The Illusion of Stability + Did I choose Correctly?
A lot of freelancers feel stable… until they’re not.
The Illusion of Stability
A lot of freelancers feel stable until they’re not.
You can have a few good months. Money is coming in. Leads are hitting your phone a few times a week. For a moment, everything feels like it’s working.
Then a week or two passes…
And the same question shows up again:
What’s next?
What’s next?
That’s the problem with freelance income. It’s not just about what you made this month. It’s about how long you can go if nothing comes in next month.
That’s why I built a simple tracker for myself. Click the link below.
Freelance Stability Calculator
Nothing fancy. Just a tool that shows
how much cash you have saved
what your monthly burn looks like
how many months you can operate without new income
you suggestions on where to shift your focus
Once you know that number, your decisions change. You stop panicking, you stop forcing bad projects and you start thinking longer-term.
Pivoting Isn’t Failure - It’s Direction
One thing I’ve learned is that where you start isn’t where you finish.
In 2020, I made a decision to step away from shooting music videos and weddings. Not because I wasn’t making money, but I started to think deeper about the environments I was in, the people I was around, and the type of work I wanted to be connected to long-term.
Was every artist bad? Absolutely not. Many were very respectful, reliable, and paid on time. Were weddings a headache? The headache didn’t come from the client. My transition occurred because I wanted something different.
A New Diection
I knew I wanted to be in rooms where ideas were being built to influence or grow communities. I felt in my heart that my expertise would be best acting as the visual puzzle piece for companies that are shaping the future.
My conversations about investing, finding tax write offs, pitching to receive funding for a startup, building a team, etc didn’t fit in my previous network. This pivot was a decision about who I was becoming.
I’ll speak more on pivoting within industries in the next read, as my transition through the media production industry has been a great ride.
Up next?
I may have some news soon about a new service 5th Media will be offering if things go as planned.
Until next time… For now, check out the Freelance Stability Calculator and give your feedback below!
We are spending time developing unique tools for freelancers so any feedback is helpful!
I get this. I love to have the convos we have about the way we want to show up in the industry and in our lives. It is now much different, more intentional. The “what’s next” question isn’t gone, just less panicked.