Monthly Assessment - February 2010

Wow, short month! Here we are again, baring our souls and our progress together. It was a very busy month for me despite my dropping a long-time client last month. The income I thought I'd miss was quickly replaced with better-paying work and much better working conditions.

Here's how my month shaped up:

Queries:
One. Seriously. I sent one query at the request of the editor and scored the job not on that query, but on her "What about this instead?" response. It's a lucrative one, too. Amen.

Job postings:
Haven't even looked at these. I had one sent to me, which I'd seen circulating, so I didn't bother.

Existing clients:
This is where the bulk of my work is right now. I have four regular clients needing ongoing work. That's amounting to nearly half my monthly earnings target. I had a long-time client get in touch and I dashed off a quick project.

Also, this is the month the past clients are reconnecting. Two or three more dropped notes saying business was picking up. One said, "Keep your phone line open." I love it.

New clients:
I found two new clients - or rather, they found me. One was a quick resume job with a very nice person. It was a pleasure making him look good. Another was a potential source of ongoing work. One was a referral from a friend, the other a Twitter connection. Again, I'm loving Twitter.

I talked with a potential client via phone about a project, then had some email conversations this week about the same project, but no formal offer yet. I'm not sure there's one to be made. It's a weird situation in which I think I'm considered the adviser without actually having anyone say "We'd like you to be our adviser." Note to self: clear that up with the client before it goes too much further.

Earnings:
For the first time in a year (I checked) I reached my earnings target. Correction - I surpassed my earnings target. I refuse to play catch-up on last year's earnings losses (that's old news). I'll keep looking forward, trying to improve each month.

Bottom line:
Despite doing no active marketing, I have plenty of work. Word-of-mouth is bringing in work, and Twitter continues to impress me in how much work has come from it.

I need to market more (read that again, at all, etc.). Though I have plenty of work and little idle time, I'd like to increase the per-hour rate and be more selective with my projects. The plan includes emails to clients, Twitter mentions, LinkedIn conversations, and some actual magazine stumping.

How was your February? What worked for you? What do you need to improve?