Things That Worked (And Didn't) In 2020
It’s that time of year again. No, not the most wonderful time of the year. The time of year when my schedule starts slowing down and I start reflecting because we’re going into the new year. I’ve taken some time looking back over how this year went for me + my business and think about all the things that I can learn. I don’t think 2020 turned out the way any of us expected, but I do think that there were a lot of lessons that I can take with me into 2021.
THINGS THAT WORKED WELL FOR ME IN 2020
Sharing more of myself. Last year I went to Freelance Business Week, a local in-person conference specially created for freelancers, and I realized that one of the best parts was getting to share myself and have other people be into it. So I made a commitment to put myself out there more in 2020. I've been sharing lots on Instagram and trying to post a couple times a week. Sometimes with tips or showing my work, but also sometimes with thoughts and reflections about my life. And those are the things that always get the best response and real conversation.
And along those same lines, being radically authentic has been extremely freeing. I love sharing my personality and not feeling like I need to suppress it or be someone I’m not in order to stay "professional" or get clients. And having an open + honest approach to business has allowed me to learn new skills on my clients' dollar. You read that right. I’ve been completely honest about having zero experience with certain things. But sometimes a client will wanna work with me anyway and they're completely willing to pay me to learn a new platform or a new skill. It’s kind of the best!
Sticking to and improving processes I’ve already put in place. I thank Past Lindsey all the dang time for writing down every step in her processes so that Present Lindsey never has to wonder what comes next. All I have to do is follow my own instructions. But that doesn’t mean there's no room for improvement. I’m really happy with the upgrades I’ve made to my processes this year, especially in the areas of presenting work to and managing clients.
Since in person networking went out the window early this year, one of the better investments of my time and money has been booking sessions with a business coach/mentor. (Shout out to Sarah Moon!) There’s something about paying someone who is definitely smarter than you in your field to pick their brain about all the things you wish you could ask. Especially when you’re working alone for yourself and don’t have other colleagues to bounce ideas off.
THINGS THAT DIDN'T WORK SO WELL IN 2020
Making decisions based on fear. I had a few slow months and panic-agreed to every project that came my way afterward. Well surprise, surprise! I ended up overbooking myself and put myself in a really difficult position. The culmination of stretching myself too thin, being inflexible with timelines, and offering too much for too little compensation all contributed to near burnout levels this year for me. On the bright side it forced me to have a reckoning with myself and rethink how I want the future of my business to look from the perspective of sustainability.
This year I also struggled with feelings of guilt for not being able to do it all. Sometimes it feels like in order to be a good mom you need to be there 24/7. But if you choose to be a full-time parent, you can’t devote yourself to your business. And if you devote yourself to your business, you feel like you’re missing out on raising your child. There’s literally no winning and no such thing as balance. Being a stay at home mom is not a career that I’ve chosen (and, yes, I do believe that it's a legit career choice) so I’m working on releasing the guilt that comes along with asking others to help and trying to savor the time that I do get to spend with my family.
THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2021
I had a bit of an epiphany in Q3 this year while struggling to keep up with my workload. I realized that I didn’t even have a definition of what success looks like to me. So how could I ever expect to know when I reached it? I’ve doubled my income almost every year that I’ve had my business, but mathematically that’s not a reasonable expectation to have forever. And more money definitely did not equal more happiness. In fact it made me way more stressed trying to bust my ass to make more and more and more. So next year I’m looking forward to slowing down, lowering my expectations about my income + workload, and actually taking advantage of my flexible schedule.
I’m also framing my end of year goals a lot differently this year. Instead of setting black and white goals that make me feel inadequate until I’ve reached them (which usually isn’t until the end of the year, which means I’m spending 3/4 of the year feeling inadequate), I want to think of things in the frame of experimentation. Instead of putting pressure on myself to schedule a certain number of projects, I’m experimenting with my schedule and how I book clients. And instead of setting a hard and fast income goal, I’m experimenting with visualizing how I want my work and life to feel and what monetary number would support that.
Oh, and of course I’m looking forward to cracking open a fresh paper planner for 2021 and feeling like the possibilities are endless.
