At the beginning of the summer, I switched to the new FreshBooks…which I’m adjusting to and like overall EXCEPT that they did away with my favorite report, Revenue by Client.

Lazily, I used this as an excuse to not keep a handle on my money coming in.

I knew summer was slow, but had I spent the time to tune into specifics, I would have realized just how slow (and I would’ve had to do something about it). But alas, it was summer…so I kind of postponed what I knew needed to happen—a reality check! I also “postponed” my outreach and marketing efforts.

Yesterday, I created the report myself. It took about 30 minutes to get the numbers into the format I’m used to seeing them. The format that has been giving me a quick, easy snapshot of my business for years. The way that makes the most sense to me.

And the revenue situation was clear as day. No longer could I blame FreshBooks or continue lazing along Denial River, not doing my marketing and expecting work to magically appear.

Sure, summer normally gets a little slow with client work—but I wasn’t doing much of anything to help work come in. I slowed down when it would have made more sense to ramp up my marketing efforts since I had more time on my hands.

But I’m skipping the whole self-loathing part of the equation and simply taking action.

Today I’m happy—because knowledge is power.

I feel in control again.

And now that I know my revenue—it’s time to do something about it.

After all, the year’s not over yet! I’ve still got almost three months to up my game in pursuit of my yearly goal.

Does reaching my goal seem likely? Not really. But crazier things have happened. Either way, I’m going to get as close as I possibly can.

How?

For starters, I reached out to a few previous clients. Amazingly, two said, “Perfect timing!”

If you’re in the same boat, you can too.

Because one thing I know from being self-employed since 2007 is that success is about getting back on the horse. And taking steps—even small ones. And not giving up.

It’s about continuing the effort even when we let things slide for a day, a week or even a few months.

That’s the one thing that’s always true. Simple actions are always available.

And it amazes me, because every time I decide to step up my game and do something simple—like reaching out to a prospect or creating a report and reviewing my numbers—the great-big-world responds.

Even the smallest movements start to create momentum.

So instead of asking, how can I make a billion dollars in the next three months, ask: What can I do right now that might help?

That next thing might be taking advantage of Ilise Benun’s upcoming Zoom coaching session on content marketing which happens next on October 25. She will show you how to create “bat signal” content marketing to attract the clients you want -- with lots of excellent examples too.

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Hi, I’m Deidre. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a website copywriter, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning as I go (with Marketing Mentor as my guide). To keep in touch, sign up for my un-newsletter here and get my freebie download, 12 Sparks to Write Sizzling, Audience-Attracting Website Words.