Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

I've done precisely zero client work this week (which you'll see reflected in my weekly roundup and revenue). In times before, this would have scared the crap out of me... not a single penny AT ALL?!

But now I know that it's super important to take time off in order to reset and not feel like I want to retrain as a barista with a little wagon in the forest.

I also know that I have work lined up for the rest of the month (a lot of it, actually), which obviously gives me some peace of mind. I hope you've had some time over the last couple of months to rest, relax, and reset.

P.S. In this week's Instagram post, I shared a few things I'm really glad I did as a freelancer. 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 0 pieces for clients

👉 I edited some Instagram videos

👉 I sent a few emails and scheduled a few calls for next week

👉 I had 3 days out, went camping, and enjoyed the sunshine

⏱ Approx hours spent on client work this week: ~0.5

⏱ Approx hours spent on non-client work: ~0.5

💰 Total revenue this week: £0

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Friday Freelance Tip​​ ✨ ​

Looking back, there’s a lot I put up with as a new freelancer that I sure as hell wouldn’t put up with now.

I think it’s almost a rite of passage. You’re just starting out, you don’t have a full client roster, and you feel like you have to say yes to everything just to keep the lights on.

So, yes, I've said "aye" to things that, a few years later, make me absolutely cringe.

Here are just a few of them (there were much, MUCH more than this, but I think I've blocked them from my memory).

The client who made me record my screen

A client I’d landed on Upwork asked me to record my screen so they could track my work and my time. Just-starting-out-me felt a bit weird about it, but I said sure, fine, whatever you need, as long as the paycheque still shows up.

I don’t even know if they ever watched the footage. Honestly, sitting through hours of screen recordings would’ve been a bigger waste of their time than mine. But it’s stuck with me all these years later.

The lesson: Being monitored like that isn’t a “cost of doing business”, it’s a sign the client doesn’t trust you, and no amount of footage will fix that. Trust is supposed to be baked into the fact that you deliver good work, not something you prove minute-by-minute on camera.

What I do now: I don’t work with clients who want to monitor my process instead of judging my output. If someone wants visibility, I’m happy to send a project update, a shared doc, or a quick Loom walkthrough of my thinking. If a client’s pitch involves screen-tracking software before we’ve even started, that’s my cue to walk.

The Saturday night “emergency” edit

A client called me at 9pm on a Saturday wanting edits to a case study, right then, that night. I was home, not doing much, so I reluctantly said yes, give me half an hour. I didn’t want to lose the contract.

The lesson: “I wasn’t doing anything anyway” is not the same as “I was available.” My evenings and weekends weren’t a standby shift for whichever client felt like calling. And saying yes that one time taught that client exactly what they could expect from me going forward... which is exactly the problem. And, you guessed it, they did it again. And again.

What I do now: I have actual working hours in my contracts, and I stick to them. If something comes in outside those hours, it waits until the next business day. If a client has genuinely urgent, time-sensitive work outside normal hours, we'll have a convo about a rush fee or I'll do it depending on our relationship etc.

“Your ideas are silly”

A client told me my blog post ideas were “silly.” I nodded, held back tears, and said okay, yes, I understand, I’ll try harder next time.

The lesson: There’s a massive difference between constructive feedback and someone being dismissive or unkind about your work. Feedback should help you do better work. That comment didn’t, it just made me feel small, and I let it, because I thought pushing back might cost me the client.

What I do now: I ask for specifics. “Can you tell me more about what’s not working, so I can make sure the next round hits the mark?” Most of the time, that question alone changes the tone, and it forces clients to turn vague criticism into something actually useful, or it reveals that there wasn’t much substance behind it in the first place. And if a client can’t give feedback without being demeaning about it, that’s information too. I don’t keep working with people who make me feel small for putting ideas on the table.

Why this all matters

Any one of these things could’ve put me off freelancing for life. Instead, they lit a fire in my belly to build a business on my own terms... one with actual boundaries, working hours, and clients who treat me like a professional instead of a nervous new hire.

If you’re early in your freelance career and something similar is happening to you right now: it’s not just you, and it’s not the price of admission you have to keep paying forever. The freelancers who seem to have it all figured out usually just got here the same way: by being pushed around a bit first, and deciding not to let it keep happening.

So, what did you put up with early on that you sure as hell wouldn’t now? Hit reply and tell me. I read every single one.

As always, happy freelancing 🙂

Lizzie ✨

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As always, happy freelancing :)

Lizzie ✨

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