I have recently re-launched by writing services and as a result have found myself in constant search of new and invigorating marketing ideas. Since I have been away from the advertising circuit, I have discovered that certain places dont work as well anymore because the standards of many clients have dropped – shocking news.

As a result of the slow pick up, I find myself often analyzing my services (as any freelancer should) to see what I can introduce or take away to get better results. Just last night I ended up with 3 hours sleep as I started adding a new service and couldnt leave it alone until it was complete. I know its difficult to pull yourself away from marketing, but have any of you experienced the problem of not being able to leave your own website alone?
.-= Antony Hayes´s last blog ..Research Tips for Writing Articles =-.

Long-term was what first made my wife and I decide to move out of the States to a place where we can actually see/use our income. I won’t clutter up this thread with it, but check out my post on the numbers between Italy and the States (http://www.completewritingsolutions.com/2010/02/obsession-with-numbers/) where I delve into some of the differences in costs of living/wages. Pretty staggering figures. And I live somewhere where the cost of living is even lower Our total costs for the year, including entertainment (movies, eating out, etc.) peak at around 10k USD. Cost of living is only around 7k a year. However, I’m also debt-free, however, and we don’t own a vehicle…we take public transportation (big city; no need for a car).

I haven’t been burned out since we moved here 2 years back. There was one summer in Colorado when I was still doing construction when we had 48 hours to do a house and I was lined up for some track homes in the Denver area, and we were banging out 3 of them a week…for 1800-2k per house. Long days, though…4 a.m. wake up, work 6 till 8 or 9 at night, get a few hours of sleep, crash hard on Sunday, do it again…we were so burnt out after that summer, but it was great cash. However…money isn’t everything, and I wouldn’t go back for anything in the world.

Every thing we do is based upon 2-3 year plans. Right now we are making small investments…helping a friend start a business that my wife will be helping to run…investing in real estate this year, as well as a construction company…next year is a vineyard, we hope…plus we should have a good 30k chunk set aside by the end of this year for our first house furnishings, which is being built sometime in the next 2-3 years.

Will everything work out as planned? Who knows. But the point is the only way to make things happen is to take charge of your life instead of letting society and other factors dictate terms to you.

For me…I decided all that time marketing and networking was a waste of my time. I don’t really have a desire to grow my business beyond what it is now, because it’s only a means to an end. I’m not everyone, however…just one fish in a great big sea.
.-= T.W. Anderson´s last blog ..Your Online Reputation =-.

I’m okay with that for now. I realize that my business needs that kind of attention right now for it to grow, and as it does, I’ll be able to pull back a little and regain some “me” time. (Sounds a lot like parenting, come to think of it…)

No thanks. 4 hours a day is all I want. My days of nose-to-the-grindstone are over.

I have so many other irons in the fire as well. My wife’s crafting business is slowly taking off, and I help her with that…my fiction continues to circulate and sell…and my spec-fic zine takes up a good portion of my time (4 hours a day at least), so it’s not like I’m not “working”. It’s that I only spend 4 hours a day freelancing.

To be honest…I don’t think it will ever expand beyond this. My wife’s family runs a large company (25 million Euro at present) that is only expanding, and when she finishes up her Masters degree she’ll be heading into the family business, and I’ll be switching over to fiction full time. At the moment I’m freelancing purely to pay the bills while she finishes school, but I have no intentions or desires to pursue this for more than another 2-3 years. It’s great money….but I’d rather be writing fiction.

I have zero desire to work 60-80 hours a week. Sure, I could break 100k a year if I wanted to, but why would I want to? I live like a king working the hours I do, and it doesn’t require me to break my back marketing and networking. I get a full 8 hours of sleep every night, I never work Saturdays or Sundays, and I get to spend my life enjoying life, rather than slaving away to make a paycheck according to someone else’s standards.

check please
.-= T.W. Anderson´s last blog ..Your Online Reputation =-.

At the start of the year, I set out somewhat of a plan and decided to make a conscious effort to increase my client base, my productivity and my turnover.

We’re half way into March and things are great – they’d be even better if I could get by on three hours sleep.

I’m not complaining – not at all – and I firmly believe that you should take any opportunities that you can, when you can. However, I think there does come a point where you physically can’t take anymore work on, no matter how much you want to, which is when it comes in particularly handy to have a network of colleagues to outsource or completely pass on work to.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Interview With A Blogger – Tamahome Jenkins =-.

Lisa

This post was mentioned on Twitter by kristihines: RT @freelancewj Freelance Writing Marketing & Promotion: How Much Is Too Much? http://bit.ly/9C8ACe...