2007 - Nine Things Learned This Year
2008 is almost there! Usually at the end of every year I take some time to just make a list of things I did during that year, stuff I’m proud of, accomplishments and goals for the next year. Well in fact I do that on a monthly basis, I write things down and then take all this and compile it into one ‘master‘ list and then make another list with stuff I learned and things I want to learn/study and achieve in the next year.
#1 - I Learned To Say No
I’m a very happy guy, always smiling and willing to help people and I have a hard time saying ‘no‘, especially to friends and family. Well I learned to say no the hard way this year. A friend of mine (not a close friend) hired me to do a project for him, and guess what… lost a friend.
I learned to say no, and to make sure a I always have a contract or written agreement, even for friends and family.
#2 - Higher Rates Don’t Mean Less Clients
I gave myself a raise, which I should’ve done a long time ago. Not much, but $50 here and there can make a huge difference in a budget. I didn’t wanted to raise my prices afraid I would lose clients, but the thing is I made more money this year than I did in 2006, not working more hours, just different hours. Which brings me to #3.
#3 - Time Management - Scheduling
I write, blog, design and play guitar in a heavy act. I spend a lot of time in the recording studio to work on our album, needless to say I had to learn to manage my time. Working on this album is not making me much money right now (it’ll hopefully once its out), so gotta make a living, designing and writing.
Between 15 and 30 hours at the studio per week, an hour and a half in traffic everytime I go there, plus freelance work, managing blogs and writing. That’s easily 65-80 hours a week, and I still get 7 hours sleep every night. I love what I do, but I’m sure I would not enjoy it as much if I was struggling with time.
Thanks to Your 30 Hour Day (by Freelance Folder’s productivity guru Dave Navarro) and to iCal I’m still sane (I think) :)
#4 - 50% Upfront
Unless I do projects for regular clients of mine and I know they pay on time and are fun to work with, I now ask for %50 upfront. You just need to get f*&$’d once to learn…
#5 - Gotta Make Friends In The Biz
That is something I learned when I started blogging in January-February 07. You won’t go really far if you rely only on your skills, your knowledge and a small contact list. You have to go out, network and meet like-minded people, make friends. Blogging allows to do just that, make friends. I started blogging more as an experiment than anything else, and I’ve been enjoying it every step of the way. It helps develop your brand and get your name out there, and you get to develop your writing skills.
#6 - Back-up OFTEN!
About 8 months ago I was working on a project and had about 25-30GB of videos sitting on my desktop just waiting for me to edit, and when selecting an image I wanted to delete on my desktop, I accidentally selected the video folder, hit delete, then emptied the trash… bye bye video files.
It took me 3 days to realize I actually deleted that folder. I though it was ‘somewhere else‘ on my comp or on an external hard-drive… nope. And unfortunately that 30GB of video was the only copy we had.
The kind of situation where you want to bang your head on the wall, but you can’t cause you’re on the phone trying to explain what happened.
Always back things up!!
#7 - Take Time Off - Go For A Walk
That is just common sense, we all need to take some time off to recharge those batteries. When I feel stuck, uninspired and not creative there’s nothing like going for a walk, go hiking or just go out for a drink.
Spending time with your loved ones is very important too. Work will still be there tomorrow if you take the evening off to go see a movie with your spouse. Just do it, feels great. And do it often.
#8 - Not Too Many Projects At The Same Time
I’m not a superhero and I cannot handle 27 projects at the same time. I just can’t. If I accept too many projects I know the quality will suffer and I don’t want that.
#9 - Last But Not Least - Say ‘Thank You‘ More Often
We started this blog in July 07, and I’m so happy with the results we got so far, the connections and friends I made, it’s been awesome! :)
I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone that contributed to Freelance Folder since the begining:
Dave Navarro
Steven Snell
Armen Thomassian
Anthony Baggett
Ritu B Pant
Naomi Dunford
Amrit Hallan
Ryan Imel
Allen Taylor (aka Old Man)
Lewis Green
Jonathan Bostrom
Tiffany Sanders
Mari-Lyn Hudson
David Williams
Dave Origano
Chris Garrett
Carolyn Manning
Goldy (site offline)
Chad Tabary (site offline)
And also a huge thanks to all of you who read our posts and take the time to leave comments, you rock! :D
Take care
Jon
24 Rockin' Comments
December 29th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Nice one Jon. I’m glad you’re able to look back on the year with a smile; you’re a good guy.
Happy new year to you buddy.
December 29th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Jon,
Congratulations on a great 2007! Number 8 has been a big one for me too. Spreading yourself thin just doesn’t work. Good luck in 2008.
December 29th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Jon congrats on a great year, thoroughly deserved! Am excited to see what 2008 brings for us all!
December 29th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Thank YOU, Jon. This is a great resource you’re putting together here and I’m glad to have been a small part of it. I’m hoping to be able to be more involved in the New Year if you still have room for me!
December 29th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Hi Jon,
I’ve just discovered you recently and am already appreciating your work. Numbers 1, 7 and 9 really hit home with me.
Congratulations on a successful 2007. Here’s hoping that 2008 sees more of the same for all of us!
December 29th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I see myself in a lot of these… I’m just now learning to say ‘no’ more often and to take on fewer projects. I think 2008 is going to be an amazing year for you!!
December 29th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
hey Jon,
Some people define history.
Some write history.
And some rewrite history.
That’s my way of saying you’re a trailblazer, dude!
Happy New Year!
December 29th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
I’m also glad to have been a part of FF. You’ve definitely got a good thing going here. Like you, I’m learning to toughen up and say NO when I need to….it’s harder than it sounds. Congratulations Jon. I’m wishing you all the best in 2008!
December 29th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Nice list!
I agree specially with item #3. Time management is the most difficult thing you can learn working as a freelance.
Regards.
December 29th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Nice. Thanks
I can’t say NO yet, but I’ll try =)
December 29th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Thank you for the post!
December 29th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
2007 has been pretty good in terms of blogging for me.
One of the best thing blogging has brought me are friends. And Jon, without you I would simply not be where I am right now. Thanks to you as well for everything you do in order to help me out.
You rock!
December 29th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Good stuff Jon. Look forward to following Freelance Folder in 2008…
December 30th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Good luck in the year ahead Jon - look forward to hearing your album
December 31st, 2007 at 9:52 am
Jon,
Have a happy and prosperous 2008!
December 31st, 2007 at 10:21 am
Saying “no” is a big hurdle for me, one that I hope to practice saying more often in 2008!
December 31st, 2007 at 3:35 pm
As you are reflecting, I did to on the business things I learned in 2007 and passed on to my readers in 2008.
http://susancartierliebel.type.....earne.html
As an entrepreneur, you may enjoy reading them. Glad to see you learned the power of ‘no’ and working smarter, not harder.
I think I will follow you on your adventures from now on.
Happy and Prosperous New Year to you.
January 1st, 2008 at 5:53 am
hey everyone, thanks a lot for all the comments. Wishing you all a productive, healthy, prosperous 2008 :)
January 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
Thank you Jon - I wish the same to you and the entire FF team. I think this year is going to be amazing…
January 8th, 2008 at 2:15 am
Great article. I just found your site and you got me hooked with this one. Your #7 was my number one tip on dedestruct.com. Looking forward to reading more here.
January 18th, 2008 at 5:04 am
The number 7 is the best! We all need to unwind sometimes or maybe most of the times to refresh our minds.
Let me share my experience when I’m super stressed because the submission of my thesis would be three days prior to the given date. I looked haggard; don’t want to be disturbed and have no time eat in short I looked like I’m a zombie… scaring all the people around me. Then one of the zombies (my classmate) approached me and said, “Let’s go to the mall” and without hesitation I agreed. We shopped till we dropped. We don’t care about the money we’ve spent. We dined together and chat like there’s no tomorrow. It seemed like we’ve missed each other though we’re seeing each other everyday and talked everyday. That day was superb! But of course after the splendid shopping we have to do the thesis again … but this time with energy and a clear mind.
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