Freelancer: I made over $500,000 in 18 months, and I’m exhausted.

Before you read this article, know this. I’m not being ungrateful for my position. I want people to see the other side of being ‘successful.’ A quick recap on how I got to where I am. In September 2020, I started an SEO consultancy after quitting my job at an agency. By January 2021, I had generated close to $100,000. And by the end of my first year, I managed to break the $200,000 mark. It’s now creeping up to the end of my second year, and I’ve more than doubled my income. But I’ve worked myself into the ground to do it. Is this what success is supposed to feel like? Aren’t I supposed

to be selling a course about ‘how you can do it, too?’ (I’d never do that. Not even if I had $1m in the bank. I’m not that guy.) Over the last two years, I’ve learned a lot, probably too much, about who I am as a person. I guess working alone for sixteen hours a day for seven hundred and thirty days will do that to you. That sounds sad, right? I see it differently. I see it as an experience that I’m now able to share. If I can use my growing pains to guide others, then, hey, it makes it worth it. So, if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to generate over half a million dollars as a f

reelancer, you won’t get a more detailed insight than this. Stop chasing the money. It never ends well. I’ll be honest, reaching $10,000 a month wasn’t that hard. That’s not a humble flex. Maybe I

was lucky. Maybe I started my business at the right time. I know that $10,000 was the number I thought would change my life forever. I was wrong. Cataclysmically wrong, in fact. Because I came from nothing, I genuinely believed that money would improve everything. And so when that first $10,000 month came in, I was hooked. I dedicated every waking hour to growing that number. $10,000… $25,000… $50,000. I felt like I was on top of the world. But I was completely blind to what it was doing to me. I became incredibly unhealthy. I couldn’t go anywhere without 400 Slack messages, 25 new emails, and six new Calendly invites. What that meant was that I missed out on everything around me. You know, the important stuff like enjoying somebody’s birthday meal or being out with your partner.

I never learned to let go. I wanted money all of the time. It meant: I never delegated work to anybody. I didn’t trust anybody. I held onto stress which spilled into my personal life. I couldn’t go (and still can’t) five minutes without a tension headache. But, hey, at least I was rich, right? If you’re starting from zero right now, then assess your intentions. Don’t build your business with only financial goals. I know you’ve got bills to pay and mouths to feed. And, if that’s your biggest concern, start with a side hustle. The side hustle will give you time to: Know your worth. Find your ideal clients. Mitigate the unrelenting pressure of always earning more money. Figure out if this whole freelancing thing is worth it. Use your extra cash to invest in ways to get your life back.

Freelancing, at its core, is an exchange of money for your time. That’s it. The problem with this business model is that you don't get paid without you being at work. What this really means is that once you reach a certain income, you’ll have no life. At least I didn’t, anyway. I was more willing to give my time to the highest bidder than I was to my family and friends. I knew it sucked at the time, but I was trapped in the mindset of ‘well, if I can just get to this number, I can relax a little bit….’ Again, wrong. Over time I started to resent how successful I was. It was the most bizarre feeling I’d ever experienced. And it’s not something you can easily explain to the outside world. ‘But you earn so much money….’ ‘Other people would kill to be in your position….’ Those are the typical responses to me being honest about how I felt. I started to hope for less work. I hoped that people would stop bothering me. So, I looked for ways to climb out of this hole I’d dug myself

. The extra money I was earning was now being held for: Investing into my digital assets. Looking for property opportunities. Looking for investment opportunities for those closest to me. Joint ventures. I’m a stickler for saving money and it was time to let that go. I can’t stress enough the importance of letting your money work for you. I’m not exactly Warren Buffet, but here’s a good piece of advice I can offer you. Find your financial benchmark. Work out how much money you need each month to survive. That’s your goal. Invest in things that will generate enough cash flow to cover your monthly expenses. If you ever decide to take a step back from freelancing, your bills are covered. I know a lot of freelancers in my position. There’s a shift going on and if you’ve got the skills and money, take advantage of it. Fall in love with a handful of clients and grow with them. More clients doesn’t just mean more money. It means more pressure. More responsibility It also means less

time for you to deliver. (Unless you’re building an agency, which I’m not. This is for solo-dolo freelancers.) I’ll be honest; I didn’t like the number of clients I worked with. I had too many and wasn’t equally passionate about seeing them grow. I had my favorites. I work with: A brilliant financed company in the UK. A small telecoms business with such a brilliant group of people. A phenomen

al real estate business in the US. A growing international software business. They’re all easy to work with. You have to realize that this shouldn’t be a numbers game. It comes back to the money mindset. Don’t chase clients for the sake of it. If you don’t need fifteen clients, then don’t. What’s better: