Lately I’ve been a little bit like Elon Musk – thinkin’ hard about the future.
I’ve been thinking about the business I want to build, the kinds of work I want to do – and admittedly, the revenues I want to have.
As I ponder, I’ve been forced to think about what I want to be known for and where I want to carry influence. Whereas I started off my freelancing career quite broad and willing to work on any kind of project, I always knew I’d specialize.
I just didn’t know in what.
Now, I’ve got a much clearer picture:
- I want to be known for landing pages and CRO copy
- I want to be known for finding success in freelancing, and teach freelancers how to build successful businesses.
- I want to maintain humor as a critical part of my public persona, and be involved in more fun projects.
- I want a significant portion of my revenue to come from products, not services.
There’s a clarity that comes when you define where you want to be headed. You sit up and realize that unless you change course, you’re never going to get there.
For me, that was a big wake up call.
I realized that the things I’m doing today – even the profitable, good things, are not taking me toward the future I want.
I’ve been doing so many things that generate immediate returns and revenue that I’ve put off important things that will build future revenue in the areas I actually want to work in.
Prime example: Blogging.
I blog bi-monthly for a few different places. It’s good work, pays well, and I get my name out there. That brings in more clients, and the revenue I make from blogging forms my most reliable base income every month.
But it eats up a lot of time – time I could be spending marketing other offerings, or writing for my own business, or targeting major hubs like Copyblogger, Unbounce, Optimizely and ConversionXL.
And it also steals time away from developing resources like the process templates I want to give away, the eBooks I want to write as lead generators, or the awesome looking SlideShares I have in mind to create.
I’m robbing myself of great, big tomorrow in the name of a safe, comfy today.
I’ve learned how to say no to clients. Now it’s time to say no to myself, for the benefit of the long game. To learn to be OK with making less for a few months so that I can make more in the long term. To invest my time in the activities that will open doors to collaborate with the businesses I want to align with.
I’ve got so much work to do.