In episode 180 - What is the structure of a weekly review, you learned my framework for performing a weekly review.
- Look back
- Look ahead
- Execute
When I found that this framework worked for me, I started applying it to all reviews I did, including weekly, monthly and yearly.
I’d like to replace the monthly with a quarterly review. Also sprinkle in a daily review as well, but those I’m still working out.
Monthly Review Sessions
- Look back on the monthly.
Very much like the weekly review, I look back on the revenue, only this time, it’s the first thing I do. I’ve got a few different revenue streams into the business and I have certain goals for each.
Looking back on which stream brought in what revenue is important for the business to understand if I’m meeting the goals I have.
I’ve started only recently taking a review on the expenses during the month. Only just so that I’m not overly surprised at the end of the year and it allows me to curb and keep those $10 per month services under wraps.
Then I take a look back on the projects. It’s a quick look just to make sure that everything is moving forward. Really only because I tend to do these reviews the same day I’m doing my weekly review.
I have a monthly spreadsheet that I record the KPIs of the business to make sure the business is healthy and trending in the right direction.
- Look ahead
Similar to the weekly review, I look at the calendar month as a whole. I look for personal vacations or events, holidays, and anything that may throw priorities or projects off track that I need to be aware of.
This is when I review the longer term projects and the “some day” projects too. If the past month ended with finishing up one, or one is close to wrapping up, I’ll line up the next one.
I also review them at a high level to see if they are still important and/or needed. This is how I curb my distractions. If I have an idea, I put it in as a long-term project, and then let it bubble up later to make sure that it’s still relevant and important.
- Execute
This is the hardest part because I really just go back to work.
Since I do my monthly review at the top of my weekly review, not at the first of every month. I allow the natural course of monthly review flow into my weekly review.
So once I’ve done my monthly review, made sure that all the ducks are in a row there, I dive right into my weekly review.
I put a recurring task in my task management tool, Todoist for the first Sunday of every month to do the monthly review prior to the weekly review, and that’s it.
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Running your freelance business
More episodes in this topic:
17
What do you do when a crisis hits?
18
How to start building an email list as a freelancer?
20
How do you manage time wearing so many hats as a freelancer?
28
What software tools do you use for business? What is best?
32
How do you prevent, manage scope creep in your projects?
34
Do you schedule in time for exploring or reading articles online?
38
What is the best way to get income fast?
40
What happens if you can’t define a scope of work on a call?
41
What do I do first thing Monday morning?
47
How can I focus on my business when I’ve got a ton client work?
53
Do I have to be concerned with GDPR?
65
What are the tools and services that you use and would recommend to freelancers?
70
How do you have time for all that you do?
74
What podcasting gear do I use?
78
Does live chat bring you in business?
81
How do you followup with a lead after a proposal?
84
Did hiring a mentor really help you with starting up your business or your career?
87
What is my writing process
88
What is the easiest way to get a remote testimonial?
91
How do you determine a quality prospect?
115
How do you step away and actually take a vacation?
116
Are job boards reliable?
123
How to decrease the sales cycle or time to close?
127
How would you write a cold outreach email?
130
How to present different services that could potentially diminish your abilities in the minds of clients?
132
Should I bundle projects for clients or keep projects separate per client?
133
What product do you use for your business that you can’t live without?
135
What makes you stand out from other freelancers?
136
Do I drop this client?
142
How do I set a goal?
143
Do you meet leads and clients face-to-face?
144
How do I work “ON” my business and not “IN” my business?
147
What is the best structure for setting a goal?
152
How do you do a review of your week?
156
What do I say when a potential client says I’m too expensive?
159
What is activity based selling?
165
How to get more clients?
167
How to have a productive week?
168
Do you use a CRM for your business?
171
How do you choose the technology for your clients?
180
What is the structure of a weekly review?
181
What is the structure of a monthly review?
191
What are lead generation techniques to get me out of the feast and famine revenue cycle?
193
How do I know if I should buy a course?
198
What’s a polite way to tell existing clients you are raising your rates? And what is a reasonable percentage to go up?
199
How many email follow-ups should I send to a lead?
201
What do I do? I’m afraid to filter the tire kickers coming into my business because they are the only leads I have.
202
How to take the next step from contracting resource to solo business owner?
205
What do you think about Gutenberg? Schmutenberg!
206
How do I get better at sales?
207
How to overcome objections in sales?
208
How do I respond to an RFP?
209
How to respond to “I don’t need strategy, can you just do…”?
210
If you don’t have experience, how to you prove the quality without the education/experience?
212
How do you handle a client that has ghosted?
218
What do you ask during a sales call?
219
How to improve your sales process as a freelancer?
222
How to charge more as a freelancer?
225
How do you push past the imposter syndrome?
229
How do you segment your email list?
236
What to say when a client insists on adding something new?
257
What kind of content should I promote to potential clients?
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