No one cares if your business fails.
This might sound harsh and defeatist, but hear me out for a moment.
When you’re working that 9-5 office job, plenty of people care if you are successful.
- Your colleagues want you to be good at your job because otherwise, they’ll have to do it for you.
- And your boss wants you to be good at your job because otherwise, they’ll have to hire someone new.
- And the company owner wants you to be good at your job because, well, money. 🤑
But when you start your own business, you are on your own. If you aren’t good at your job, your clients will leave and stop paying you—no skin off their noses.
So if you’re struggling to run your business and do the work, you’re the only one who stands to suffer.
That’s a pretty bleak start to a blog post, but stay with me!
No one cares if you develop your career, either.
Say you’re awesome at your job. You’ve found your niche, and you are crushing it.
Your clients will be happy, but they won’t care if you never move forward. They’ll be more than happy to outgrow you and hire someone else.
If you don’t develop new skills, increase your rates and find clients with bigger budgets, you’re the only one that will suffer. Your stagnant career won’t impact anyone other than you.
So, what can you do in the face of such uncomfortable truths?
Well, you can take some responsibility for your position. Creating accountability is perhaps the best way to failure-proof your business.
If you’re the only person who cares if your business is a success, then you’re the only person who can change anything – right?
This was my theory behind creating the monthly freelance performance review template. When I worked in an office job, I had a monthly, quarterly and annual review with my supervisor.
I hated it at the time because I always felt like I wasn’t doing enough. But now that I’m calling the shots in my career, I can see the benefit of regular reviews and goal setting.
How I use the monthly reflection template
At the end of every month, I clear space in my schedule, print out a fresh template and enjoy some brutal honesty.
I can be pretty harsh with my own feedback. But this is what made me realise that I have zero interest in outsourcing my content writing and turning my business into an agency. Because I realised that client management is not the part of my business that I’m passionate about.
I love writing.
So why would I set up my business to do less of what I love?
I very rarely meet my goals after one month; I usually take a few months before I manage to move the needle in my business. But that’s ok because without setting the goals, I wouldn’t be moving forward at all.
Why I’m sending it out every month
I recently had a change in mindset and decided it isn’t enough to offer the download once. Instead, I spotted a really obvious opportunity to add more value by delivering the review once a month.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t do anything without a nudge, so the monthly reflection template landing in your inbox every month should hopefully remind you to take a moment to review.
I’ve had a positive response since switching to monthly delivery, so I hope I can continue to help entrepreneurs in this small way.
And I’m also working on an end of year review to help you turn a year of reflections into a one year and 5-year plan. But the only way you’ll get this is to get on the list! Sign up here…
