It’s been 15 months since I went full-time as a freelancer (fitting, considering it’s 2015!). And, let me tell you, it’s been a helluva ride. There’s been good, there’s been bad, there’s been flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants moments, and there’s been small victories that have felt better than winning the lottery.

It’s seriously been one of the most exciting, most terrifying, most liberating journeys of my life.

And still it continues.

But instead of looking forward, I want to take a minute to look back at what I’ve learnt over the past year when it comes to freelancing and running a business.

We should always be looking for ways to improve, and to do that we need to know where our weak points are, what mistakes we’ve made, and how we can learn from them, amirite?!

I’d love for you to chime in in the comments, too, with the lessons you’ve learnt this year – freelancing or otherwise.

Lessons Learned From Freelancing This Year

1. Don’t Get Comfortable

It’s so easy to sit back and relax when you have a full roster of clients.

There have been so many months where I’ve added up my projected income and had a little smile. Then I’ve stopped marketing my services because, well, I don’t need anymore clients.

But later in the month, one of those “sure-thing” clients will get in touch saying they need to break for a few weeks, or they can’t afford it anymore.

Then I’m left high and dry.

After this happened 3 times I realised I needed to do something about it.

Instead of sitting back with a mojito (or cup of coffee) in hand when a month was filled out with work, I’d still continue my regular marketing plan. It only takes an hour or two each week, but it means I have a constant supply of new clients when one of my regulars drops out for a while.

2. Networking is So Important

If you’re anything like me, part of the thrill of freelancing is because you don’t have to get yourself into awkward social situations with colleagues.

But I soon realised that I couldn’t propel my business on my own. I needed people to back me up, people to vouch for me, and people who would continue to promote my services to their colleagues and friends when I didn’t have the time to.

So, if you think freelancing is all about being holed up in your basement writing like Hemingway, think again dear friend.

There’s a HUGE element of networking that goes into building a successful business. Think about it: Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it certainly wasn’t built by one person.

3. Be Nice, Even When It’s Hard

Sometimes you’ll get a tricky client or two who just doesn’t “get it”. They might be rude to you, slam your services, or make you feel the size of a dust mite.

On so many occasions I’ve wanted to leap back at them defending my services and my prices, and to tell them exactly how they’re going about things the wrong way.

But this doesn’t solve anything.

I’ve learned that these clients aren’t open to education. They’re set in their ways and it’ll take more than a single email to change their way of thinking.

Instead, I’m as polite as anything. I’m nice. I understand where they’re coming from. I understand why they think my services are pricey. And then I wish them luck in finding the right person for the job.

A couple of times this has worked seriously in my favour. The client has got back to me saying they’ll see if they can expand their budget as they think I’d be great to work with.

Win-win.

4. I’m a Lot More Resilient Than I Thought

2015 was an interesting year for me – not always in a good way. It’s been a year where I’ve been tested to my limits, really had to ask myself what I want from life, and generally had to adult in serious and sad situations.

I won’t go into the details because it’s pretty morbid (and this is supposed to be a fun post!), but probably the most important lesson I’ve learned in 2015 has been about myself – which in turn has affected my business.

I’ve learned that I can get through even the worst situations because, well, I have to. I don’t have any other choice. Curling up into a ball and hoping things will go away never helped anyone, and facing fears, hurt, and the unknown head on is seriously character building.

5. Rejection is Important

When I first started freelancing I was absolutely terrified of getting rejected. I thought it meant my work wasn’t good enough, that people would be laughing behind my back because I’m a terrible writer.

But, in fact, the more I get rejected, the more I can improve my freelance business and services.

Why? Because I know what I need to improve. I know what my weak points are. And sometimes, I learn that a client wasn’t a good fit for me anyways.

6. Treat Your Work Like a Business

At the beginning of my freelance career I was just getting by from one month to the next, hustling to find work and literally flying by the seat of my pants.

The result? I never thought my business would grow. I thought I’d be working for the same clients forever, that I’d be earning the same income forever, and that I’d made a terrible mistake by going freelance because I obviously couldn’t cut it.

Then in mid-2015 I changed my mindset.

Instead of thinking about myself as just a freelancer, I thought about myself as running a freelance business. Just this simple change in wording helped me create a client message that spoke to my IDEAL audience, increase my prices, and offer packages that meant I’d be booked up for months in advance.

It might just seem like a simple phrase jiggle, but it has actually helped me make better decisions for my business in the long run.

7. It’s All About the “Feelings”

Seriously, this won’t get all feelsy on you. When I talk about feelings, I’m talking about how you want to make people feel with your business.

Whether it’s how you want your clients to feel when they stumble across your services (something like, “oh hell yeah, I need to hire them!”), or whether it’s how you want to make your client’s audience feel when you’re doing a piece of work.

Even in online businesses, life is all about the feelings. So, if you can bring out a strong emotion in potential clients, you’re absolutely golden.

8. Marketing Can Be Fun

I worked in marketing for a couple of years, so I probably shouldn’t be broadcasting the fact that I didn’t think it was fun before this year.

HOWEVER, for so long I was taught by large corporations that marketing meant sleazy sales tactics, getting shady guest posts on crappy sites, and generally shoving your services down other people’s throats.

But this year I’ve realised that to market well, your strategy has to tie in with your brand. So guess what? If you’re business isn’t shady, then you’re marketing won’t be either!

I’ve found great new ways to market my business that really don’t feel like marketing – and I’ve seen great results from them, too!

9. Facebook Groups Are Amazing

I’m really not a big Facebook user. By that I mean I stalk my Facebook feed like there’s no tomorrow, but I rarely post anything on my own page.

This year, though, I discovered a secret side to Facebook – groups. These are places where you can mingle with like-minded people, get business advice, and share your wins and successes with people who really care.

I had no idea there were these awesome communities out there, but I’m so glad I discovered them this year!

10. To Succeed, You Have to Put Yourself Out There

If no one knows about you, how are they going to know your services are the best on the planet?

Short answer – they’re not. If you went freelance to hide away in your basement (and, therefore, not have contact with anyone, ever), you might have to reconsider your thinking.

If you really want to grow your freelance business you HAVE to put yourself out there. Whether it’s Facebook groups, networking in real life, or simply reaching out to potential clients, you need to make yourself visible online and offline.

11. Plan in Advance

Like I said earlier, at the start of my freelance career, I was literally taking things one month at a time. I figured I was earning enough, so did I really need to change anything?

Answer: hell yes.

This is a surefire way to create a stagnant business pronto. After my mindset change in mid 2015, I began planning products, projecting my income goals, and creating plans for one year, two years, and five years into the future.

The result? I know exactly where I want my business to be in each timeframe and the steps I need to take to get there. So as well as doing my regular client work each month, I also set aside some time to work towards these goals.

12. Be Kind to Yourself

This year has been hard for me, both professionally and personally. But one of the ways I got through it all was by being kind to myself.

Now, I’m definitely not the sort of person who’s into woo-woo “spiritual” stuff, but I’m a huge believer that we need to listen to our bodies and what they’re telling us.

If you’re stressed and rundown, take some time out. It’s better to take one day off and recover than to have to take a week off when you’ve worked yourself to the bone and not cut yourself any slack.

I try to treat myself like I would treat an employee of mine. I would want them to perform at their best, and to do that they need to be healthy and relaxed.

13. Narrowing Down Is Good

It’s so easy to think that having a broader audience and client base means the world is your oyster, but in actual fact, this can hinder your chances of growing.

I begrudgingly learned that this year. To begin with, I was marketing my services to anyone and his mother. To finance brands, lifestyle brands, foodie companies – everyone. But I wasn’t getting any bites.

Why? Because my message was all over place. I didn’t have a focus, so I wasn’t seen as an expert at what I did.

As soon as I solely started marketing my services to travel and lifestyle brands, I noticed an uptake in client work and an increase in my prices – because I was a valuable asset thanks to my specialisms.

14. Freelancing Is Time Consuming

A lot of my friends think I work a couple of hours a day and then I sit back and watch Netflix.

While I can get most of my client work done in a morning, I also have to tend to other parts of my business that aren’t specifically “money-making”.

Things like my accounts. Things like marketing, blogging, invoicing, chasing up clients, bringing a new client on board.

All of these things take time, but they’re VITAL in ensuring my business runs as smoothly as possible. To many, the draw of the “freedom” of freelancing gives them a nasty shock when they realise it takes up a lot more of their time than they thought it would.

I don’t mind, I love all the extra work just as much as I love serving my clients, but it’s a lesson every freelancer needs to learn the hard way.

15. Remember Why You Went Freelance

Every time I’m feeling down, or feeling like my business is stuck in a rut, I remember WHY I went freelance in the first place. I think about the days spent wishing I was building up my own business rather than someone else’s.

I think about the times when I got home from work, exhausted, and couldn’t do anything other than flop on the sofa. I think about the times when I couldn’t just pop out for lunch with friends in the middle of the day, or beat the crowds at the grocery store by going in the morning.

But mostly, I think about how I get to work for myself, set my own hours, choose who I work with, and how only I get to decide the future of my business.

2015 has definitely been a year of lessons for me, and I’m going into 2016 armed with this new knowledge. Hopefully 2016 will be bigger and better, but I also hope I’ll learn a helluva lot more next year, too!

Your Turn!

How has 2015 been for you and your freelance business? What are the major lessons you’ve learned over the past 12 months?

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