Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

Just a reminder that we need more Freelance Money Diaries entries! You can do it anonymously (most people do!). This is a core feature of the Friday Freelance Tips newsletter as part of my mission to bring more transparency around rates and finances in the freelance world.

I'm forever grateful for those who participate! You can get involved here (it's literally a v short Google Form!).

P.S. In this week's Instagram post, I shared my monthly revenue and expenses in July. Check it out here. And don't forget to give me a follow for regular tips and tricks!

Here's what I've been up to this week work-wise:

👉 I wrote 3 pieces for clients (Modash and Jukebox Print)

👉 I refreshed 2 pieces for Shopify

👉 I had a call to go over a talk I'm doing in-person in October

👉 I planned a talk I'm giving online next week

👉 I had a kick-off call with a new client

👉 I started planning a content strategy for an existing client

⏱ Approx hours spent on client work this week: ~28

⏱ Approx hours spent on non-client work: ~2

💰 Total revenue this week: £3,530

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Friday Freelance Tip​​ ✨ ​

I'm willing to bet all the pogs I collected when I was 10 that you didn't start freelancing because you dreamed of running a team, managing a P&L, or spending your Tuesday afternoons smack bang in the middle of a hiring pipeline. Or, worse, a firing pipeline.

You started because you loved the thing. For me, that thing was writing. I wanted my days to be FULL of words.

And for a while, that's exactly what freelancing gave me.

But then, somewhere around year three or four, I started to get swept up by the whispers around me saying:

"If you want to grow, you need to build a team. Start an agency. Stop doing the work yourself and start managing people who do."

It's presented as the only way forward... the natural next step, the sign you've "made it." And for some freelancers, that path is very, very exciting. If your energy comes from building something bigger than yourself, from mentoring a team, from stepping into a more strategic role, brilliant, go for it.

But if what actually lit you up was doing the craft, the writing, the designing, the coding, then building an agency can feel like you're being managed out of a role you love.

So what happens if you don't want that? Does that mean you're stuck? That there's no version of "growth" for you?

I don't think so. I think there's another way to grow...

Growing outwards, not just upwards

Instead of expanding upwards (more people, more layers, more management), you expand outwards. You keep yourself as the core of the business, doing the work you actually enjoy, but you add branches to what you offer.

That might look like:

• Productising part of your service: turning something you do bespoke into a fixed-scope, fixed-price offer
• Creating a digital product: a template, a course, a toolkit that solves a smaller slice of the problem you solve for clients
• Consulting or advisory work: stepping in for strategy and direction rather than delivery
• Coaching or teaching others: sharing what you've learned with people who are a few steps behind you
• Licensing or partnerships: letting your work or IP generate income in ways that don't require more of your hours

You don't need to hire or manage anyone for these (unless, of course, there are parts you want to outsource because you'd rather not do them). They just require you to look at your business as a tree with one strong trunk (the craft you love) and ask what other branches could grow from it.

How do you know which branch to grow?

This is a far more personal question, because there's no universal answer here. What's right for one solo business owner will be completely wrong for another, and chasing someone else's outward branch just because it worked for them is its own kind of trap.

Here are some things to think about:

What are people already asking you for?

For me, it was 1:1 coaching. I kept getting the same question over and over... "do you offer coaching for freelancers?" I hadn't planned to offer it at all. In all honesty, I didn't think I was qualified enough to offer something like that. But the demand was SO consistent that I couldn't really ignore it any longer.

My advice is to go back through your inbox, your DMs, your discovery calls. Is there a question that keeps coming up? A version of your work that people keep asking for, even though it's not technically on your services page? That's usually a good place to start.

What energises you vs. what drains you?

Not every branch is worth growing just because there's demand for it. If coaching lit me up but building a template library felt like pulling teeth, that tells me something important. Growth that moves you away from why you started isn't really growth. So, listen to your heart, we get to set our own rules, after all!

What are your actual goals?

More income? More flexibility? Being less reliant on one type of client? Diversifying so you have more bases covered? A creative outlet that isn't tied to client deadlines? The branch you grow should serve the goal you actually have, not the goal you think you're supposed to have.

A productised service might be a good solution for income stability. A course might help you scale your impact without scaling your hours. Consulting might be a good option if you want to do higher-leverage, lower-volume work.

Nothing about this is permanent

Whatever you choose right now doesn't have to be forever.

Louder for the people at the back 👏

Freelancing, by nature, is a constant state of flux. The market shifts, your skills deepen, your interests change, life happens. The branch that feels super exciting today might not be the one you want to be tending in two years, and that's not a failure AT ALL, it's just... freelancing. We're not signing up for one static business model... we're signing up for something that gets to evolve alongside us.

The through-line that matters isn't the specific branch here. It's staying rooted in the trunk... a.k.a. the actual craft that made you want to do this in the first place. As long as you're checking in with that regularly, you can add branches, prune ones that no longer serve you, and try new ones without ever losing the plot.

So if you've been feeling that pressure to "scale up" in the traditional sense and it's making you a bit queasy, know that it's not the only option. You're allowed to grow sideways. You're allowed to stay small and add texture instead of headcount. You're allowed to let your business change shape as often as it needs to.

The only question worth asking, over and over again, is: does this still feel like the thing I fell in love with?

If yes, keep going, whatever shape that takes.

As always, happy freelancing 🙂

Lizzie ✨

This week, we have a B2B/B2C writer from Australia.

Where are you based? Australia.

How long have you been freelancing? 2 years.

What do you do? B2B and B2C health writer, communication strategist and travel writer.

What's your revenue? $54,000 for the 25/26 financial year ending 30 June 2026.

This person freelances part time and this was their highest earning year.

How much did you take as a salary?

Around $30,000.

How much did you pay in taxes?

Around $15,000 in tax and then $5,000 in super contribution.

What are your business expenses?

I keep my overheads pretty low so only a few hundred dollars for Google Business, web hosting etc and Canva. I also invested in a travel writing course for a few thousand dollars.
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Do you contribute to a pension or invest?

I contribute to a superannuation account (not as often or as much as I should!). I also have a high interest savings account.

Any personal money-management or cash flow tip you'd like to share with others?

Having a part time communication role has really helped. I can use that salary to pay my family/household living expenses and keep my freelancing income for my own use.

We need more Freelance Money Diaries entries! I'm forever grateful to anyone who shares their finances with us (you can do it totally anonymously!).

Click the button below to do yours! of

As always, happy freelancing :)

Lizzie ✨

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