Comments on: Monthly Assessment – June

By: Sue

Sue — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:04:26 +0000

June was my best month this year, but I'm way down from last year on average. And July . . . well, it's probably a good thing I was planning to take time off in July. I won't be juggling vacation/surgery recovery with too much work, at least not at this moment.

I've been pitching, but the responses aren't positive. "No freelance budget" and "I barely have enough work for my regulars" are common themes.

By: Gabriella F.

Gabriella F. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:18:06 +0000

Hi Lori.

I focus on online and print legal, real estate, and personal finance publications. A handful have cut back, but few have eliminated budgets altogether. I guess I'm extremely lucky?!

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:51:06 +0000

Thank you, Kimberly. I'm glad it helps you. I bare my soul because hey, that's who I am. If I'm going to share the good times, I'm going to share the cruddy ones, too. :)

Kathy, your first quarter results are understandable. It does beg the question - do we have enough stored away for these times? How much is enough?

Gabriella, I'm dying to know where you're finding magazine work. I've hit a brick wall. No one's responding. It's wild.
Another post. :)

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:07:50 +0000

Once I sit down long enough to breathe from running my kids all over town as I frantically work in remote locations, I will have to look over my own numbers for June. Everything seems to be okay - not spectacular mind you, but okay.

I am a little nervous about the lack of new business I'm bringing in (same experience as you with job postings), so I'll be firing up my marketing efforts within the next couple of weeks. BTW, did I ever tell you how much I LOVE that you do this each month?:)

By: Irreverent Freelancer

Irreverent Freelancer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:59:12 +0000

June turned out to be a good month for me after all. That's two months in a row that were above the mark (assuming I can get all my clients to pay). But keep in mind that I had a dismal first quarter.

By: Irreverent Freelancer

Irreverent Freelancer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:00:28 +0000

I'll be doing June invoicing this afternoon so I don't have concrete numbers just yet. It's looking to be a fairly good month for me, though–near my monthly aim but probably on the lower end of my goal. However, here's a different trend I'm concerned about. HALF of my May invoices are still outstanding. I usually have a few ongoing clients who are stragglers and come in around the 45-day mark. And my magazine client is notoriously late. Even letting those clients slide, I'm still having to send out a lot of late reminders. I'm not particularly happy that I have to expend additional time on that dreadful task.

By: Gabriella F.

Gabriella F. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:53:07 +0000

Hi Lori.

As always, I appreciate your candor in your monthly assessments.

After a horrid May (remember how I chastised myself for my lack of motivation?), my June was great, but not as great as I'd expected.

I was supposed to turn the last of eight assignments for the month in on June 29, but the ed called and said, "Hey, we're thinking of retooling this article a bit, and of course we'd extend the deadline to get it done."

That was fantastic for me because it eased a deadline crunch, but it also meant some income will be deferred to July. That's okay. Still a good month.

July's looking good, too.

On the new business front, it's dismal. I did respond to one Craigslist post but got no response.

However, an editor I've been keeping in touch with for literally 1.5 years is finally giving me an assignment in July. Go figure.

The lesson? Though it sometimes seems fruitless to stay in touch with people who ask you to do just that--especially when it drags on for ages--marketing is partly keeping your face before the people who may need your services.

Bottom line: I know I need to follow your lead and do much better at marketing, but so far, I'm hanging in there without it.

As you said to Devon, it sounds like you're just going through a rough patch. I'm confident a pro like you will suddenly see business flow in!

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:53:43 +0000

Hearing that you and others are having good months makes me believe this is a temporary slump, Devon. I'm working on other things – my fiction side – and maybe I'll dust off the children's books and get them circulating again.

By: devonellington

devonellington — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:17:11 +0000

June was great in many ways, although with the problems with UHaul this latter part of the month, it's taken time away from the fiction.

It looks like I've landed a regular gig for something I really want to do. Money is okay -- not brilliant, but enough to make it worth it for me -- and the area is something about which I'm very excited.

The Macbook has made a huge difference in productivity and upped the income. Because I can design REALLY well on it, my marketing materials have made a leap, and that's going to be a focus in July -- getting materials out there.