The Hustle – October Wrap-Up

Happy November, adventurers!

It’s hard to believe how close we are to the end of the year. I spent this weekend planning holiday travel, making gift lists, and wondering exactly when it got so cold outside. (And inside. Turns out the heat in our apartment needs a little tune-up… whoops…)

For me, closing in on the end of the year is always a bit of a shock. I like to consider myself organized, but once November rolls around, I start to wonder exactly what I’ve been doing with my time and why haven’t I achieved all 12 of those top-priority goals I set back in January?

Luckily, I got my act together a little early this year…

Lessons Learned: Time to Hustle

Whether you’re just starting your freelance adventure, or you’ve been self-employed for a while, there is one thing you must always remember: every day is a hustle.

That’s not to say you can’t ever have a day off (though some months yes, that will happen). That’s not to say that you must spend every moment of every day thinking about your business (though you’ll probably find those thoughts creeping in at inappropriate moments).

But it is to say that, if you want to hold steady, never mind grow, you have to hustle. If you don’t hustle, you don’t get paid.

Every since my business took a hit back in the spring, I’ve been concentrating on building my income and client base back up. This October in particular, I took a look at my finances, looked at where I wanted to be versus where I was, and I sat my butt down to work like crazy.

I reached out to new clients. I reached out to old clients. I contacted editors on LinkedIn. I emailed blog managers. I updated my social media profiles and created an online portfolio using Pinterest.

I abandoned my “normal” working hours and instead focused on the tasks I wanted to accomplish.

And you know what? It worked out. My income for the past month was twice as high as it had been for the three months prior. And I expect that in November, I’ll do even better.

Networking and pitching and hustling tends to snowball: once you start, it’s easier to keep going. Once you’ve landed a new client, it’s easier to reach back out and touch base again, to land a second and third and fourth gig, or even regular work. Once you’ve developed a system for finding and pitching to one blog manager, it’s easier and faster to pitch to the next one, and the next one.

But it all starts with that first hustle. So if you’ve been slacking off, don’t worry: just get going. You’ve got two months left in 2014, so make them count!

(Need a little help staying accountable? Email me your goals for the next 60 days, and I’ll send you mine!)

On Camera

I’ve spent so much of this year traveling (by the end of December, I will have traveled in 11 out of 12 months) that I haven’t been able to do as much acting work as I wanted. The availability just wasn’t there. And while I loved all the places I went and people I saw, I’ve decided that 2015 is going to be the year of Katharine-Does-The-S***-She-Needs-To-Do, rather than being quite  so available to everyone else in my life.

Still, this past month I did manage to sneak in a little time on camera as a featured extra in a History Channel show. My roles? Colonial gentlewoman and … wait for it … colonial prostitute. Not too classy, but it was a whole lot of fun.

My costume looks:

Actors being goofy on set (it always happens):

Copywriting Work

I’ve been picking up a lot more blogging work lately, which I really love. Blogging regularly for a single company or website is really the best, because it gives you a chance to really get to know the market, the audience, and the style of the site. If you need a regular blogger for your site, get in touch!

I redid one of my websites this past month also. None of the changes were particularly big, but even small tweaks can make a big difference.

I’ve also been continuing with my popular website critiques. My most recent critique client had this to say about my service:

“Great insights, well thought through with superb presence and intelligence!”

Shameless plug time: If you know your site needs some work but you aren’t sure what should be done, take a look at my website critique service. It’s a great place to start and can give you a bunch of ideas for how to improve your site and make more real connections with your customers online. Whether you’re an established business or a brand new freelancer, your website is the most essential part of your online presence, so let’s make sure it’s working the way you need!

Around the Web

1. Part of the reason I got into freelancing was to do work I was excited about. So I really appreciate this article from Brazen Life on mistakes to avoid if you want to land a career you love.
2. One of my most popular posts this month was on five signs that a client is a bad fit. If you’re wondering whether to say “no, thanks,” be sure to check it out.
3. Don’t wait for the new year to start making changes. Tom has a great post on taking small steps to improve your life right now.
4. Alexis Grant has a great article on how to create the systems that will actually help you finish your projects.
5. Hate making phone calls to clients? Check out my article on ways to make business phone calls easier.
6. I got a little personal on GoGirl Finance, talking about how we manage financially while my husband is in school.

Are you ready for the end of the year…

Or do you need to start hustling?