#172: My Q3 Audit: Better, But Still Room for Improvement

Nov 2, 2023

It’s time for my analysis and reflection on how my third quarter of the year went. 

Here’s what I share with you in this episode:

1. The many ways tracking my time helps my business. 
2. How I use Freshbooks and Toggl to help me analyze my progress. 
3. The steps I use to analyze my quarter: 
   1. Calculated how much I invoiced for that quarter.
   2. Counted how many clients I worked for. 
   3. Used time tracking data to see how many hours I worked on average each week. 
   4. Did the math to see how much I earned per hour on certain projects by dividing the project rate by the hours it took to complete.
   5. Reflected and analyzed.
4. The amount of money I earned in Q3 and how it compared to Q2 and my goals. 
5. How a delayed Indiana vacation derailed my schedule.
6. How many clients I had in Q3 and the types of clients they were.
7. How much I earned on certain article assignments. 
8. Anchor clients versus rock steady clients versus confetti clients. 
9. How I landed several of these clients. 

How was your third quarter? Have you hit your annual revenue goal? Have you started thinking about if and when you’re going to take off some days around the holidays? 

Biz Bite: Embrace whimsy

The Bookshelf: “The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing” by Lara Love Hardin

Resources:

Help out Marvel artist Thomas Tenney via GoFundMe. 

Laura Vanderkam’s book “Tranquility by Tuesday”

Episode #168 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Q2 Audit: It Can Only Go Uphill from Here, Right?

Episode #115 of Deliberate Freelancer: Time Tracking Lessons from Deliberate Freelancer Listeners

Episode #5 of Deliberate Freelancer: Track Your Time for Better Efficiency

Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC

Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn

Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group

Melanie’s other podcast, Association Station