The end of March signifies more than the wonderful fact that Spring is here. It is also the end of the first quarter of 2018. For me, the first three months of a new year are always a bit of a roller coaster work-wise: clients cutting back, adding new clients who are kicking off new projects, and trying to keep my 2018 goals which usually involve some sort of work-life balance challenge that I’m usually failing. And it seems like every year, things start to smooth out in March and I am really moving forward.

And that’s why the end of the first quarter is the perfect time to hit the pause button and check to see if you are on track to meet your 2018 goals. You have enough information from the past three months to get a clear picture, but there is still plenty of time to course correct if you are not heading in the direction that you planned. Once you get to halfway through the year, it gets harder to get back on track and you often have to readjust your income goals.

And yes, I should have posted this last week, but I took as much of the week off work as humanly possible to spend time with my kids while they were home for Spring Break.

Here are four steps to take to getting a good snapshot of your earnings so far:

1. Add up all of your earnings for the first quarter. Are you on track to meet your income goal for the year? Hint – multiply the number by four. This gives you a rough estimate of where you are at this point.

2. Look at your monthly earnings individually. Are you earning a consistent amount each month or did you have a high month followed by a low month. A consistent pattern means you are more likely to continue at your current rate.

3. Add up the amount of recurring work you have on the books for each month. Hopefully you already know this number, but if not this gives you clear number that you need to get through marketing and assignments each month. The higher your recurring work number is each month, the higher chance you have of meeting your goal.

4. Take action on this information. If your numbers are on track, then keep doing what you are doing – it’s working. But if you are falling short, then hit the pause button and come up with some new strategies that I’m going to talk about in a minute.

One last thing on money, do you know how much you need to earn each week and each month to meet your annual goal and have your best year ever? I’ve said it before, but I find this to be the most helpful way to stay on track. If I know that I am over my goal for the first two weeks of month, then I feel a lot better about taking a long weekend. Or on the flip side, I know I need to look for more work to get back on track.

My answer: My minimum goal was $100,000 with a target goal of $120K to $150K with a stretch goal of $170K. In the first quarter I earned $42K, which puts me very close to being on track for my stretch goal. My monthly earnings were consistent with January being a little lower and March a little higher. Money-wise, 2018 is off to a great start and I don’t need to make a course correction at this point. As always, I share my earnings on this blog, not to brag or make anyone feel bad. But to help people know that it is possible to earn a high income as a freelance.

What to do if you are behind on your income goals
No, the answer is not simply to do more marketing. But before you jump into the pool with your clothes on, it’s important to understand why you are not meeting your income goals. Then you can figure out how to get back on track. Here are two questions to ask yourself:

1. Did unusual life circumstances get in the way of work during the first quarter?
By this I mean, endless sickness in your house, family emergency, death in the family, your own health problems. If so, then you should give yourself a break and breather. We can only do what we can do. And one of the best parts of freelancing is that we have the freedom to handle these unexpected issues that come up in life.

Next, think about what you’ll do if the issues are going to continue. If so, then you should realistically readjust your income goal for the year. Also, think about any ways that you can reduce your stress and workload, such as outsourcing household tasks, outsource work tasks, and focusing on self-care.

If life is back to normal and the crisis is over, then take your original goal and subtract the amount you earned in the first quarter. Then divide this number by nine to get the amount you need to earn each month. You can also (and should) divide the remaining income you need to earn in 2018 by the number of weeks you want to work for the remainder of the year. Be sure to factor in vacation time.

2. Did you lose an anchor client?
I’m sorry. It stinks. It happens, but it’s a tough break. I’ve been there and I will be there again at some point. Replacing an anchor client isn’t something you can snap your fingers and achieve. It takes time and effort. Look for a post in the next few weeks on how to replace an anchor client. But know that this is a situation that often takes months to recover from.

Depending on your financial situation, you need to decide if you want to readjust your goal or make up the lost money. Once you decide, recalculate the amount you need to earn for the remaining months and weeks of the year.

As you move forward, try to make sure that a single client does not make up more than 20 to 25 percent of your income. I’ve found that this amount is realistic to make up, but once you get over this amount, it’s easy to get in financial trouble and it’s hard to make up the clients.

If neither of these things happened, then ask yourself why you are behind. Do you need to find more clients? Are you not being productive? Are your current clients too low paying? You have to know the exact problem before you can fix it. Then make a plan to correct the problem.

And if you need more clients or higher paying clients, then here is a list of posts and ideas to get you moving.
• Create a marketing plan and get moving. For inspiration, check out Holly Bowne’s guest post.
• Ask yourself if you have developed any new niches that you can market yourself in.
• Follow my step-by-step guide to sending out LOIs.
• Get inspiration from my ginormous list of marketing ideas.
• Research in-person networking opportunities and get out of your house. Meet freelancers, meet marketing professionals, meet people in your niche. The best gigs come from networking and referrals.

What to do if you are meeting your income goal
Congratulations! It’s easy to think that you should just do nothing and keep moving forward, but that’s the wrong answer. Really look carefully at how you made your money and the amount of recurring work on the books for each month. You will likely need to keep marketing (see ideas above) and add more work. It’s easy to rest on success, but you have to hustle to make your goals.

But it’s about more than just money
Yes, money is important, but it’s only one part of being successful and having your best year ever. It’s important to take time to look at your first quarter from a non-financial perspective as well. Look for a post next week with three questions to ask yourself about your business. And I promise that they have nothing to do with money.

How was your first quarter of 2018? Are you on track to make your goals? What is your plan to stay on track or get back on track?