Fractional Vol. 3: A Quiet December
Happy New Year! This one is going to be a good one, right? … Right?
I’m now three months into this full-time fractional business, and I think it’s still too fresh for me to do some holistic reflection. That said, per usual (or at least for the third time), this month we’ll dive into what’s working, what’s not, and what’s on my mind. It’s been a slower month for better or for worse, so it’s more of a lazy river vibe here than an out-and-out rollercoaster.
What Went Well
Going into December, I had anticipated that it would be a big financial lull. I didn’t work the entire last week of the year, and more importantly, I was out a big contract that I had thought would retain at least through the start of next year. So call me shocked when I looked at my invoicing at the end of the month, and I was at $17,700. If you recall from newsletter number one, I had set a high monthly goal of $17,000, so technically I exceeded the goal while working a whole lot less. To break down where that revenue came from:
My most steady freelance client made up a bulk of that income. We had an end-of-year push to get a ton of creative out the door, and I proactively billed for a little time in January (so January billings should be down a bit). I had also forgotten a few projects from earlier in the year to bill for (my bad!) that their super savvy PM called me out on, and so that counted for several hundred dollars as well.
One other client made up for a chunk of this change, because I hadn’t invoiced for work in November. So saying all of this income came from December is a slight misrepresentation, but I’m honestly happy it worked out this way as November was the shitshow that it was.
I continued working on the hospitality project I mentioned last month as well (I haven’t billed for that one yet, will likely invoice in January once the project wraps). Other than that, there really were no one-off projects that came my way this past month. December is December, after all.
What Didn’t Go So Well
Work was slow, aside from that main client. On the one hand, I’m happy to have been able to really dedicate full time and attention to that client when they 100% needed it. On the other, I like having a load of projects on to flex my brain in different ways. It’s also made me a little nervous about the when/where/if the work will come now that we’re in the new year, which is my first year as a true business owner.
Frankly, I’ve just been bummed a lot of the month. I’m still grieving, I’m sad about some work situations in the past year not working out as I had wanted them to, I was hoping I’d be a little further along with some creative writing projects. December tends to be the “reflection” month and overall, I felt like 2023 was a lackluster year.
More than reflection and feeling down, I realized in December (particularly the last week and a half or so that I was off), that I was really, truly burnt out. I’ve always been a highly anxious “doer,” a person who takes on most projects asked of them, who is always looking for work, always looking to help others at work without regard for my own bandwidth, and guys, I was tired. So I spent a lot of the break not doing much. I read books, I exercised almost every day, I spent time with family and friends, I watched movies, I played Rummikub (my favorite, does anyone else like to play?). I have acceptance that the “doer” nature isn’t going away, but I used the time to rest and recover, so I could feel like my baseline was in a better spot come 2024.
On the Planning Side…
In terms of finishing out the year, I got everything in order to pay my quarterly taxes this week. I’m waiting on my accountant for those totals, but I’ll share here for transparency in my next send.
The main thing I did was file to set up my S-Corp. My accountant advised an S-Corp for a few reasons:
S-Corp versus just staying a sole proprietor:
From a tax perspective, I’ll save a few thousand dollars because I’ll be paying substantially less in terms of social security mainly. As part of the S-Corp, I’ll have a fairly low salary (60K/year), and any revenue that my corporation takes in above that, I can take as distributions to myself. Those distributions will be taxed of course, but I end up paying less out in terms of the main benefits.
My accountant said there’s just a lower risk with having a corporation in terms of auditing. Given my income as a sole proprietor, I’d more likely be flagged for an audit than under an S-Corp structure.
From a subjective standpoint, a corporation looks a little more polished than having everything just go through me, an individual.
S-Corp versus LLC: LLCs are considered disregarded entities when they have just one owner. I’m not 100% sure all of the implications of this, but it did add an additional complication for my income taxes.
I used LegalZoom to set up my S-Corp (waiting on this all to be finalized still, so that I can get my EIN, set up my bank account, etc.). I’ll have quarterly payroll at $15K/quarter, so shoutout to my lowest salary since 2015.
More to come on finalizing that set up in next month’s issue. I am by no means an expert on any of this, but if you have any questions on the above, shoot me an email. I’m happy to have a little “ask my accountant” section in next month’s send.
On a different note, I raised my rates. I’m charging $175/hour here, my first rate increase since 2020 and long overdue with inflation and my own expertise. That said, I used the rate increase as a way to secure a retainer at the very end of last year, sending off an email that grandfathered in my old rate if the client locked in immediately. It’s a small-ish retainer, but I’m happy to have it!
What’s Keeping Me Up At Night
2023 was a year when a lot of folks lost their jobs or reconsidered their careers. I’m one of them on the career reconsideration side. As I focus on new business and paid opportunities, I don’t want to lose sight or overlook time to spend on the non-paid side. A friend hit me up for help on a screenplay submission earlier this month. Another asked for me to look at their resume. If there’s something I can help with on the smaller end of things, and we know each other as humans out in the real world, know that I still want to help, particularly if it helps you get that next job, achieve that big thing, etc.
The feast or famine of it all. Because I proactively billed some time for my main client, I really am expecting January to be a down month. I’m going to send my first ever “hi I’m in business!” email later this week to past collaborators, hoping that it’s a helpful reminder that indeed I’m out and about, looking to take on some new work. (Related: if you know of someone who could use my services, lmk!)
How do I get more of the work that I want? I’m gravitating more towards brand, copy, naming, tone of voice, positioning, and further and further away from the marketing side of things. I can still do it and I’m good at it, but I want to make sure that the bulk of the work that I’m doing is the stuff that energizes, not depletes, me.
And Lastly…
You know, last month I asked for less surprises and December delivered. I am grateful.
I haven’t done this before, but figured I’d send a few recommendations of things I enjoyed in the past month, because why not?
I finished Hanya Yanagihara’s third book, To Paradise, which was a long read but well worth it. It also reminded me that my favorite book is actually her first, The People in the Trees, though of course A Little Life is incredible as well.
The Holdovers is perfect cozy viewing.
Luna Luna opened in Los Angeles, and if you’ve ever wondered what a ferris wheel made by Basquiat would look like, my friend, you are in luck.
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