I’m over halfway on my personally allotted time and I’ll admit I’m worried about making my goal. I have been getting work, and I have been making money. But I haven’t come close to reaching my goal of making $6,000 net per month as a freelance copywriter yet.
Why $6,000 net? For those of you who are new to this blog, my goal is to be able to have $6,000 a month to live on so I can live comfortably, pay for my own health insurance (and health care bills) and put money aside for retirement.
To do this, I need to make $9,000 a month because the government takes about 1/3 of what I bring in for taxes. Yes, yes, go ahead, grumble about the government, I do too. But I’d rather pay the taxes than get fined for not paying them. And I have a good accountant so I should get some of that back.
But I haven’t come close to that goal yet.
I have made $6,000 in a month, but I haven’t achieved that every month.
Yes, I realize that this is a process, and it takes time. Yes, I’m prepared to extend my allotted time, because I know that a goal is something you strive for, not something that makes or breaks you.
But I won’t deny that I’m worried. It’s part of being human.
I do have work coming in, just not as much as I’d like. (So if you need a project done in the next few weeks or months, get on my calendar now.)
I’m not going to starve. I have the weekly unemployment benefits from the CLIMB program coming in, so I can pay my bills. I don’t live extravagantly, so those payments cover most of my expenses and I save everything else.
But I need to change things.
I have enrolled in several online courses, some of which offer certification in their fields. I’ll be finishing up my Leadpages certification and my SEO Copywriting certification in the next few weeks. That will get me listed in each of their directories, which I hope will help.
I’m listed as a freelance copywriter in a few other places, and I’m going to promote those more, so I hope that helps too.
Meanwhile, work is coming in from unexpected sources. A friend mentioned that he had invented a product on Facebook the other day, but admitted he isn’t a marketer. I mentioned that I am a marketer and can help. We’ll be talking today.
Another friend and former colleague may hand off a project she’s working on because she doesn’t have time to do it herself.
And I’m putting together several promotional pieces that should attract attention and get more business in the door.
I have no doubt that I’ll be able to make this freelance copywriter business work. It’s all just a matter of time.
Thanks for sticking with me on this crazy journey. I hope you don’t mind that it may take a little longer than expected.
Let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for me or anyone else running their own business. Who knows, I may take your idea and write a blog post about it.