Comments on: Monthly Assessment: August 2012

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:09:48 +0000

Super plan, Kim. Can't go wrong seeking out those who value you.

Good point, Paula. Whatever your system, as long as it works for you, right?

By: Paula

Paula — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:49:32 +0000

The reason I count paid invoices is because I can't pay my own bills until the payments arrive.

I track how much I have invoiced, too, but to me it's a chicken/eggs kind of thing.

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:02:14 +0000

Lori, I'm going on paid invoices. I've spent time this year researching and seeking out markets willing and able to pay for freelance services. This is something i neglected to do starting out. It's made a big difference for me.

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:20:59 +0000

Cathy, there's always a bright spot. Sorry things are drying up a bit. It's frustrating when you finally feel on track to have that happen. Illustrates just how tenuous our careers can be at times.

Paula, nice month! Yes, repairs do more damage to our savings goals than anything.

Susan, good seeing you! I count invoice totals. My goal is to bill a certain amount every month, and I measure what invoices go out. You should see me the last few days of the month trying to figure out what I can finish now and what goes into next month's totals!

My daughter is doing much, much better. Thank you for asking. She's seeing a terrific therapist and she's found a good medication schedule and is working to get to the root of the anxiety.

Kim, great to hear you're reaping the benefits of that new market! How do you measure results - paid invoices or sent ones?

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:32:38 +0000

Sounds like you had a very good month, Lori. I'll be crunching my August numbers today, but from what I can see August was on target for me. I have one client who has been very slow about paying, and I'm hoping I won't have to chase down money.

So far I've made more this year than previous years. This is partly the result of reaching out to a new market last fall.

Paula, I hear you on those property taxes being due!

By: Susan Johnston

Susan Johnston — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:12:16 +0000

Lori: I'm so impressed that met your income goal by day 10 of the month. Do you count according to work completed or money collected? (As freelancers know, that can be two very different things.)

Also, how's your daughter doing? Better, I hope?

By: Paula

Paula — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:08:38 +0000

Finally a monthly assessment I'm not terribly upset about. It could always be better, but it's not bad.

Queries - sent two batches of queries to two of my favorite editors, and a single query as well.

LOIs - sent two. One replied that they don't currently pay. At all. Buh-bye. (The one danger of seeking your own targets is not knowing their payment policies.)

Existing clients - kept me busy. Turned in two articles, one capsule and one column. Did two light editing projects. Picked up two article assignments.

New clients - none, unless you count one-shot resume referrals (see below).

Referrals - did two resumes, and am waiting for the go-ahead on another.

Earnings: So far I've taken in slightly less than my modest monthly goal, but I currently have MORE than that goal invoiced out, and the projects I'm working on now equal about half my monthly goal.

Bottom line: If I keep up the pace I should recover from the damage those endless repair bills have done to my bank account this summer. I've even managed to stash a little money in savings this month - despite property taxes part 2 being due next week.

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:56:10 +0000

While busy and earnings on target, the last couple of months have been frustrating. The retainer has turned into a juggling nightmare and it now looks like I won't have any income coming in from that source for Oct through December. It looks like $4,000 in expected earnings is not going to happen. So, I am looking to replace that income.

And another client is involved in a major IT roll-out so it looks like projects there are drying up. I have the 3-Day Walk in November + vacation so I have 2 weeks off.

I have an email campaign I just launched so we'll see where that goes.

On a positive note, it gives me plenty of time for my neglected projects. ☺