Freelance Update: My One Month Review

August was my first full month of being full-time freelance. It has been a wild month full of highs, lows, and uncertainty.

But this is what I signed up for, right?

And I love it! I didn’t realize how utterly exhausted I was until the transition. For the first two weeks, I took a nap. Every. Day. After working more than 80 hours a week for the past six months (and really I’ve been pushing myself for years, since graduate school), I was just simply exhausted.

It felt both oddly exhilarating and worrisome to freely take a nap in the middle of the day. I’ve now recovered and no longer take naps. I feel rested and happier than I’ve been in a very long time. I am now getting around 7-8 hours of sleep every night, compared to 4-6 hours before.

I have had some challenges, though.

Being a Night Owl

I have always known I am a night owl. It’s like as soon as 10pm hits, I’m ready to work! When I was juggling my full-time job and freelance work, being a night owl was helpful…until I still couldn’t get all the work done and was routinely waking up at 5 or 6am to get stuff done before work too. Now that I’m on my own, my inner night owl has taken over. I’m often working until midnight or even 3am. Then I sleep until 8-10am. Somehow it really works. So while I do my best work at night, during the day I’m often doing easier stuff like answering emails, responding to comments, etc. Easy stuff that doesn’t require much of my brain. I’m feeling really guilty not doing “important” work (although I’d still regard that as important – but it’s unpaid, nonetheless) during the day. But I still meet my deadlines. I get things done. It’s just at night, most of the time. Somehow I really enjoy working when I know most people aren’t, but I need to let go of the guilt of not being productive every waking hour.

Payment Schedule

Most of my freelance work pays me once a month. That’s a stark difference from twice a month. Luckily, I do have some event work and other gigs that pay me sporadically, but I swear I felt like I waited 3 weeks to get paid for anything. I was stalking the mailman, hungry for my check. I’ve come to realize I need to get used to this, which is why I’m going to continue to prioritize my emergency fund, to get me through those moments of paranoia. I know the money is coming, but I just have to wait.

Divorcing Myself from the Employee Mentality

For so long I’ve been in the employee mentality; I’m good at being told what to do; I behave; I collaborate; I play nice, sometimes too nice. But I’m the boss now. And that’s still hard for me to accept sometimes. I’ve been slowly pushing my boundaries and asking for what I want and need in several low-risk situations…and it’s worked out well. I realize I need to be more assertive and ask for what I want. No one is going to just give it to me. Action always beats inaction. I’m also realizing that what I think is a big deal in my head, really is nothing to other people. In short, these are my issues, not other people’s – to get what I want I need to get out of my own way and ask for what I want and need. No one is a mind reader, so be upfront.

So how did I do financially?

On one hand, I made more than I did at my old job…

But it was actually less, after you consider taxes…

And it’s definitely less than what I was making with my full-time job and side hustles combined.

But I’m happier than ever, rested, and I’m hustling. I have faith I will continue to grow and make more money.

For my first month out, I’m pretty happy with the outcome. But I have room to grow, too, so if you need a writer, editor, virtual assistant, social media manager or side hustle coach, get in touch!

While I won’t be sharing totals, you can see percentages of my income and where it came from:

63% of my income came from writing, editing, and virtual assisting.

35% of my income came from brand ambassador and event work. I work as a brand ambassador a lot and also have a very part-time job working for a local congregation in town as an event assistant. I always get free food and wine, too.

2% sales. I was able to sell some old stuff I didn’t need.

So as you can see, while I am making the majority of money online, it isn’t all of it. I like it that way too because I believe wholeheartedly in diversifying your income. The event work also helps me get away from the computer and gets me interacting with people face-to-face.

Some days I don’t leave the house, or I don’t leave until much later, and I’m so surprised by the sun and all the sensory experiences of being outdoors. Such a difference from the near fluorescent luminance of my laptop and the dark aura of my closet-turned-office.

So there you have it folks. My first full month in review. I can still hardly believe I quit, but I feel in my heart it was the right decision. And I’m excited for the continued adventure (especially at FinCon in 2 weeks! I’m going to FinCon camp, baby! Come see me at karaoke?).

p.s. If you haven’t filled out my survey, I’d greatly appreciate if you could spare 3 minutes for 3 questions. I genuinely want to make a better experience for you.

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Melanie

Melanie Lockert is the founder of the blog and author of the book, Dear Debt. Through her blog, she chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. She is also the co-founder of the Lola Retreat, which helps bold women face their fears, own their dreams and figure out a plan to be in control of their finances. She is passionate about empowering women, helping others get out of debt, and focuses on the intersection of debt and mental health. Every September she organizes a Suicide Prevention Awareness Blog Tour, to help share resources for those struggling with debt and suicide. In addition to her love of personal finance, art and music, she is also a karaoke master and a cat mom to Miles and Thelonious.

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