The last assessment of 2009 – can you believe it? Here we are, 12 months from when we set those business goals for this year. So how did you do?
First, looking at the year as a whole, I was off my mark almost every month, but somehow managed to come within $10K of my annual goal. As much as I denied and ignored it, the economy did have a large impact on my earnings this year. The sounds of wallets slamming shut came somewhere around May and only now am I seeing clients returning as budgets loosen up a bit. I lost two clients to budget woes and subsequently half of my income potential, which required a change in game plans. Gone was any chance of magazine work. Enter instead blog work, client Web writing, and resume work.
Queries:
There were just a few queries going out to some very select prospects. Of those, I have three potential clients who have expressed interest and two who have signed contracts. One magazine gig came from it as I wasn’t ready to give up on the trade magazines. But the rest came from referrals and Twitter. I’m now a big believer in the power of Twitter.
Job postings:
I looked, but like last month, there was nothing. I don’t waste my time if the job posting isn’t matching my skills or earnings requirements.
Existing clients:
Earnings from three existing clients have helped keep me afloat this month. One other existing client is sending a contract, which I expect either this week or next. I’m in contact with clients who had to say goodbye thanks to budget cuts. If their financial pictures improve, I’m right there in front of them.
Earnings:
This month I expected next-to-no earnings. I was surprised to land a magazine assignment and have more work with a regular client than expected. I’m still off my monthly goal by $3K, but I made more than expected for December.
Bottom line:
Since it’s December, I was pleasantly surprised to earn anything. But I’d taken steps early in the year to secure ongoing work, which kept things financially sound going into the holidays and right through a rough economy.
I’ll never again doubt the power of Twitter – I signed with a client who found me on Twitter. Another client has been in contact because of Twitter, and as soon as her workload clears, we’re going to talk. That makes four clients from Twitter since I signed on in January, including a few month break where I didn’t open the Tweet Deck at all.
Networking has netted more business than queries and blind emails, but I won’t ignore queries or emails because they still work.
How was your December?
It was actually okay. I got the furniture swap done, which set the holiday prep back farther than I would have liked, but I finally got the holiday kerflamma sorted. I wrote a couple of short pieces, did some work for an ongoing client, assesed my year, was shocked how little I got done (when it felt like I was working my butt off — full year's list up on http://goalsdreamsresolutions.wordpress.com).
The month was okay, and I'm eager for the next one to start. I've got some good stuff percolating for next year, and, if certain things don't pan out, I've got a few "Plan B" type things to slide in to those voids.
Pretty crappy. I just finished totalling up my earnings for the year, and I made only $1200 more than last year. My goal was (much) higher.
Overall, the year was pretty rough, and, like you, I really started feeling the effects of the recession in May. I'm ready for a new start, though, and I'm hoping things are going to pick up.
Most Decembers are slow for me, but I've had two somewhat involved projects to work on. They're due Jan 4, but I'm already done. The editor has been out for two weeks now, so I won't send those pieces in until the 4th.
I only wrote three columns this month.
In early December, I turned in a rush article for one of my newest clients.
I did 18 Santa letters on the side. (Hey, don't scoff – the Santa letters paid for at least one-third of my Christmas shopping!)
On the marketing front, I sent holiday cards to all of my editors, and a few editors I haven't worked with for over a year.
I have a stack of query ideas ready to go out to my regular editors.
I only replied to one job listing, which sought someone with my very particular skill set. No reply yet, but I only responded to the ad a day or two ago.
On Ravelry (a social networking site for knitters and crocheters) I met up with a blog editor for a major Canadian yarn company and we're negotiating the details of the blog I hope to do for them come January. (Granted, they only pay in yarn and patterns, but A) I need some blog experience to add to my resume, and B) good yarn and patterns cost a LOT of money! So I'm looking at the blog as a marketing tool, just as if I were doing it on my own. It's only one post per week, so it's not a huge commitment since I'd be knitting anyway.)
My annual income is down quite a bit this year, due a lot to one of my regular markets cutting pay from 75-cents/word to 50-cents word.
On the upside, in the last half of the year, I added two new clients. One has already become a regular market – the editor promised a new assignment after the first of the year. The other, a website, hasn't yet made a second assignment, but the editor said they would likely assign again around the first of the year.
Perhaps best of all: I'm no longer stuck doing the neighborhood's quarterly newsletter! Woo-hoo!
I'll be back on Saturday (when I do December invoicing) with a more concrete response, but with the holidays and a week-long vacation in December, I already know the month won't be great.
And don't feel bad, Krista, I'm almost positive I made less in 2009 than I did in 2008. A lot of that has to do with personal issues I had to contend with, but not all of it. We always have 2010 to look forward to. ;o)
After a disappointing fall, December was surprisingly good.
– A client I subcontracted with changed her business model and had to drop one of HER clients, and she referred that client to me instead. She's a regular beginning next month.
– I had another client with an unusually large project these past few weeks, a project I truly enjoyed. And the client is an absolute dream to work with. She has indicated she may want me for continuing work after the current madness is over. Yay!
– I have two other regulars who have both indicated they want to continue into the new year.
And here's the thing–I wasn't expecting any of this to happen this month. I am in the midst of a major restructuring and wasn't really marketing much at all.
Not bad for a low-hours part-timer. 🙂
On a personal level, December was a good month. Financially, I didn't notice a difference from last year. Best wishes for 2010… The best is yet to come.
December was okay for me though it certainly could have been better. Now that it's officially 2010, I'm concentrating on creating more success in the new year. Glad to see that Twitter has been such an effective marketing platform for you!
Devon, I remember you predicting December would be off due to holidays and furniture moving. It was fruitful in many ways!
Krista, a profit is a profit! Just go back over your marketing. Maybe the answer is there.
Paula, you're on fire! I'm impressed with how busy you are. I think the lower rates are to be expected, and they're so much better than losing the job altogether. Let's hope your clients remember your loyalty when the economy improves!
Kathy, I think given your personal situation, any earnings is a plus. You've had a lot to deal with that interfered. I think you did quite well considering.
AnnaLisa, that's fantastic! Not bad at all for a part-timer. 🙂 I love that you got all that work without even trying.
Andrea, happy 2010! I hope it's a great one for you.
That's the attitude, Kim. I'm with you – putting on the positive perspective really makes a difference.
Thanks for the kind words, Lori. Hearing you say I'm on fire is some needed positive reinforcement. Most of December I kind of felt like I'm spinning my wheels just trying not to fall further behind 2008's earnings than I knew I already was. At first I was hoping to get a check in the mail each day, but as the year drew to a close, I was hoping I wouldn't be paid until January.
Still waiting on about $800 I thought would be paid in December, but now I see it as a deposit on January, and $800 less I'll owe taxes on for 2009.
Just finished officially invoicing for December and despite all the time I took off, I managed to almost hit the low end of my monthly goal. I'm hoping that's a good sign for 2010.
I've also got a tentative total for 2009 earnings. I'm off the 2008 mark by about $4,000, but some of that is because I have a big client behind by three invoices. Of course, I was off 2007's earnings by $4,000 in 2008, so I'm now down $8,000 from two years ago. Considering all the personal issues I contended with this year, I'm still happy overall. It could have been a LOT worse.
Here's to a succesful 2010 for all of us!
Kathy, considering your year last year, that's still good. That you're doing well with a dip in income means you've set great goals to begin with.
Paula, it's amazing how sometimes you think you're just wasting time until you look at it objectively. The day-to-day for me can often feel like wasted energy, but as long as the invoices tell the true story, I'm okay with that. 🙂