Guess what? It’s that time of year…
Thanksgiving!
And one day later comes the shoppapalooza known as Black Friday, followed by Cyber Monday, and then four weeks of pure retail insanity.
You may be like me, and annoyed that Christmas decorations have been filling the shelves since before Halloween, so let’s set that aside for now. Instead, I’m going to focus on Thanksgiving and why I’m a thankful freelancer.
And even if you don’t live in the U.S., you don’t have to eat turkey or dress up in a pilgrim suit to play along. Thursday the 24th of November, 2016 is just as good a day as any to be thankful.
A Time to Reflect
For me, Thanksgiving is a natural time to reflect on my copywriting business. Where the rapidly approaching New Year’s Day inspires me to think ahead, Thanksgiving makes me pause and look back.
And that’s something we all should do more of.
I’ll be the first to admit I don’t do enough of this. I spend far more time looking ahead, chasing goals, and dwelling on the future. I don’t spend nearly enough time appreciating the present.
The trouble with looking towards the future all the time is that you’re never really satisfied with where you are right now. And like most of you, I have some pretty big gaps between where I am right now and where I want to be.
These gaps seem like chasms at times. They make it hard to appreciate those things I should be appreciative of.
So that’s what I like most about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving gets me in the mood to appreciate all those good things. And somehow, when I do that, the present never seems quite so bad.
What Matters Most
Of course, now’s the time to think about what matters most to you. As a business owner, you should already know why you do what you do, as well as who you do it for. For many of us, this provides the core of what we’re truly thankful for.
For myself, I’m most thankful for my four beautiful children. I’m thankful that they’re happy, healthy, and growing into fine young men and women. I’m also thankful for my other family — parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins. I tend to take them for granted sometimes, and discount how important they all are to me. But not on Thanksgiving!
There are other things in the “what matters most” category I could mention, of course. But I’m going to focus on the common ground we share and could be thankful for. So let’s focus the rest of this article on our writing businesses.
Thankful for New Clients
This past year brought me some great new clients. These new clients really helped me ratchet my business up a notch. Just when I felt like things were growing stagnant, new opportunities arose.
How did it happen?
In two separate cases, the jobs came from groundwork I laid more than a year ago. While nothing came of it at the time, both of these clients remembered me when they needed a writer. So now those connections are paying dividends.
Gaining those two new clients was the high point of my year. One of them turned into a regular, ongoing contract — and hooked me up with several new clients to work with!
A few years ago, I remember how excited and thankful I was for a freelance press release job that paid $300. So no matter where you are in your copywriting journey, take a moment to be thankful for your clients.
Thankful for New Experience
With the new clients I picked up this year came several new assignments and experiences. Blog writing was already a specialty of mine (surprised?), but I published my first ghost-written posts and added a lot of new content relevant to my niche.
I also wrote lead-nurturing email campaigns, webinar landing pages, informational web pages, executive biographies, and ad copy. And that was all for just one client!
What I’ve accomplished through all this is to build up a pretty impressive list of samples. So when my next prospective client asks, “Can you send me a sample of…” I won’t have to write it on the spot. For many of these, I could even provide an active URL where the sample is published.
So I’m a thankful freelancer — very grateful for all the new experiences and samples this year has brought me.
Thankful for New Revenue
By the end of this year, I expect to double my writing income from last year.
That’s cool.
My future-centered brain focuses on budgets and total income and every time I cash a check, it’s already looking for the next one. More, more, more!
But doubling my writing income is something I should feel good about. And so I’m thankful for that growth in my business — even if it’s not the sudden leap to six-figures I’d love to see.
How has your business grown this year? Even if it seems small, figure out the percentage and appreciate that growth.
Thankful for New People
I’m thankful for all the new people I’ve met this year in connection to my business. New clients, new peers, new mentors, new friends.
It seems like the more people I take the time to connect with and get to know, the more opportunities open up around me. Sounds obvious, I know. But it’s a difficult lesson for your stereotypically introverted writer to grasp. So I’m thankful for all the new people in my life because of my business, and eager to see where all these new relationships will lead.
Thankful for New Learnings
Lastly, I’m thankful for all the new things I’ve learned this past year. It’s been a tumultuous ride of courses, webinars, social media groups, books/e-books/audiobooks, peer masterminds, and more.
I’ve learned so much from all of it… but I have no idea what’s actually going to “stick.” Some learnings I was so excited for I’ve all but forgotten, while others that seemed less useful at the time are now being put into motion. And that’s why continuous learning is so important — you never know what piece of information is going to transform you, or help you take that next big leap.
What have you learned this year? Which lesson do you think was most important?
What Are You Thankful For?
So, as Thanksgiving comes and goes this week, take some time to reflect on your business. Put those future plans aside for once and find the positives in where you’re at right now. Be thankful for all those things gone right and appreciate your victories, as minor as they may seem.
You might even discover some new confidence — and you’ll probably want to give thanks for that, too.
