM me on Twitter @MelEdits.