How are you today? I flew back to Mexico yesterday! Aside from the obvious joys of being next to the ocean surrounded by tacos and margaritas, it’s just as delicious to be back in the humidity where my chronic pain feels slightly less angry. I’m here until December and can’t wait to get back into good routines. 

Today’s blog is a response-of-sorts to lots of LinkedIn posts I’ve been reading recently about the state of the freelancing world. If you’ve been feeling a bit negative, hopefully this newsletter can give you some actionable tips to feel a bit more positive.

How to keep a happy freelancing mindset:

Surround yourself with successful people

One of the big reasons why I loved living in Bali was the number of creative, confident entrepreneurs all around me. 

When you see people doing a version of what you do (or want to do), it’s both inspiring and reassuring to see that you can achieve the same thing.

Remember that freelancing is just as legit as a ‘proper’ job

I really noticed in London that a standard full-time office career was very much seen as the norm and deviating from that (E.G fleeing to Southeast Asia to pursue self-employment) was a bit of a wildcard.

If you’re in a similar situation, try to find communities that’ll reassure you that self-employment/freelance writing can be an incredible career, too! Superpath’s 100k club is a great place to start, to see writers who are easily making six figures despite AI, etc.

Remind yourself of your achievements

Like nice feedback from previous clients. Messages from people wanting to work with you. Pieces of work you’re super proud of. 

When your confidence is lacking, read through all of the above. Remember that you’re a great writer and how much you enjoy the freelance world the majority of the time.

Set yourself goals and achieve them

I’m big on tangible goal setting as, once you hit those checkpoints, you know for sure that you’re growing upwards rather than sideways. 

Set yourself big goals, break them down into smaller goals and tick them off, one by one. When your mindset is dipping, giving yourself something concrete to work towards can be really helpful to focus on.

I’m gonna be running some 2024 business audit sessions in November and December if you’re in need of a little help planning your business for 2025.

Keep on learning and growing as a writer

Either by learning new skills, upleveling your knowledge, deepening your specialities or investing in your business. 

Adding a metaphorical string to your bow is a great way of reminding yourself of who you are and what you’re capable of doing. It’s also a great way to keep things exciting.

Remember that we all have to start somewhere

Stop comparing yourself to others. Be kind to yourself and don’t try to run before you can walk. 

In the freelance writing world, that means don’t criticise yourself if/when you see others in the industry talking about sky-high rates that seem a world away from your current rate. You’ll get there too, but you’ve gotta start somewhere.