I started freelancing on April 18th, 2024, the day I quit my job.

The next 12 days I spent on building my portfolio, optimizing my LinkedIn (started posting on LinkedIn), and updating my website.

Diksha shared this tweet the other day, and it got me calculating.

I was also planning for Q4 because one client reduced their workload (the extra work was always a temporary add-on), and another prospect told me she’ll return when she’s ready to commit to longer projects.

She didn’t negotiate at all, which I still can’t decide is a good thing or a bad thing, lol.

Anyway, here’s a look at how my quarters have shaped up from April ’24 to September ’25, where Q4 ’25 stands right now, and what I’m planning for the rest of it.

This quarter was all guesswork.

I tried multiple services — blogs, LinkedIn company pages, resumes, and even thought of creating video content (which drained me immediately).

I said yes to my friend’s agency because saying no still felt rude. And even though most things didn’t make sense, I kept posting on LinkedIn.

That one post that hit 3M impressions made me feel like maybe I was capable.

I learned quickly that I enjoy writing only when I’m not forcing myself. So I narrowed things down before I burned myself out.

The biggest realisation from this quarter was simple: trying everything is fine, but noticing what actually feels natural is what saves you from chaos later.

This is when freelancing stopped feeling like a random experiment.

I posted about blogs for 3 months straight and kept sharing my journey openly. I started a newsletter because LinkedIn felt too short for my thoughts.

I tracked my leads properly for the first time, experimented with pitches, and finally saw a pattern in what was working.

I also made my first 100k month, which felt huge at the time.

But the flip side was real, too. I took on too many clients, worked at odd hours, and posted on LinkedIn for the sake of showing up.

I was productive, but not organized. Still, I built a few tiny systems that saved me from drowning: a basic tracker, a content batching habit, and a set of templates I reused.

Three clients went in-house and paused work in December, which was not at all expected. I let go of the friend’s agency because I needed that time for work that actually meant something to me.

Suddenly, I was down to two clients and questioning how I’d messed up my planning so badly.

I hadn’t reached out because I assumed no one would reply during the festive season. Turns out, people still reply. I just didn’t ask.

This is also the quarter I increased my rates with each new client.

Every time my roster got full, I quoted a bit higher, and most people said yes. The more I experimented, the more obvious it became that I’d been undercharging.

Narrowing down to MoFu content for B2B SaaS also helped people understand what I actually do.

This quarter taught me that “getting comfortable” can be dangerous.

I started the year with only two clients.

So I did something that scared me. I asked both of them for a rate increase. Not a small one. A 2x increase. Both agreed to 1.5x, which still felt huge for where I was mentally at the time.

Looking back, I’m proud of that version of me. I didn’t have a backup plan, but I still asked.

I started another newsletter to attract clients and got into a rhythm:
LinkedIn → newsletter → community building.

I had weddings to attend (including my sister’s), so I didn’t want to chase new clients aggressively. Instead, I focused on staying consistent, scheduling posts and newsletters before travelling, and keeping my pipeline warm without being everywhere.

Freelancing finally felt quieter, but in a good way.

April disappeared into wedding prep.
May was the slow “getting back into routine” month.
June brought my first international client from Kenya, a big confidence boost when I needed it most.

I also got referred to my highest-paying client after talking a lot about newsletters online. That one introduction shifted a lot for me.

This is the quarter I started Content Brunch to improve my speaking skills. I also took Twitter seriously for the first time.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I crossed 500 newsletter subscribers.
Momentum was returning. So was clarity.

This quarter was full of fluctuations.
Client 1 left. Client 2 increased work. September hit 100k again. I paused one of my newsletters because it lacked direction. And decided to do video content once I crossed 10k on LinkedIn.

From September, I committed to five tweets a day. Still going strong.

Emotionally, this quarter wasn’t stable. July was great. August was terrible. September picked up again. I joined Cognition X (a newsletter-focused community), started doing deep work sessions, and slowly found some balance.

The biggest lesson from these months was that growth doesn’t always mean doing more. Sometimes it means maintaining what you’ve built without breaking it.

October surprised me in the best ways.

I also started time-tracking because I want to know where my days actually go. Turns out, a lot of time goes into things I don’t want to prioritize anymore. So Q4 is about cleaning that up.

My content direction is shifting too… more founder-focused, more community-first. I don’t see the final destination clearly, but the path feels right.

If the first six quarters were about proving I can do this, this quarter is about doing it with more peace.

The next 60 days look chaotic, honestly.

I also need to figure out my north star without rushing it (but before 2026 for sure).

From 30k to 300k in 18 months.

Not in a straight line. Not with a perfect plan. Definitely not with overnight confidence.

None of these were failures — just stepping stones that taught me timing, capacity, and what I actually want from my work.

PS: Side quests I started and paused:

And honestly, the only thing truly consistent across these 18 months has been this:

I didn’t want to go back to corporate, and that kept me building even when things didn’t look glamorous.

As always, I wish you growth and stability and a very productive rest of the year :)

I’ll see you next Friday,

Love,
Nikita