Nine Simple Words For Less Stress As A Freelancer

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This nine-word question is my number-one secret for running a stress-free business as a freelancer.

And whenever I run into a problem, I ask myself…

“How do I make sure this never happens again?”

Then once I figure out a solution, I roll it out as a system in my business.

And after that, the problem is solved — forever.

So I never have to stress about it again.

For example…

How These 9 Simple Words Helped Me Eliminate Stress About Late Payments & Revisions

One time, during my first few years freelancing, I sent a deliverable to a client for approval. And they never responded…

Which was kind of a big problem. Because I had collected 50% of the project fee up front…

But I only got the second 50% after the client approved the deliverable.

So no approval, no money for Brian. 😭

Now eventually I did get through to this client, got their approval, and sent my invoice…

But after that, whenever I split a project into two payments, I also updated my terms to add a fixed date for the second payment.

Which means now I get paid on that date no matter what — even if the client goes dark.

Here’s the thing, though…

Just because the client makes the second payment doesn’t mean the deliverable is approved or the project is over.

Technically, the client could still come back months or years later and ask for revisions. Since they never officially ended the project.

Which happened to me one time, too.

So after that, I also updated my project terms to include a 14-day limit for my clients to give me feedback.

Which means now my projects are automatically approved if the client doesn’t give me their feedback within 14 days.

And I don’t have to worry about clients going dark and then popping up again six months later to ask for revisions — after I’ve moved on to other projects and no longer have time for them in my calendar.

Let me share one more example of how I used this question to take a huge source of stress out of my business (and my life).

How These 9 Simple Words Helped Me Eliminate Stress From Retainer Clients

One time, after a client ended a retainer with me, I had trouble collecting the final invoice.

So after asking myself “How do I make sure this never happens again?” I came up with my “landlord retainer” model — where I invoice my clients in advance each month and also collect the final month’s payment up-front.

That way, it’s impossible for a client to avoid paying me for my services when I work on retainer now.

So do you see how — in all three of these situations — I ran into a problem. And I asked myself…

“How do I make sure this never happens again?”

Then I figured out a solution to the problem and rolled it out as a system in my business.

I hope so.

Because it’s one of the biggest reasons my freelance business runs so smoothly these days.

And this question can save you from a ton of stress and headaches if you start asking it for yourself.

So I hope you start today.

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