Hey Creative Cashers,
What was your best-selling product or service in Q1?
Do you know which of your clients took the most of your time and offered you the least money?
What about where most of your income came from?
If you’re drawing a blank on all three of these questions, don’t beat yourself up over it. Most freelancers, solopreneurs and creatives are so busy doing the work that they rarely stop to analyze what's actually working.
Today we’re going to do that analysis. The “why” is simple: You can't improve what you don't measure. And I know you want to earn more money, keep more money, and have even more freedom in your working life.
So settle in. Grab some coffee (or wine if it’s 5 pm where you are), put on your favorite music and open up a fresh page in your notebook or in Google Docs. Let’s do a Q1 review together. I promise it won't be boring spreadsheet hell: Go through this exercise regularly each quarter and you’ll discover that it could be the difference between being a hustler who burns out or a solopreneur who builds something sustainable.
When you’re done, I’ve got a gift for you! Grab the workbook I made just for you below. (And share this newsletter with a friend who needs one too!)
Grab your bank statements, invoice records, or whatever system you use to track income. Once you’ve got everything, look at what actually happened (not what you wished happened) from January 1 through March 31 of this year. Jot down the following numbers:
Income Analysis:
My total income in Q1 (Jan-Mar): $__________
Now break it down:
By source:
Client A: $______
Client B: $______
Product/Service 1: $______
Product/Service 2: $______
Other: $______
By month:
January: $______
February: $______
March: $______
Ask yourself:
Which client or project surprised you? (Paid you more or less than you expected?)
Which client or project was most profitable per hour worked?
What's my income pattern? (Steady? Feast or famine? One big month?)
If you could only do THREE projects or services in Q2, which ones would you focus on?
Now let’s look at what you spent to keep your business running in Q1.
Total expenses for Q1: $__________
Profit (Income - Expenses): $__________
Here’s your breakdown:
By category (estimate if you don't have exact numbers):
Software/subscriptions: $______
Materials/supplies: $______
Marketing: $______
Professional development: $______
Outsourcing/contractors: $______
Other: $______
Ask yourself:
Which expense gave you the best ROI? (Made you the most money, saved you the most time, or significantly improved your work quality?)
Which subscription are you paying for but not really using?
What do you regret spend money on?
What did you NOT spend money on that you wish you had?
If you could only keep 3 business expenses, which ones would they be?
Time to look at where your time and energy went in Q1.
Estimate your hours for Q1:
Client/project work: _____ hours
Admin (emails, invoicing, etc.): _____ hours
Marketing: _____ hours
Learning/development: _____ hours
Unpaid labor (pitching, proposals that went nowhere): _____ hours
Calculate:
Effective hourly rate = Total Q1 Profit ÷ Total Q1 Hours = $______/hour
(This number might hurt. That’s why we’re looking at it.)
Ask yourself:
Which projects/clients drained your energy?
Which work gave you energy?
What task took way longer than it should have? (Candidate for systemizing or outsourcing)
What would you do MORE of if time/money weren't factors?
What are you doing that literally anyone else could do? (Candidate for automating)
You did some great work this quarter. Let's get specific about it:
Marketing/Visibility:
What got you the most engagement?
What led to actual paying work?
What was a waste of time?
Client/Customer Experience:
What did people compliment you on?
What questions did you get asked repeatedly?
What friction did people experience?
Personal/Professional Growth:
What skill did you improve?
What did you learn? (Document this!)
Unexpected Wins:
What went better than expected?
Did you get any lucky breaks? (Document how they came about)
Finally, it’s time to set intentions for Q2!
Revenue Goals:
Q2 Income Goal: $__________
To hit this, I need to:
Expense Goals:
Cancel/reduce: ______________________
Invest in: ______________________
Track more carefully: ______________________
Time Goals:
Increase hours spent on: ______________________
Decrease hours spent on: ______________________
Automate/delegate: ______________________
One Big Experiment:
In Q2, I'm going to try: ______________________
(New pricing structure? New service? New marketing channel? Pick ONE thing to test.)
I've created a fillable PDF version of all these questions plus:
Income/expense tracking sheets
Time audit calculator
Q2 goal-setting template
Monthly check-in prompts
Download the full workbook here:
Q1 Final Numbers:
We did it! How did this quarterly review go for you?
Maybe it confirmed that everything’s going great. And maybe it was a little difficult or deflating: It can be hard to see you didn't make as much as you planned or you worked tons of hours for a tiny payoff.
Either way, the answer is to keep measuring the things that matter. It sounds a little woo-woo, but bringing your attention to hard things is what will give you the courage and the capability to tackle them successfully.
Q1 is over. Use what it taught you to make your Q2 even better.
Rooting for you,
Your Creative Cash Coach