Story: Time to reflect

It’s in November. I start to wrap up in 2021. At first, I checked what I was thinking at the end of 2020.

📝 The Year in Review 2020 as Freelance Graphic/Web Designer

Top 5 lists in 2021:
– Develop a sustainable product ✖️
– Develop an eCommerce website ✖️
– Reach 1,000 followers on Instagram ✖️
– 2,000 views on Behance ✓
– Reach 30K on Upwork (close)

I could not achieve most of them. I did not forget the lists. I could remind the lists occasionally. I just prioritized in front of daily work rather than a side hustle. I did not consider the impact of side hustle at the end of 2020. I think it’s the reason to fail this time.

I will make lists based on the impact of business.

How and Why You Should Give Yourself a Year-end Review by FastCompany

What were 1 high and 1 low? This is where you start taking inventory and building awareness.
High:
– Developed mulch leads/sales channel, from a network(LinkedIn), stable contract(Canada/United States) and UpWork.

Lows:
– I could not keep a 100% success rate on UpWork, 95% on November 28th, 2021.

What enabled or motivated you to reach those highs, and how did you successfully move through the lows?
Highs:
– Make a freelance business stable. I don’t mind working at a company as long as I can contribute a business growth, I can learn and I can feel personal improvement. Anyway, I need to extricate from the survival mode.

Lows:
– I faced red flag clients.

What worked and didn’t work? In other words, what do you need to do more or less of?
Worked:
– Less promise, over-deliver. Beyond a client expectation.

Did not Work:
– Local SEO.

What stressed you out the most, and how could you navigate it better?
– Red flag clients.
→ I made a checklist. I don’t choose the project. I choose a client.

And, most important, what were you most grateful for in 2021, and how can you take that into 2022?
– Balance of branding project and web design project (but, need more)
– Received inquiries from company/people which I have never met before (but, not enough)

Summary in 2021

Unnecessary to check my iPhone photo, the Montreal trip was good. Vancouver people may be better kind than Montreal people. Vancouver is easier to work for freelance. Even so, the City of Montreal was attractive. There is not that kind of atmosphere in Vancouver. I am not a digital nomad, but I am doing like a digital nomad after all.

I could provide a good amount of brand identity and style guide which a client appreciated. The price is not great enough, between $1K to $3K. I would like to reach $5-10K in 2022. For that, I have to find a client who feels that value to their branding project. The branding has to be impacted their business. For that, a client delivers a message and story to the target audience consistently, engages/acquires these audiences positively. It means they are active on social media and marketing after the branding project. As an assumption, a client has enough budget to spend on branding and marketing.

Portfolio: Logofolio 2021

After I developed some websites, I am continually working in SEO and social media advertising. The data shows the results each month. I have to make good results and provide value to a client. I bought some courses on Udemy. I will watch them during the holiday. YouTube is also good enough, I think.

Portfolio: Webfolio 2021

Early 2021, I was practicing Webflow as a daily challenge. At the end of the personal project, I developed a Webflow landing page, Takashi Hirakimoto 2.0. I implemented all my current knowledge into it. I am proud of this website. Not about quality. There are many talented people in the world and I cannot compete with them.

I could public this website by spontaneous action. It is only proud of me. I am going to use my skills not for me, for others in 2022. I learned it in No-Code Conf 2021 by Webflow.

Portfolio: Takashi Hirakimoto 2.0

Smart goals review in 2021

Specific:
– Develop a new website once in 2 months, at least 6/year → Even
– Build an E-commerce website by the end of 2021 → Failed
– Reach 30K on Upwork by the end of 2021 → Close

Measurable:
– LinkedIn, network 100 to 150 → Failed
– Facebook, followers 10202 to 12,500 → Failed
– Instagram, followers 161 to 1000 → Failed
– Tweet, 100 quotes per year → Failed
– Behance, views 1000 to 2000 → Achieved
– Dribbble, experiment for design practice → Even
– YouTube, upload a screen record → Failed
I can divide the yearly goals into every 3 months.

I could not remember many goals. 1K is better than 100 on social media. Therefore, I wanted to improve it. However, it is not related to my goal/milestone directly. Reaching $100K is the first milestone. I feel that I can reach it. Otherwise, freelance means nothing. Sounds like just jobless (in my opinion). So, I am expanding the sales funnel, online and offline.

Conclusion: Action plan 2022

In November 2021, I faced minor burnout. Freelance work is quite related to motivation. So, I felt anxiety about my condition and market demand. 

– Do I/Can I continue the freelance work?
– When I faced condition issues, what do I do? ✓✓✓
– Do I need to bid for the next project each time? ✓
– I have invited projects and worked with them, but I cannot expect it exactly when. ✓
– How can I scale if I continue the current service business?
– Re-setting the goal and target figure

This is the current solution I came up with. I will apply them in 2022.
Service
– Brand identity
– Web design (WordPress/Webflow/Wix)
– UX for APP(MVP)

Product
– Template (Webflow)
*WordPress is too late to join the market, I think. I am not sure about Wix.
– Material (Design assets)
– Ecommerce
– API related service

Remote work(Contract)
– Design agency
– Digital marketing agency
– Consultant

Online sales
– Upwork ✓✓
– Toptal ✓
– Fiverr ✓
– LinkedIn ✓✓✓
– bark.com ✓
– Lancers.jp ✓
– CrowdWorks.jp ✓

Offline sales
– Referrals from Network
– Local

Action for 2022

In November 2021, I’ve started preparation in 2022. I decided which online marketplace I use for a short-term project, gig work. I made an account and develop a portfolio at each website.

I will try to reach $50K in 2022 on Upwork(main platform), but other platforms, I don’t much expect to get an inquiry through these websites near future. If I reach $1K+ at each platform in 2022, it’s success to me.

I personally do not like the advertising tone of Fiverr. Therefore, I chose UpWork in 2020. I did not understand how to set up the Fiverr account. It’s quite different from UpWork. I checked YouTube and I could make an acceptable public portfolio in 2 days. I checked a week later, it has some leads, but I did not receive an inquiry. That’s okay.

I created a Freelancer.com account for only SEO purposes.

I create an account and roughly set it up sometime this year. Not active on Lancers.jp. So, nothing happened.

On CrowdWorks.jp, I could install links on the description. Be Public is better than doing nothing. I don’t expect organic search or traffic if I don’t take an action.

*CrowdLinks is upselling service. I don’t know how it works.

I bought 2 courses on Udemy. I will complete them during the year 2021 and apply them ASAP.

A while ago, I received emails from bark.com often. I did not pay attention at that time. I heard about bark.com from other people. I may try it in 2022.

Reference:

AdWeek: Tumblr Shares Its 2021 Year in Review