I stared wide-eyed at my laptop display, frozen with disbelief. $306,055.05. That was the whole income quantity I noticed on the high of my revenue and loss assertion on the finish of 2021.
Indisputably, it was the most important monetary yr my freelance writing enterprise had ever had—each in complete income and in internet revenue (which was proper round $175,000 earlier than taxes and retirement financial savings).
After a fast second to pat myself on the again, I discovered myself going through the query that plagues each enterprise proprietor: So…what’s subsequent?
I knew what my plan was for the following few months: A 3-month maternity go away to welcome my second son (in order that high-earning yr undoubtedly got here in helpful to self-fund my very own go away).
However what about after that? Ought to I begin providing new companies? Ought to I proceed constructing a group of subcontractors to assist with the work? Ought to I spin this into my very own full-fledged content material company?
Conventional knowledge and hustle-obsessed posts on LinkedIn would nudge me within the route of chasing extra. Extra shoppers. Extra credibility. Extra initiatives. More cash.
And but, I’m doing the precise reverse. After my highest-earning yr ever, I’m deliberately scaling again.
Blame it on burnout, the pandemic, or changing into a mother (or the entire above), however I’m craving extra time and fewer stress. That nagging want for higher stability began a few yr in the past, after I by chance skipped finishing a household artwork venture for my son’s daycare. It remained forgotten on our kitchen counter as a result of I used to be too swamped with work to take a seat down with him. I made a decision then and there to chop Fridays out of my workweeks.
That change helped me really feel like my schedule was extra aligned with my priorities. However, after including one other kiddo into the combo, I nonetheless felt strapped for time—even with my three-day weekend. So, I’ve taken issues a step additional. I’m saying goodbye to the lengthy hours and dealing weekends that constructed my enterprise and solely working Monday by way of Wednesday for the foreseeable future.
In some methods, it was a simple determination. It felt like the proper strategy to get the very best of each worlds. In different methods, it was a change I wrestled with, particularly when a lot of my id is wrapped up in what I do for a dwelling. Stepping again to part-time felt like admitting that I had failed miserably at “having all of it.”
However, regardless of the challenges, the choice has taught me fairly just a few priceless classes about development, priorities, and that coveted work-life stability everyone is attempting so arduous to realize.
Lesson #1: stability takes fixed dedication
It typically looks as if work-life stability is a puzzle to be put collectively. A code to be cracked. As if it’s one thing that you determine as soon as, and after that, you’ll be able to reap the rewards of a life that’s completely proportional.
That’s not the case for me. I’ve set a tough boundary of working solely three days per week, however my obligations don’t magically match within that container. Holding that line requires fixed selection, dedication, and even sacrifice.
That’s the flip facet of work-life stability that will get far much less consideration. Many individuals speak about what they’ve gained (and naturally, there’s loads of that), however it’s uncommon that they speak about what they’ve misplaced.
After I first scaled again my workweek, it meant parting methods with a retainer consumer I had labored with for over six years. That consumer made up about 20% of my revenue, however the nature of the work didn’t match with my decreased working hours. I’d like to say that ending that association felt like a symbolic rebirth of my enterprise and a reset of my priorities, however the brutal reality is that it felt…properly, terrifying.
I summoned my braveness and did it anyway. That was the beginning of a collection of powerful (however obligatory) choices to make my excellent schedule a actuality. Since then, I’ve turned down shoppers that have been an ideal match for me. Initiatives I used to be enthusiastic about. Paychecks that might’ve been significant. There are talking alternatives I can’t settle for, initiatives I can’t participate in, and concepts I can’t pursue—all as a result of they merely don’t match throughout the limitations I’ve set.
Is it value it? Completely. I do know that I’ve received greater than I’ve misplaced. I’ve extra time, extra power, and extra persistence (which was admittedly in brief provide after I felt continually burdened by an unreasonable workload). However the relentless trade-offs have proven me that work-life stability isn’t really a end line to be crossed—it’s the marathon itself.
Lesson #2: I’m OK with a ‘center floor’ enterprise
A lot enterprise recommendation feels so… properly, excessive.
You hear from individuals who boast about their unshakeable dedication to their firms and careers. They’re working 80-hour weeks and sleeping on their workplace flooring, all within the hopes that their financial institution statements will sometime appear to be lottery winnings.
And then you definitely hear from the individuals on the opposite facet of the spectrum. They’d some kind of awakening, left high-powered careers, and now reside from a transformed Sprinter van as they bounce between nationwide parks.
And right here I’m, someplace within the center. The enterprise (and revenue) I’ve labored so arduous to construct continues to be essential to me, however it’s not going to devour all of my time, power, and a focus. That doesn’t imply I’ve a need to depart all of it behind both.
I’d like to say that I’m completely content material hanging out between these two extremes, however it’s really fairly counterintuitive and evokes a hefty quantity of restlessness for me.
To fight these anxious and itchy emotions, I set a purpose: I need to earn someplace between $8,000 and $10,000 every month. Now, I take advantage of a spreadsheet to maintain monitor of the entire initiatives I e book for every month and, after I’ve reached my revenue purpose, I cease accepting work. It’s a easy method that helps me keep away from overextending myself because of the, “Nicely…I would want the cash…” lure.
I’ve discovered solidarity with many different enterprise homeowners who’re occupying my identical center floor. And I’ve come to embrace that, regardless of what clickbait would have us consider, it’s completely potential (and greater than okay!) to run a reasonably profitable enterprise—with out it monopolizing my whole life.
Lesson #3: individuals aren’t paying a lot consideration to my schedule
This thought was on repeat inside my head as I debated slicing again my workweek: However what if any individual—gasp!—emails me after I’m not there?
It feels so ridiculous to put in writing out, however I can’t blame myself for feeling that means.
The fixed connectedness of our world has typically impressed a way of allegiance to my inbox. Through the years, I’ve felt the have to be readily accessible and in a position to instantly bounce on no matter red-alert-three-alarm-this-is-not-a-test emergency which may, probably, possibly land on my desk (in eight years, I’ve but to expertise an actual “weblog submit emergency,” by the way in which).
I tossed and turned over how I’d nonetheless be capable to serve my shoppers if I used to be solely signed on three days every week. Would they resent me? Would they go for any individual else who could possibly be reached in any respect hours?
Right here’s what really occurred: I lower my workweek again to 3 days and no person even observed.
Yep. You learn that proper. I explicitly instructed just a few shoppers about my new schedule after we wanted to arrange conferences. However, not a single soul has picked up on my adjusted workweek on their very own. Or in the event that they did? They actually didn’t care sufficient to say one thing.
I match my workload inside my restrictions and reply to messages after I’m moderately in a position to, and up to now, we’re all alive to inform the story.
With regards to that sense of urgency most of us really feel saddled with, it’s straightforward to level the finger at different individuals’s calls for and expectations. However, it’s value wanting within the mirror. In my case, a number of the strain was self-imposed.
Lesson #4: I can’t all the time measure success by the numbers
As a enterprise proprietor, “success” has all the time felt powerful to wrap my arms round. In spite of everything, there are not any outlined profession paths, promotions, efficiency evaluations, and lofty firm targets handed down from on excessive.
That signifies that numbers have typically been the indicator I’ve used to assessment how the enterprise is doing. Is income forward of what it was final month? Final quarter? Final yr? I’m heading in the right direction. If not? I’d ship pitches, pursue new work, and pack my schedule and workload to the brim.
I realized to like the quantifiable—and it’s that black-and-white perspective that might have me consider that 2021 was my most “profitable” yr in enterprise.
And sure, it was my highest-earning yr, however wanting again, it wasn’t my most profitable. In actual fact, I really feel much more “profitable” this yr.
I’m being extra selective than I’ve ever been about what shoppers and initiatives I tackle. I’m pondering strategically concerning the subsequent steps in my enterprise and ensuring they’re aligned with my priorities. I’m taking time for issues I get pleasure from that don’t have a paycheck hooked up to them. My children and I potted some flowers and are caring for them. We take weekly journeys to the library or playground. I’m attempting out new recipes and began studying once more.
Will I earn as a lot as I did final yr? Nope. Most likely not even shut.
However on the finish of the day, it’s all the opposite stuff that feels far more like “success”—even when the quantity on my revenue and loss assertion is smaller.
