When you are a freelancer, you work for yourself. I’ll repeat: When you are a freelancer, you are a self employed person.So this means you are responsible for finding your own work. Repeatedly.

My 4-year “freelancing” journey has gone something like this:

⭐ Started a YouTube channel where I shared about my passion: how to successfully manage projects in the startup environment.

⭐ Through my network, I landed my first “freelance” job, where I managed a series of small projects for a client in the marketing space.

Most afternoons you’ll find me in the school pickup line, typing away on my laptop (in the most non–ergonomic way possible). I'm also "that mom" who takes Zoom calls from the parking lot of the ballet studio where my daughter attends class several times a week.

The best way to learn about personal branding is by putting yourself out there. I won’t pretend to be an expert, but I sure have learned a lot through my own experience doing this.When I showed up on LinkedIn one year ago, I had close to zero followers. As of this moment, I’m at 8,280 and growing by the hour.

I used to wonder if there were driven business people who cared about more than money for the sake of money. My first couple of jobs after college left me feeling sad and alone as I deeply contemplated if life as an adult would always simply be a never-ending pursuit of “more.”

Belief in yourself and your independent ability to make money is highly underrated (IMO).

You learn how to go to school, pass tests, get certified, land jobs, and work your way up the ladder, but did you learn how to provide for yourself? Like, actually make your own money? 💡

I’m not an expert on every project in the world and neither are you. 💡

I know a lot about the projects I’ve personally led, so you might refer to me as the de facto “expert” on those, but otherwise I simply consider myself a passionate student of projects and life.

If I were to do it all over, here's what I would do in Year One of my business:

✅ Read and internalize the book “Lean Business Planning” by Tim Berry.

✅ Reach out to my network to check in and let them know about my freelancing status, following up at appropriate intervals.

If you have ever sent me a DM for advice about how to get started as a freelance project manager, it’s very likely that I’ve given you some version of the words below.

I go into detail about this in my Freelance Project Manager Guide Book as well, so if you haven’t grabbed a copy check it out on Gumroad.

PSA: Project Management is not a get rich quick scheme. 📢

And while we are at it, neither is freelancing. I’ve always been up front and honest about the fact that I have multiple income streams as a freelance project manager.

Freelancing allows me to:

⭐ Work on projects I’m passionate about.

⭐ Work with teams who inspire me.

2023 was my best year yet for revenue in my freelancing business. But it's interesting because I have also never received so many “no’s” before in my life!Sometimes a no causes me to reconsider what I’m doing or the way my offer is presented, and then I make changes or pivot or focus on other things.

20 things I’ve learned after one year on LinkedIn:

1) People like lists.

2) We like AI, we don’t like AI.

3) Good content educates, great content inspires.

You might have a good idea if:

✅ It solves a problem.

✅ People will pay for it.

You might have a great idea if:

The best thing most of you can do for your one-person business is find and retain clients.

And that usually doesn't include:

This is not a post about work. It’s a post about life and questions like:

Why do people do bad things?

Why does it hurt to heal?

The secret to getting things done isn't really a secret.

If you want to start making waves, it's simple:

I don’t always know what’s next and most of the time I’m cool with that.

The unknown used to scare the socks off of me, but nowadays that’s just another Tuesday. 😂

If you are launching a freelance career or side hustle, focus on this first:

➡ The stuff people will pay you for.

Under-rated skill in business:

👉 Actually caring.