This past week, just like the two weeks before it, were really busy with client work. I’m on an engagement that’s 40 billable hours per week, which if you’re a freelancer you know is kind of insane. This is scheduled to last through mid-June.

The good news is that I think I’m making better progress toward having a better balance between Ben Franklin Labs (my consulting work) and Snip. My problem before was that I was just barely scraping by with the consulting work, which had all sorts of negative side effects. For example, a freelancer with no financial cushion is going to be an overly conservative negotiator, and therefore doom himself to continued financial suckiness.

But this gig I’m on now is at a good rate and good number of hours, and I’m fixing the hell out of my previous financial troubles. Oh, and before I was trying to work for multiple clients and the same time, which I realize now is probably stupid. The only problem now is that I’m already more than maxed out even before I spend any time on Snip. But one thing at a time, I guess. I made the not-enough-money problem go away, and now I just have to optimize for number of hours worked.

I decided some time ago that what I need to do is get to the point where I’m charging 2X, 3X, 4X my original freelancing rate so I can work less and still earn the same amount annually (or even more). It would be great if I could a) work only 10 or so billable hours per week, b) have my BFL marketing system mostly on autopilot, and c) still be earning a “normal” engineer salary. This would presumably allow me to spend 20+ hours per week on Snip which would allow me to actually get some serious shit done on Snip in a reasonable amount of time, and then be able to chuck the consulting work entirely.

One thing I plan to do, and I think within the next week, is to get a direct mail campaign out for BFL. My hope and intention is that I can have, via direct mail, a steady stream of good leads coming in without me having to scan craigslist, attend leads groups and networking events, etc. If I can have a system that brings me leads without me having to spend a whole shitload of time pounding the pavement, and if I can just sit back and relax knowing I won’t have to worry about continually finding consulting work, than that would free up a whole bunch of time and mental energy to focus more on Snip. I’ll let you know how that goes.