How’s 2024 treatin’ ya?

Hey Friend,

So you made it to 2024 in one piece, congratulations! 🎉

We were not planning to send an email this week but I couldn’t wait to get back to our weekly newsletter!

For those of you that don’t know me yet - I’m Alex, co-founder of Freelance Friends - great to meet you.

Here is what we have coming up in this week’s FF Newsletter:

• Alex gently guides us into 2024, gives his brief history on becoming a freelancer and recommends a few books for the year ahead.

• Digital Declutter Session - We’re holding space for you to detox your digital life. Online Event

• Reflect on 2023 & Plan for 2024 - Goal Setting Workshop | 2nd event due to demand 🪞 Online Event

• Be a part of our Manage Your Time & Achieve More Event in January ⏳

  Online Event

• Update your Portfolio in our ‘Portfolio Surgery’ workshop with Jordan Walker Online Event

• 🗞️ News Worthy - The most interesting stuff from the internet over the Christmas period!

Less Stress, More Success, You’re The Best!

A gentle intro to help you create a realistic, fulfilling path for 2024, where planning and purposeful action take center stage.

You have undoubtedly felt the world's attention suddenly shift to goal setting and resolutions for this year. This week has been filled with a relentless stream of ‘New Year, New You’ styled posts, emails and videos from countless gurus and influencers.

Yes - this email does fall into the category of ‘Goals’, but I want to bring the New Year’s Resolution hype down a notch or two.

As with every year, come the third week of January, most people will have broken their promises to themselves and will be cracking on with life the same way they were in 2023 - but not us!

Modern life is a continuous journey to become a better version of yourself; year after year, we want to be wealthier, healthier and more fulfilled to ultimately find ‘happiness’ (whatever you perceive that to be).

But when does this pursuit of happiness end; when is enough enough?

The author Chris Guillebeau, in his book ‘The Happiness of Pursuit’, switches the traditional idea of the pursuit of happiness on its head and instead focuses on creating a fulfilled life where your journey is what makes you happy. As a freelancer, entrepreneur or business owner, you likely already follow this ethos (whether you know it or not). Being self-employed offers the greatest opportunity to journey through life joyfully.

When I was working my 9 to 5 as a Marketing Manager for an insurance company, I would fall into January exhausted after the crazy Christmas period. Christmas was a time to cram as much ‘fun’ as possible into my few days off, which involved an excess of things that would leave me regretting my decisions.

For a few years during that time, I would sit down in January and write my ‘Year in Review’ with a shopping list of resolutions tagged to the bottom. The reviews were a mostly miserable detail of how I hadn’t improved from the previous year and how I planned to do better for the current year. No matter how great my reviews and resolution could have been, they wouldn’t have made any difference to my life as the problem was my current career path.

At the start of the pandemic in 2020, I saw an opportunity to leave my marketing job and start out on my own. Fast-forward to now and whilst I’m still working a lot of life out, I am on the happiness of pursuit path.

My Christmases are a lot less about cramming in quick pleasures and more about reflection, family and moderation. I am able to give myself more time off at Christmas, and by about the 28th, I’m excited to get back to work.

Whether you are still thinking about working for yourself or have been freelance for decades, every member of Freelance Friends is here because we are passionate about our work.

I’m currently reading ‘Company of One’, a book by Paul Jarvis about staying small in business. The book explores the idea of not using growth and value as the most critical metric in your business and instead choosing a more rewarding and sustainable path.

So, when is enough enough? We have the definition of success ingrained into us as - how much money we have or earn. With business growth comes more stress, more demand and more output. Have you ever talked with yourself to decide your definition of success?

Are you prepared to work 16-hour days and sacrifice your health, friendships and happiness for greater riches? Possibly not.

Are you prepared to work 8 to 10-hour days whilst getting in shape, eating well and socialising with friends on the weekend? Possibly yes.

Bigger does not necessarily equal better; everything in moderation.

Only you can decide what will make you happy. My ideal path through life is working on a business I’m passionate about (Freelance Friends), staying fit and healthy, keeping close relationships with friends and family, and having enough money to not worry about money.

Another book I read in 2023 was ‘Ikigai’ by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles. Ikigai is the Japanese word for ‘a reason to live’. This book solidified my belief in working for myself, as that is where my enjoyment lies. Ikigai is about finding your purpose and place in this world - find that, and work suddenly starts to feel a lot like play.

As we all stand at the foot of the 2024 mountain, let’s make a decision now to embrace this year’s journey with focus, unity and sensibility.

At Freelance Friends, we are building a community where anyone on their business journey can get advice, accountability and training. I want to help you reach your goals this year, so if you have any questions, please email me [email protected].

Events

We now have 7 awesome events lined up for January! We are on fire . ❤️‍🔥

Sign up today before these events sell out.

It’s Time for a Digital Declutter

Throughout January, we are hosting four online accountability sessions for you to make time for yourself. Join one or join them all.

We’ll hold each other accountable for getting our s*** together!

Sunday, January 7th 2024 - 7:00 pm

Thursday, January 11th 2024 - 1:00pm

Monday, January 15th 2024 - 7:00pm

Wednesday, January 17th 2024 - 1:00pm

Hosted by: Lauren, Co-Founder of Freelance Friends

In each session, you can choose what to declutter and for that hour we’ll hold space for you. We’re talking things like:

• Delete, archive and organise emails and WhatsApp messages. 💬

• Change your passwords - no more snoozing this on your to-do list - password security is a priority! 🔑

• Delete/organise the 22,976 photos and videos on your phone - back that stuff up. 🖼️

• Unfollow social media accounts that make you feel rubbish. 📭

• Those Facebook statuses from years ago? Yeah, they need to go... 👶

• Delete apps you don’t need/use. We see you garage band. 🎸

• Unsubscribe from those emails that you never read and let’s face it - never will. 📨

• Organise your Dropbox / iCloud / Google Drive / Downloads / Desktop. 📂 

  and this list goes on...

2023 Unwrapped: Setting Intentions for 2024

Monday, January 8th 2024 - 7:00 pm Back By Popular Demand

Hosted by: Lauren, Co-Founder of Freelance Friends

This session was originally held on 18th December to rave reviews from all the attendees, so we are bringing it back for one more go on 8th Jan.

Reflect on your achievements from 2023, set goals for 2024, and connect with like-minded individuals in our thriving Freelance Friends community.

Led by Lauren, this workshop offers practical tips on work-life balance, motivation, and leveraging our community for support.

Whether you're a seasoned freelancer or just starting out, this free event is the perfect platform to turn your dreams into actionable plans.

Don't miss out on this exciting journey of growth and goal-setting.

Reserve your free spot now.

Manage Your Time & Achieve More This 2024

Monday, January 22nd 2024 - 7:00 pm ONLY 7 PLACES LEFT

Hosted by: Essi, Author of Heartful

Join us for an exciting online event where you'll learn valuable tips and proven strategies to manage your time effectively and achieve more in the upcoming year.

Led by experienced speaker Essi Auguste Virtanen, this workshop is perfect for students, professionals, and anyone looking to enhance productivity. Gain practical techniques to optimise time management skills and reach your goals.

Don't miss this incredible opportunity to boost productivity and well-being.

Register now to join Essi and Freelance Friends in mastering the art of time management for success in 2024.

Portfolio Surgery: How Your Work Can Land Your Dream Job

Monday, January 29th 2024 - 7:00 pm

Hosted by: Jordan Walker

Join us for this portfolio surgery hosted by the enigmatic Freelance Friends Member - Jordan Walker. This immersive session is dedicated to building a powerful portfolio to showcase your work to potential clients and companies.

Your portfolio is a reflection of your creativity and professionalism, not just a collection of projects but a representation of you as a unique individual in the industry.

This session is perfect for creatives, freelancers, and anyone looking to make a significant impact in their career through a well-crafted portfolio. Whether you're starting from scratch or refining an existing portfolio, these insights will help you stand out in a competitive market.

Join us for this Portfolio Surgery and take the first step towards showcasing your talent and professionalism in the most impactful way.

For more details on the specifics of the event, please click here.

*This session is free for the first 10 signups, then £3+booking fee.

🗞️ News Worthy

News Worthy is a fun recap of the best things we found online over the past week.

Remember only to click what interests you. It’s okay to take a few minutes to learn something new and have a little laugh.

• 120 Ideas for Content Creation on Social Media - Steal this post to have 3 months' content and grow faster than everyone.

• The Shortcomings of David Ogilvy

• 15 Best Movies of 2023 - According to Wired 🍿

• Trusting the Process and Making Daily Progress  Video Podcast

• 100 Simple Truths

• Community Concept - How we can lift us all together

• Lord of the Rings Theme Song Hits At Party

Alex’s Book Recommendations

• The Happiness of Pursuit - Chris Guillebeau

• Company of One - Paul Jarvis

• Ikigai - Héctor García and Francesc Miralles

Refer a Freelance Friend

If you know someone who would find our community helpful, you can share FF with them by directing them to our website - www.freelancefriends.fun.

Want to advertise with us? Email Alex.

Do you have an idea or news to share with the community? Email Lauren.