I used to think success was revenue. Then I thought it was freedom. Now I am not sure. How do you actually define success in this space? Not what you post on Instagram. What you actually believe.

Success is controlling my calendar. I say no to 80% of opportunities. The 20% I say yes to excite me. That is it. Not revenue. Not followers. Autonomy over my time.

Success is never having to take a client I do not respect. I have fired three clients in two years. Each time revenue dipped temporarily. Each time my mental health improved permanently. That is success.

Success is creating something that outlasts my involvement. A course that sells while I sleep. A community that grows without me. Assets over hours. That is the only metric that matters to me now.

I guess I would say setting goals and reaching them. I don't think everyone's end goal is to make money, sometimes it is more so about having more free time to be with family or being able to just be your own boss and the income is a secondary benefit.

For me, success is being able to build something sustainable without it owning all of your time. That means the option to say no, take time off, work on projects you care about, and shifting away from being 100% dependent on trading hours for dollars.

If you're an entrepreneur reading this, you probably know that running your own business isn't a 9-5 gig, it can consume a lot of your time especially when you're a startup, you'll be spending 80+ hours a week doing a lot of the tasks yourself and wearing many 'hats'. It was definitely eye opening for me when I started the various businesses I've been involved with over the years. But freelancing is unique since you can 'moonlight' at first, do some work in evenings and weekends while you still have a traditional corporate job or are in school. That's how I personally started, I was freelancing while in school, throughout university, and even while I was working a corporate job before I transitioned to running my own agency full-time.

To @Ryyyan 's point, revenue matters, but only to the point where it supports the life and work you actually want. If the business makes money but you are constantly stressed, taking clients you resent, or stuck chasing every new opportunity, that doesn't feel like success to me!

For me, success is when the business feels stable enough that I’m not constantly stressed about it..consistent income, control over my time, and not feeling forced to chase every trend just to survive.

On 6/17/2026 at 6:22 PM, Chad said:

To @Ryyyan 's point, revenue matters, but only to the point where it supports the life and work you actually want. If the business makes money but you are constantly stressed, taking clients you resent, or stuck chasing every new opportunity, that doesn't feel like success to me!

Exactly. A lot of people equate success to just getting rich. I have met people that are wealthy and HATE their jobs. They have money and resources but they are so unhappy with work it bleeds into their home life. It is sad.

For me it's choosing my problems. I don't want zero problems. I want problems I elected to have.

Success is when my calendar scares other people but feels right to me. Full but not frantic. Busy but not breathless.

I used to think it was a number. Then I hit the number and felt nothing. Now it's about who I work with and whether I'd do it for less if I had to.

Being able to say no without calculating the financial impact. That's my definition. Everything else is just accumulation.

Success is having one day a week where nobody can reach me and the world doesn't end. Autonomy over availability.

Success is when my calendar is full of people I chose to work with. Not the most revenue necessarily, but the clients pay on time and are not stressful or picky. I'd rather have those types of clients and make a bit less than have pain in the butt clients they I charge more to handle but they dont pay on time and wadte my time havibg to track down payments or beg them to pay months after invoices are due. Its really annoying 😑

I used to measure by monthly revenue. Now I measure by how many Mondays I don't dread. The second metric is harder to fake.

Success is having one day a week where nobody can reach me and the world doesn't end. Autonomy over availability.

Success is when my calendar is full of people i chose to work with. not the most revenue. not the biggest audience. just chosen relationships. everything else is bonus.

My definition changes every year. Year one survival. Year three stability. Year five meaning. The target moves as I grow.

Used to measure by monthly revenue. now i measure by how many mondays i don't dread. the second metric is harder to fake and way more honest.

Success is when a client refers me without me asking. That means I did good work and they trust me enough to put their name on it.

Having one day a week where nobody can reach me and the world doesn't end. that's it. that's my definition. autonomy over availability.

My definition changes every year. year one survival. year two stability. year six meaning. the target moves as i grow and that's okay.

Success is when a client refers me without me asking. that means i did good work and they trust me enough to put their name on it. that's the real test.