Real Numbers From My 2024 Freelance Goals

Sharing the real numbers behind my freelance business is one of the most popular things I do. (Here are my final revenue numbers from 2023 in case you missed them.)

Because too many freelancers have unrealistic expectations for how much money they can make. And how fast they can make it.

That’s why I’m committed to showing you the real numbers from inside my own freelance business at the end of every quarter. Since I want to be your trusted source for no-nonsense information about how to run a thriving freelance business.

So let me start by giving you the background about the goals I have set for 2024. (Based on the 3 primary numbers I use to manage my freelance business.)

My 2024 Revenue Goal

For reference, my revenue came in just short of $230,000 last year. And it was the first time I’ve failed to reach my annual income goal ever since I started sharing my numbers with you.

So because I failed to reach my goal last year, it doesn’t seem wise for me to aim for an even bigger goal this year.

After all, before I can reach a bigger goal, by definition I will have to break through $230,000 first.

So that’s why I’ve made $230,000 my revenue goal for 2024.

Now don’t get me wrong. I still hope to achieve even bigger growth this year.

But part of my strategy is to find ways to grow my income without having to work more hours or expand my bandwidth by hiring subcontractors.

That’s why I’m focusing on deals that pay royalties or performance bonuses. Since they have the potential to bring in a substantial increase in revenue — for the exact same amount of work I’m doing right now.

The only challenge is that performance-based deals are less reliable than fixed-price projects. Since you only get paid when your work performs well.

And if it doesn’t perform well…you get nothing else.

On top of that, it can also take a while for my copy to go live and start generating revenue.

Which means there can be a big delay between when I do the work and when I actually reap the rewards. And many of the projects I’ve worked on this year won’t go live until later in the year. Plus for bigger projects, it may not even be until next year.

So now that you’ve seen my revenue goal for the year, let’s look at my goal for the biggest “expense” I have to run my business…

My time.

My 2024 Hours-Worked Goal

My goal is to work 1,200 hours or less this year. That comes out to 100 hours per month — or roughly 25 hours per week. (With a few full weeks off.)

I find that 25 hours per week gives me plenty of leisure time to go to the gym … work on side-projects that excite me … spend time with my wife, friends and family … and even just sleep in if I want to. Plus it also allows me to put in enough hours to make a healthy income.

So that’s why this number has remained more-or-less the same over the past few years.

Which brings me to the final number I keep a close eye on to know how my business is doing.

My 2024 Effective Hourly Rate Goal

This number tells me how much money I make for every single hour I spend working on and in my business. From answering emails, to keeping my books, to working on client projects.

Measuring my effective hourly rate is an important way I make sure that I continue to use my time for only the most important and profitable activities. (Which aligns with my goal to “outsource everything” else this year.)

And if you do the math, $230,000 of revenue from 1,200 hours worked comes out to roughly $192 per hour.

Update After Q1 of 2024

Now that Q1 of 2024 is over, let’s look at where my numbers shake out so far this year…

Revenue Projection After Q1

Right now, I’m projecting my revenue for 2024 to be $230,040. Which is juuuuust barely above my goal of $230,000.

But I’m not going to panic just yet. 

I’m going to stick to my long-term plan. And I’m going to continue planting as many royalty-generating seeds as I can. Even though they may not pay off for a while, like I mentioned above.

Yet at the same time, I’m also going to hope that a lot of the seeds I planted last year will start to grow soon. To the point where I see a big increase in my revenue over the rest of the year. (Without having to work longer hours or hire anyone.)

Work Hours Projection After Q1

As of now, I’m projecting to work 1,188 hours this year. And that means I’ve got about 12 extra hours “in the bank” that I can use the rest of this year as needed.

Effective Hourly Rate Projection After Q1

You’ve already seen that I’m projecting that I will meet both my revenue goal and my work-hours goal. And that means by definition I’m on track to hit my effective hourly rate goal. Which like I said is $192 per hour. Check it out…

Now you may notice that my effective hourly rate was much lower than my goal during the first 3 months of the year. That’s because I was still wrapping up projects that carried over from last year.

But now that those are finished, I expect to see a solid increase in my effective hourly rate. (You can already see it’s on the rise every month so far in 2024 as I closed out more and more of those carry-over projects each month.)

So for now, I’m still confident and optimistic that I will get my effective hourly rate back to my goal by year’s end.

But will that actually happen?

We’ll just have to wait and see…

Update After Q2 of 2024

It’s early September now. Which means I’ve been putting off sharing this update with you.

See, normally I like to give you an update with the real numbers from inside my business every quarter.

However we’re 9 months into the year. Yet I still haven’t given you any updates after Q1.

Is that because my business is struggling and I don’t want to admit it?

Let me peel back the curtains and show you what’s happening right now. Starting with my revenue.

Revenue Projection After Q2

Things are actually looking pretty solid here. 

I’m projecting that I will just barely reach my goal of $230,000 for the year. 

Plus even better, I have a few possible pathways to get there…

First, I worked on a number of projects that should launch by the end of the year. And that will pay me royalties or performance bonuses if they do well.

So one way I could reach my goal is having 1 or more of those projects take off.

But I’m happy to say I’m not dependent on bonuses and royalties to reach my revenue goal this year. (Which is what caused me to fall short of my goal last year.)

I can also reach my revenue goal for the year by closing just 2 more clients for medium-sized projects over the next 4 months. And I have a tentative client in the works for 1 of those spots as we speak.

Of course, the best-case scenario would be for me to start collecting big royalty payments and also book at least 2 more clients before the end of the year. Since that would allow me to shoot well past my goal. And I might even be able to break the quarter-million dollar mark for the first time.

But overall, I’m cautiously optimistic about hitting my revenue goal by December.
However, that’s not the case when it comes to my goal to keep my hours below 1,200…

Work Hours Projection After Q2

I’m actually 100% confident that I will meet this one.

That’s because right now, I’m projecting that I will only work 1,112 hours this year. And since my clients typically take time off around the holidays, my average hours will likely be lower during November and December. Not higher.

So at this point, I’m going to call this one a lock.

And that also gives me confidence about the final number I’m going to share with you today.

Effective Hourly Rate Projection After Q2

I’m projecting my effective hourly rate will be about $207 right now. Which is a full $15 higher than my goal of $192.

On top of that, my current effective hourly rate through September 1st is $201. (That’s the number outlined in red.)

Which means even if I fall a little short of my revenue goal between now and the end of the year, I should still hit my target effective hourly rate with ease. Since the hours I’m going to work are going to be so far below my target, only a serious drop in my revenue would put my effective hourly rate in the red.

So there you have it: A long-overdue update with the real numbers from inside my freelance business.

Why did it take so long?

Every time I sat down to write this email, I didn’t feel like I had anything new to say. Which is why I kept putting it off.

Update After Q3 of 2024

This is my final revenue and KPI report before the end of the year.

So how am I doing? Let’s start with my revenue…

Revenue Projection After Q3

It’s going to be close.

I’ve officially banked $192,000 so far this year. Plus I have about $31,000 in outstanding contracts, royalties, and retainers that I expect to bring in before the year is over. 

That would put me at $223,000. Which means I still need to bring in about $7,000 in additional business by December 31st to reach my revenue goal.

Now the good news is that I can easily do that with a single project.

So the real question is: do I have enough time left this year to get a deal done?

And that’s where I’m starting to get worried. 

Because it usually takes me a few weeks to finalize the details for a new project. Plus a lot of people will be taking time off for the holidays soon, too.

So I’m in a race against the clock.

However, I’m still cautiously optimistic that I will be able to make something happen before the year is up. 

That’s why I’m still projecting that I will just barely meet my revenue goal. Take a look…

Also, for my own sanity, I’m happy to say that it looks like this is where the drama ends. (Even though it may make for a less entertaining update from here on out.)

Work Hours Projection After Q3

Because I’m on track to come in well under my target of working at most 1,200. (Even though I did see a pretty big increase in my projection after a busy last few months. But it’s not enough to put this goal at risk right now.)

Effective Hourly Rate Projection After Q3

Also, the fact that my hours are coming in so far under the maximum means even if I fall a little short of my revenue goal, my effective hourly rate should still come in where I want it.

So there you have it. My final revenue and KPI report before the end of the year.

Now please say a prayer or help me manifest that I book the final project I need to hit my revenue goal for the year. 

And If You Want To Find Out Whether I Actually Reach My Goals Once The Year Is Over…

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