Full Harbor
0

$200k Freelance Newsletter

$200k two years in a row... here's a look at the numbers [Issue 021]

Drumroll please 🥁
The grand total of invoices sent in 2022 is...

$200,000 🥳

My goals were:

  1. Invoice for $200k worth of freelance work

    1. ✅ Right on the money

  2. Take 3 months off of freelance work

    1. 💛 I took 2 weeks in June, 4 weeks in September and 1 week in December. So 7 out of 12 weeks. Didn't hit my goal... but it was more than I took off last year, so I call that a win.

So let's take a look at the numbers.

Stats from Project200k 2022 edition

# of clients: 14
New-to-me clients: 8 (57%)
Number of projects: 23 (down from 53 last year!)
Average project: $8,696
Smallest project: $500 (website animation)
Largest project: $41,300 (content for live a event) (up from $23,000 last year)
3 huge projects brought in: 50% of my invoices (all for live events) ($41,300, $36,000, $23,100)
Highest effective hourly rate: $300/hr
Lowest effective hourly rate: $89/hr
Avg hourly rate: $146/hr

What I invoiced by the month...

Jan: $9,625
Feb: $22,537
Mar: $39,000
Apr: $11,300
May: $32,100
Jun: $13,275
Jul: $11,100
Aug: $17,250
Sep: $0 (went on vacation for over 3 weeks 🏝)
Oct: $15,000
Nov: $9,563
Dec: $19,250

Main insights

  1. Networking is still king

    1. Regular outreach to new people

    2. Staying connected with friends

    3. Putting yourself out there to be discovered and to show people you're someone worth networking with

  2. Maintaining was easier than growing

    1. I didn't have to "network like crazy" this year

    2. I just maintained a steady pace of making new friends and staying connected with old friends

  3. It takes big rocks and sand to fill your calendar

    1. Big rocks are the huge projects (like my 3 projects that brought in $100k all together)

      1. These are amazing for income

      2. But they block out a lot of your calendar

    2. Sand are the projects and clients that have regular work that you can fit around other big projects

 

If you are liking this article so far, you’re going to love getting 1 freelance tip every Sunday. Join 3K others inside the $200k Freelance Newsletter.

 

2023 Goals

Income goal $400k

  1. $200k from freelance

  2. $200k from products (courses, coaching, etc.)

The strategy

FREELANCE

  1. Double down on what worked

    1. Big projects for events

    2. Project based pricing (whether direct to client or with studios)... I made around $250/hr on these types of projects

  2. Test different strategies for getting direct to client work (especially on LinkedIn)

    1. Networking and peer referrals have accounted for a large majority of my work, but I want to test ways to get even better projects and better rates... and share with you what's working and what's not working.

PRODUCTS

  1. +$25k

    1. The first beta class sold out and I'm currently working with 10 freelancers to help them increase their income by $25k or more over the next 12 months

    2. The goal is to have as close to 100% success rate as possible

    3. I will run this multiple times this year   

    4.   👉 Click here if you would like to be considered for the next cohort of +$25k  

  2. 30 Day Networking Challenge

    1. In this challenge, you will be connecting with new people every day, making new friends, and building relationships that will open all sorts of new doors for your career

    2. Launching January 16th

    3. Pre-launch starts Jan 2nd... keep an eye out for an email tomorrow for a special pre-launch price!

If you’re a freelance motion designer who wants to make more money, here are a few ways we can support each other.

  • Sign up for the $200k Freelance Newsletter and get 1 freelance tip each Sunday (sign up below)

  • Reply to the first email I send you with a burning question you have… I read every message and use these to write content that is tailored to what you need help with 🙌

Austin Saylor