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Hey Reader,

Okay, I have to be honest here... I had a different email drafted for today.

It was basically a soap box about how the "six-figure freelancer" status gets thrown around on LinkedIn as if it's the ultimate mark of freelance success. And how we shouldn't let arbitrary numbers be the goalpost we aspire to.

But something felt off about that draft.

So I took a break from writing, went on a walk, hit up Starbucks (of course), and realized why it wasn't sitting right: I wasn't being fully truthful.

The reality is... I'm a little bummed that I didn't hit six figures last year.

And that realization kind of shocked me. Because when I first started freelancing five years ago, hitting six figures wasn't even on my radar.

Back then, I was totally burned out from my traditional job. So my main goal was to build something slow, sustainable, and just big enough to cover our bills.

Every decision I made in those early days was filtered through that lens. Slow, intentional growth over chasing a flashy income. Building something that could flex with different seasons of life.

But something shifted this past year.

Maybe it was being more active on LinkedIn. Maybe it was going to more conferences. Or maybe it was having the capacity to work a bit more after getting through the baby stage.

Whatever it was, it snuck up on me, and I realized I had subconsciously started chasing that "six-figure freelancer" status - to the point where I might have even been willing to burn myself out for it.

*record scratch*

Wait... what?

Isn't that what I promised myself I wouldn't do??

When I zoom out for a minute, I know that five-years-ago me would be floored to see where I am now. Nearly tripling my old salary, working a fraction of the hours, having the flexibility to be present with my (then hoped-for) daughter, and doing work I enjoy every day.

And yet here I was, letting arbitrary income goals make me question my success.

I was reminded of a framework called the "enough number" I learned from Caroline and Jason Zook. It helps define exactly how much you need to live the life you want, and then work backward from that.

(If you want to dive deeper into this concept, check out their article here. It's good stuff.)

🤫 The Secret

The magic of freelancing isn't in chasing an elusive income status. It's in building something that lets you say "yes" to the things that matter most right now.

Five years ago, I chose freelancing because I wanted to build a career that would allow me to travel to visit family and friends, and start a family without a corporate policy telling when and where I needed to be.
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Today, that means having the flexibility to stay home with a sick kiddo and giving our house plants a spa day.
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Tomorrow, it might mean waking up earlier to meet a deadline.
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Someday, it might mean raising that income bar and chasing after it when I have more capacity.

And that's exactly the point.

Now over to you, friend. While you're thinking of the year ahead, consider...

• What did you want from freelancing when you first started? (Not what the gurus said you should want)
• What matters most in your current season of life?
• If you could tell your past self one thing about where you are now, what would make them most excited?

💜 A Few Cool Things in Freelanceland

1. Here's a great guide for setting up your portfolio written by Hsing Tseng.
2. A personal branding agency is looking for three LinkedIn ghostwriters.
3. Speaking of intentional growth... My friend Renee Frojo is hosting a retreat in Mexico for service-based solopreneurs who want to grow strategically and intentionally.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! What's something you're working towards this year?

Talk soon,

Erika

Ps - Notice the rename?? It was a unanimous vote for "The Secret Life of Freelancers!"(Although, I thought OnlyFreelancers would've been kind of funny… 😉)

Pps - If you enjoyed this email, can you help me grow this newsletter by forwarding this link to a freelancer friend who would dig it?

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Thanks for hanging out! I'm Erika, a fractional content strategist, content lead @ ZenMaid, and freelance ghostwriter. When I'm not writing this newsletter, I'm probably writing self-deprecating jokes on LinkedIn.