Running a freelance business means there is always something you could be doing.
Another client email. Another proposal. Another invoice. Another piece of work that was supposed to take an hour but somehow ate your entire afternoon.
But sometimes, the most useful thing you can do for your business is step away from the day-to-day work and go on a little side quest.
I’m a big fan of a side quest. I think they keep your business healthy by reminding you why you are doing what you are doing.
A side quest isn’t necessarily something that makes you money immediately. It’s something interesting, useful or slightly overdue that moves your business in a better direction.
Rather than trying to tackle everything at once and getting instantly overwhelmed, we tackle one a month, or when the mood strikes.
And when it comes to money, there are plenty of side quests to try…
1. Raise your rates
When was the last time you actually looked at what you’re charging?
Not what you used to charge. Not what you think clients will tolerate. What your time, experience and expertise are actually worth to you now.
Your rates have a habit of becoming historical documents. You set them when you were less experienced, leave them alone for a couple of years and then quietly wonder why you’re working so hard for the same amount of money.
Your side quest: work out what you’d charge if you were starting from scratch today.
You don’t necessarily have to change everything tomorrow. But you should know the number.
2. Work out your actual hourly rate
You might have a day rate.
You might have a project fee.
You might proudly say you don’t work hourly.
Fine.
But do you know what you’re actually earning per hour?
Take a recent project and include everything: emails, calls, research, admin, revisions, project management, faffing, chasing information and the 47 minutes you spent wondering why the client had sent you a Word document called FINAL_FINAL_v7.
Divide the fee by the actual time spent.
That number can be surprisingly educational.
3. Package something
Freelancing can become a little too dependent on selling your time.
So pick something you already do repeatedly and turn it into a package.
An SEO content audit. A website review. A messaging session. A brand voice workshop. A monthly content package.
The point isn’t to invent an elaborate new service.
It’s to look at something you already know how to do and give it a shape that makes it easier to buy.
Take a look at my website bootcamp page if you’re in need of some inspiration.
4. Create a minimum viable project
Not every client needs to sign up for a six-month strategy.
Sometimes they just need one thing fixed.
Think about the smallest useful version of your expertise.
What could you deliver in a day? A half-day? A week?
Give it a name. Give it a price. Give it a clear outcome.
You might have just created your easiest offer to sell.
5. Find your most profitable work
Look back at your last 10 projects.
Which ones made you the most money?
Which ones took the least time?
Which ones did you actually enjoy?
There might be a pattern hiding there.
Perhaps the work you thought was your “main service” isn’t actually the work that makes your business work best.
You don’t have to follow the money blindly. But it’s useful to know where it is.
6. Work out what you hate doing
This is the less glamorous version of a business audit.
Make a list of everything you currently do.
Then circle the things you actively dread.
Some of them might be unavoidable. Some might be worth outsourcing. Some might be things you could stop offering altogether.
Your business doesn’t need to contain every skill you possess.
7. Create a £500 offer
Give yourself one afternoon to invent something someone could buy from you for £500.
It doesn’t have to be perfect.
The exercise is useful because it forces you to think about value rather than time.
What problem can you solve for £500?
What transformation can you create?
What expertise have you been giving away for free that could become a proper productised service?
8. Create a £1,000 offer
Now do it again.
£1,000.
Suddenly the question gets more interesting.
What would someone need to get from you to make that price feel sensible?
Maybe it’s a deeper project. Maybe it’s greater access to you. Maybe it’s a defined business outcome.
You might discover that you’ve been thinking too small about what you sell.
9. Reactivate someone who already knows you
You don’t always need a brand-new lead. Take an a few hours to go through your old clients.
Who haven’t you spoken to in six months?
Who used to love working with you?
Who mentioned another project that never happened?
Send them a message.
No elaborate funnel. No “just checking in” email that sounds like it was written by a CRM.
Just say hello. You’ll be surprised how much work you can generate from a simple nudge.
10. Choose your financial freedom number
How much money would your business need to make for you to feel genuinely secure?
Not “successful”.
Not “impressive”.
Secure.
Work out the monthly number that covers your life, your business costs, your tax, your savings goals and a little breathing room.
Then turn it into an annual number.
That number is much more useful than chasing an arbitrary idea of what a successful freelancer is supposed to earn.
Your side quest
You don’t need to do all ten.
Pick one.
The point of a side quest is that it should leave you feeling like you’re building something, rather than just keeping something running.
And honestly, that’s probably the bigger financial goal anyway.
