It’s hard to believe that I’m approaching my second Christmas as a self-employed person, but having been through one already, I know better what to expect this year. Depending on your trade, the festive period can either be a lean time, a middling time or a bumper bonanza time of sales. As a copywriter still building my business, I’m happily a bit busier this December than I was last year, which will hopefully increase as the years go on. That said however, it still isn’t as busy as it was a month or so ago.
And that’s okay.
In fact, as I haven’t taken a proper holiday since last Christmas, this is more than okay really. It means I have time to ease off a bit, organise myself, catch up on admin, fill out the tax return (done already!) and take a good couple of weeks off to recharge. Entrepreneurial Spark is just around the corner in February and if I want to keep the pace going, well, I have to take some time out to reflect and regroup.
The office supervisor all lit up for Christmas!
A fellow freelancer asked me recently about my busyness this festive period, which is why I thought I’d blog about it. They’re entering their first Christmas as a start-up and understandably, wanted to compare notes. I was also chatting to an established book editor last week, who’s extremely busy and booked up over Christmas and the New Year. This person is well known in their field and has built up that treasured reputation. They’re also not really keen on having Christmas as an extended holiday, so they’ll work right the way through and enjoy it… while I enjoy a break from the copywriting and put some effort into my other writing passion – that of writing short stories and poetry.
Anyway, the point is – depending on experience, years worked, profession and so on, how busy you are right now is influenced by various factors. As a freelancer, it’s always good to prepare for leaner times during winter (roughly from the end of November to about January and even into February). By planning ahead for this, you can then take the time off that you need – and enjoy it. You can network, catch up on admin, prepare your next move (!) and relax – instead of being stressed.
As someone who loves Christmas, I don’t mind things slowing up a bit over the holidays as after all, everyone deserves a break! With that said, it’s unlikely that I’ll be blogging much here over the festive period (although never say never!), so all that’s left to say now is that I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year – whether you’re freelancing, are employed by a company, or are reading this in your retirement. 🙂