I think I need to start with some apologies, I started this newsletter a few years ago to, firstly, give myself something to do, but also to share lessons in entrepreneurship with you all.
Then I fell off the face of the earth.
I’ve been through my own journey these last few years and it’s involved a lot of time on stage, many millions of words, and an identity crisis of sorts.
But I’m back, and I’ve noticed that a lot of freelancers are struggling.
It’s been a weird year for us all — we’ve faced the threat of AI taking our jobs, Nov/Dec have been quieter than usual, and the world economy has turned itself upside down.
I like to think my business is quite resilient but I’ve struggled this year. It feels weird to admit that. I feel like we’re supposed to put on a brave face and only talk about the positives but these last couple of months have been genuinely shit.
Part of this comes down to many of my startup clients being hit by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, meaning they’ve had to slow down their marketing activity.
I know I’m not alone in this. I see a lot of freelance creatives talking about how up and down the year has been.
So I wanted to reach out and remind you that this is the way of the world. You’ll likely be overwhelmed with work as soon as January hits and all those businesses you’ve been trying to land in Q4 suddenly realise they have nothing in place and need you ASAP.
What we can also do, and I’m going to take this advice on board too, is to plan for those slow months at the end of 2024. They seem so far off but it’s good to start laying some groundwork (or, at least, saving some cash) ready for whatever madness this next year is going to throw at us.
Reading list:
How I Get My Clients to Pay Upfront (Medium)
How to Make Tech Thought Leadership Work For Your Business (Forbes)
Let me know how things are going and I’d love to read what you’ve been working on.
🥂 Here’s to 2024!
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