If you’re like me, you put the needs of a client in front of your own. Deadlines are looming and you have to make a choice between doing stuff for you, doing stuff for your family, and doing stuff for the people who pay you. Your family and your clients sometimes struggle for that top spot, but the bottom line is that your needs get put on the backburner. Only they’re not really your needs are they? They’re the needs of your business.

You are not your business.

It may seem obvious, but it’s an important distinction to make. Without it, as freelancers, we become both overwhelmed and underwhelmed. Take on too many clients and we feel that everything is spiraling out of control. We experience burnout, panic, and provide less than quality products for our clients. Take on too little work and we lose faith, damaging our “business esteem” and sending our writing career down the drain. The key is to separate yourself from the business and treat it like the entity it is… a business.

Think about it: If you were to look at your business as a prospective client what would you differently? Would you schedule marketing tasks along side the ones you do for your clients? Would you research keywords and readership trends for your website? Would you have your own deadlines for content creation for newsletters and press releases? If you would do these things for a client then do them for yourself.

Then, as the client, look at the quality of work you create. Is it worthy of higher pay? Is it reaching the right people in the right way? Or do you need to sit down with yourself and have one of those unpleasant chats about moving on? If you can be honest with yourself about these choices and decisions then you will be doing your business and your paying clients a favor.

Looking at your output as a business owner allows you to make abstract decisions about your work and how you should move forward. In some cases this will give you the freedom you need to do what’s right for your self – you become one of your high priority clients! Schedule in your blog posts like you would for a client. Edit your newsletters and polish them like you would for a client. Be your own best client and you’ll be amazed at what you can do.

So what are some examples of goal concepts? I have defined my Freelance Writing Mission in two ways: what I want to accomplsih and what I want to earn. As a Part-Timer, my goals aren’t exciting (at least not this year) but they’re my own. In 2009 I hope to earn $10,000 from my Freelance writing, and I want to attempt passive income creation. That’s it. Nothing fancy. But all of the decisions I make in 2009 will have to go to one of these two goals.

At the beginning of 2009 I may set up a quantitative goal to gain 10 clients with reoccuring work, but perhaps I land that lucky one who want’s to sign me up for an eBook a month. Do I stick to my 10 clients? Or do I recongnize that one good client helps me fulfill my goal and concentrate all of my efforts on them? Obviously it’s the later choice.

It’s always good to have that original plan though, because a plan is what defines your actions. And honestly, you need to start somewhere. So, before the holiday bustle comes around, lets each sit down and develop our goal concepts for 2009 and an action plan to achieve them. If we start now, we may have them ready to implement at the beginning of the new year. Consider it an early gift to yourself!