Real Numbers From My 2023 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 2022 in case you missed them.)

And I’m a little nervous to tell you what I’m aiming for this year…

Because they are my most ambitious goals yet.

See, last year, I got married and also moved to a new house.

So I wound up taking time away from my business (on purpose) to pay more attention to my personal life.

But now I’m ready to shift my focus back to my business in 2023.

And I’m Hoping To Hit Some Major Milestones Before The End Of December…

One of them will likely even happen in the next few months.

Because I’m roughly 2-3 months away from reaching a million dollars in freelance income over my entire career.

Take a look…

So unless I somehow have a catastrophic drop in my business, it shouldn’t take me more than 3 months to bring in the $30,000 I need to cross the seven-figure mark with my lifetime earnings.

On top of that, by the end of 2023, I hope that I will be able to make a quarter-million dollars a year for the first time ever…

But I’m Actually Not Going To Make That My “Official” Revenue Goal

Because a lot of things would need to go right for me to get there.

And I don’t want to be quite that aggressive with my goals…

See, I find that if I fall too far behind on my goals, it actually lowers my motivation.

Since if my goals get too far out of reach, I start to feel like there’s no point even trying.

On the other hand, if I can stay within striking distance of my goals, it motivates me to push harder.

Because in that case, I still feel like I can catch up if I put in a little extra effort.

So I’ve set my “official” income goal at $240,000 instead. And $250,000 is my “stretch” goal.

Plus I Also Want To Work No More Than 1,200 Hours To Reach That Goal

Since that’s the same amount of time I spent working in 2021, when I had my biggest year ever at $211,000 in revenue. (See below.)

So another way to look at my goals for this year is that I want to match the hours I worked in 2021, while earning at least $30,000 more. (And ideally $40,000 more.)

That’s a 14%-19% increase in revenue compared to my best year ever.

And It Means I Will Need My Effective Hourly Rate To Be At Least $200

Which is actually a slight decrease from last year, when I brought in about $207 for every hour I spent working.

That’s okay with me though. Since I may wind up having to be a little less “efficient” with my time this year in order to hit the revenue growth I want.

So how am I doing with my goals now that we’ve finished the first quarter of 2023? Take a look…

Update After Q1 of 2023

Revenue Projection After Q1

Right now, I’m projecting my revenue for 2023 to be $251,036. (But as you’re about to see, that’s an optimistic projection…)

Because to hit this projection, I need to maintain my current monthly client retainers and freelance coaching revenue for the entire year.

Then I need to book — and complete — three full sales letters for clients in the next nine months.

(Plus I also have time carved out to work on a sales letter for a project I’m launching myself.)

So that’s four sales letters in nine months. Which will be a stretch to fit in on top of my ongoing responsibilities.

Not only that, but I also need to boost my rates for two of those sales letters a little. Or to make more from royalties and performance bonuses than I’m projecting right now.

Which is why this is an optimistic — but not impossible — projection.

And hopefully, I can rise to the challenge.

But the good news is, as you’re about to see, I also have some extra time I can dedicate towards reaching my revenue goal…

Work Hours Projection After Q1

As of now, I’m projecting to work 1,177.5 hours this year. And that means I’ve got about 20 extra hours “in the bank” that I can use the rest of this year as needed.

Also, because both my revenue and work hours projections are on track, it means my effective hourly rate projection is in good shape for now, too…

Effective Hourly Rate Projection After Q1

Plus even better, if you look at my actual effective hourly rate — circled in red below — you’ll see I’m right at my goal of $200 per hour.

Which means as long as I can continue to bring in enough business to sustain this rate for the rest of the year, I will reach my goals by the end of December.

Now will that actually happen?

We’ll just have to wait and see.

Want To Know Whether I Actually Reach These Goals…Or Fall Short?

Sign up for the Freelance Like A Pro email list below now.

That way, you’ll be the first to get all the juicy details when I share my numbers for the rest of the year.

Plus as a special bonus, I’ll also send you the simple, 30-second referral script I use to make freelance clients come to me like clockwork.

So enter your first name and best real email below to sign up now.