Imagine you spend an entire day running around a field playing a gruelling game of soccer.

At the end, someone on the sideline turns to you and asks, “So, who won?”

You realize you’ve been playing the entire time with no goal posts.

You have no idea who won. You were just burning sweat and calories.

This is what it’s like when you’re freelancing with no clear goals.

🫠

Let’s make sure this isn’t you.

I’m going to take you through 5 points with 5 action steps to help you define your goals to succeed.

Here goes...

1. Start With What You Don't Want

If you’re struggling to define exaclty what you want as a freelancer, it can help to start with what you don’t want.

Some examples could be:

I don’t want to ask someone's permission to go to the beach at 11 am.

I don’t want to ask permission to go on vacation.

I don’t want to have set lunch hours.

I don’t want to struggle financially.

I don’t want to be working 10-hour days as a manager (even if it pays well).

I don’t want to miss time with my family and my kids as they grow up.

And so on…

Once you’re clear on what you don’t want, then you can start thinking about what you do want, and the goals that will help you get there.

🔥 ACTION STEP 1:

Make your list of I don’t want’s. Then start thinking about what you can do to avoid them.

2. Coding vs NoCode

This is a fundamental question for web designers to decide what you really want to do.

Do you enjoy coding? Want to code websites 8 hours a day?

If so, you’ll need someone else to handle operations to deal with clients. You can:

A) Hire someone

B) Partner with someone

C) Outsource this part of your business.

Or, would you rather use NoCode solutions to create website fast, and have more freedom and flexibility to do other things you want?

There’s a common misconception that web designers and developers need to be coding experts.

Not true. Whether you code or not, the bottom line is you’re making websites.

So don’t get caught up thinking you have to learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Mongo and everything else.

Most high-earning freelancers don’t even know how to code, or only have a basic understanding.

Think of coding knowledge as helpful, but definitely not a requirement.

Maybe you want to take a hybrid approach and do some coding, but not work 8 hours a day.

Whatever approach you prefer, it’s important to be clear and work towards this.

🔥 ACTION STEP 2:

Think about the type of work that interests you, your skill level, and how much time you want to spend learning and working. Decide if you want to follow a Coding, NoCode, or hybrid approach.

3. SMART Goals

If you want to get serious about achieving goals, then they need to be SMART goals.

SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Not this:

❌ “I want to become a freelancer”.

But this:

✅ “I want to become a full-time freelancer earning at least $5k /month within 12 months while working a full-time job. I’ll do this by learning and working evenings and weekends.

Your goals need to be tangible and free of ambiguity.

A key part of this is setting a realistic (not over-optimistic) timeline to achieve your goal. Your timeline should be flexible enough to accommodate changes but rigid enough to keep you focused.

Once you’ve defined the overall goal, you’ll obviously need to define what you will learn and what you’ll do to achieve it. But this is the starting point for setting SMART goals.

🔥 ACTION STEP 3:

Create your overarching SMART goal. Then create a timeline with smaller goals and clear milestones. Check your progress regularly and adjust as necessary.

4. Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

This can be a tough question to ask with so much change going on all the time in this day and age. But it’s still a necessary and helpful question.

Why?

Because you need to be able to see a destination in your mind if you’re going to stay motivated.

Any goal worth achieving is likely not going to be easy.

Think about anyone you admire. Maybe it’s:

A couple who has been married for 40 years.

A business owner.

A 6 figure freelancer

An athlete.

No matter who it is, they would have had to make compromises and overcome difficulties to get to where they are.

Having a long-term goal in mind can help you keep your eyes on the prize when things get tough.

🔥 ACTION STEP 4:

Write down where you’d like to be in 3 years, 5 years, or 10 years from now (project even further if you want). This will give you clarity and allow you to measure your progress towards your goal.

5. Essential Skills for Success

Lastly, you need to think about the ‘How’.

This is figuring out the right skills and the mindset you need to succeed.

Skills could include:

Learning how to make websites

Learning digital marketing

Learning sales and how to deal with clients

Learning how to run a successful freelancing agency

It will depend on your specific goals. So don’t compare your skills to others - just focus on what’s essential to achieving your goals.

But just as important as skills is mindset.

Having skills without the right mindset is like knowing how to use all driving instruments in a car but forgetting to turn on the engine.

You won’t go far.

So what are we talking about with mindset?

Things like:

Embracing the idea that failure is a necessary part of learning and growth

Getting comfortable with taking risks or stepping out your comfort zone

Being prepared to face imposter syndrome head-on.

Mindset is a huge topic on its own. For now, the point is you need to actively make it part of your goals and part of your learning journey.

🔥 ACTION STEP 5:

Identify the skills and the mindset you need to achieve your SMART goals.

Remember, the freelance journey is a marathon, not a sprint (or a pointless soccer game).

There will be challenges, but with the right mindset and clear, actionable goals, you can overcome the obstacles, help others along the way, and enjoy the view from the mountaintop.

Trust me, it’s worth it.

That’s all from me this week.

Cheers!