We’re close to the end of the year and it’s a good time to catch up with our business. We’re usually busy with freelance projects and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with reports and analysis.

Now it’s the perfect moment to review our performance and see if we achieved our goals before getting into New Year’s Resolutions.

You might want to consider these 7 areas when doing your annual review:

Sales

Your income is the first key indicator of your performance through the year. It fluctuates from month to month. You can make 10K one month and next to zero the other.

Some questions you could answer:

Do you have a steady income every month?

Do you experience the feast or famine cycle too often?

How many regular clients do you have?

What can you do to improve your services?

Is it time to increase your rates?

Do you make enough money to live the lifestyle you want?

Expenses

No matter how much money you make per year. If you have a significant amount of expenses, you’re not going to have a profitable freelance business.

What percentage of your income is used to pay business expenses?

Could you cut off some unnecessary bills? (A subscription you barely use or an app you don’t need)

Marketing

Hopefully, you already have some marketing strategies for your freelance career. It’s time to see if those strategies are working.

Where are your ideal clients coming from?

What type of events could you attend to meet prospective clients?

What social media accounts could you use effectively to get new clients?

Who could be your partner to offer a complementary service for his/her target audience?

Productivity

The way you spend your time is important. It could be the difference between making $10 or $150 per hour.

Is your worked time reflected on your monthly income?

What is your real rate per hour?

Do you feel overwhelmed with your current workload?

Are there tasks you could outsource?

Do you need to redecorate or organize your office?

Technology

This is essential to improve your productivity. A slow computer or data lost could damage your business.

Do you perform backups constantly?

When was the last time you change your passwords?

Which tools could you use to automate procedures?

Does your computer need repair, maintenance or upgrade?

Is your computer desktop overloaded with too many folders and files?

Skills

Maybe there is a course you’ve been wanting to try or a new technique you could learn. Whatever the case may be, it’s probably good to know:

Do you need to improve your communication skills?

Is there any tool you could learn for your business?

Are your clients asking for a new service you could provide?

Could you learn how to sell your services better?

Satisfaction

Ultimately, nothing matters if you’re not happy with your lifestyle. That’s why you should answer these questions:

Are you happy with your freelance business?

Do you wake up excited most of the time?

Do you have clients you respect and admire?

Do you frequent colleagues you trust and like?

Are you working on projects you like?

What can you change today to be happier tomorrow?

It’s Up to You!

You’re in charge of creating the lifestyle and business you want. Making a Year-End Review will help you to fix flaws in your business and ultimately make you a happier freelancer!

What kind of review do you do at the end of the year? What else would you add to this list?