You do not need a 10-page business plan. You need to answer a handful of honest questions about the year that just happened and make a few concrete decisions about next year. That is it.
This review is designed to take two to three hours if you gather your numbers first. Block the time, pour something warm, and work through it.
Gather These Numbers Before Starting
Part One: Honest Revenue Analysis
Look at your numbers without judgment. The goal here is information, not self-criticism.
Questions to Answer
Where did your revenue come from?
Break it down by client, by type of project, or by platform. Knowing that 60% of your income came from one client is important information.
What was your effective hourly rate?
Take total revenue divided by total hours worked. Compare this to what you quoted. If the gap is large, scope creep or bad estimating is costing you.
Which projects were most profitable?
Not just largest in revenue, but highest margin. A small project that took two days often beats a large project that took six weeks.
Which clients were most valuable?
Consider not just what they paid but how easy they were to work with, whether they referred others, and whether the work was enjoyable.
Part Two: Client and Project Review
Not all work is equal. This section helps you identify what to do more of and what to stop taking on.
- 1.List every client you worked with this year. Rate each one on a simple scale: would you work with them again, and would you actively seek more work like this? Mark them as A, B, or C.
- 2.Look at your C clients. What did they have in common? What early signals did you miss? Use this to build a better screening process for next year.
- 3.Look at your A clients. Where did they come from? Can you get more clients like them? What made the work enjoyable?
- 4.Review your win rate. How many proposals did you send? How many converted? If the rate is low, is the issue pricing, targeting, or proposal quality?
Part Three: Personal Energy Review
Freelancing is sustainable only if you are not burning out doing it. This part of the review is easy to skip but worth doing.
Rate each area from 1-5
Pro Tip
Understanding what worked this year means seeing all the opportunities you had available. Feedsen unifies opportunities from different platforms into one view, so you can accurately review where your best projects came from and plan smarter for next year.
Get started free →Part Four: Planning for Next Year
Based on everything above, you can now make decisions rather than just hoping next year is better.
- Set a revenue target and work backwards. If you want to earn X, what average project value do you need? How many projects is that? How does that compare to this year?
- Decide which niche or service to focus on. Based on your profitable project data, double down on what works instead of chasing every type of project.
- Plan for slow months. Look at when your income dipped this year. What would you do differently to fill those gaps or build a buffer?
- Set one skill to develop. Not five. One. Something that would let you charge more or attract better clients.
One-Page Plan Template
Fill in for next year
Revenue target: $________
Target average project value: $________
Target projects per month: ________
Primary service/niche: ________
Client type I want more of: ________
Client type I will decline: ________
One skill to develop: ________
One system to improve: ________
Quarterly revenue target: $________
Start Next Year With Steady Client Flow
The best way to hit your revenue goals is to have a steady flow of quality opportunities. Feedsen helps you find them across multiple sources without the manual searching.
Start finding clientsAbout the Author: The Feedsen Team helps freelancers turn their freelancing into full-time careers and build their own agencies.