Freelancing is amazing. Until it isn’t.

You wake up one morning and you realize that you’ve created a very demanding job for yourself.

And chances are, you take LESS time off than you ever did in any previous job you held.

Sometimes it even feels like you’re working for a tyrannical boss who makes you feel terrible any time you ask for a small break.

That boss, by the way, is YOU.

Sound familiar?

Not to Wendy Helfenbaum, my guest in this week’s episode. Wendy is an established freelance writer out of Montreal. And for the past 18+ years, she has taken 4 months off every year.

And when I say “time off,” I mean real, non-working time off. No client work. No working on the business. No marketing. No nothing.

Just time to be with her family. To decompress. To enjoy life. And to savor the freedom freelancing is supposed to afford us.

Just as impressive, Wendy has consistently maintained a 6-figure income for years—even while taking a full third of the year off.

I was super-excited to bring Wendy on the show to tell us how she does this. It was a very lively and insightful conversation. I learned so much, and I can’t wait for you to hear it.

This is a great follow-up to the wonderful conversation I had last month with Satta Sarma Hightower, where she discussed how she was able to take a 4-month maternity leave recently. If you haven’t listened to that episode, I urge you to give it a listen, because it complements this week’s episode really well.

I’ve heard this argument hundreds of times:

“I don’t have a specific target market, Ed. I’m a generalist who works with all kinds of businesses. So I’m having a really hard time narrowing things down, and I’m not convinced I should.”

When I ask them about their motivation for continuing to do things this way, I typically get a response along the lines of, “I want variety in my work. I don’t want to be writing for just one industry.”

And that right there is the crux of the problem. Most people who view themselves as generalists use the “work and client variety” justification.

I don’t blame them. I want variety too! But that’s a logical fallacy.

There’s a way to have your cake and eat it, too. But you have to look at this challenge differently.

In this week’s (short) podcast episode, I explain how to do that. And how to arrive at a well-defined target market that works for you AND keeps things open and flexible for unexpected opportunities.

For most freelancers, the concept of taking an extended break—be it for maternity leave, personal health, or a sabbatical—has been shrouded in trepidation.

We love the idea of a long break, especially if we’re experiencing burnout. But we immediately dismiss it as unrealistic because we don’t think we can afford to lose the income. Or we fear losing momentum, falling behind, and not being able to seamlessly re-enter the business on the other end of our break.

This week, we're challenging that narrative head-on, with a deep dive into how you can navigate maternity leave (or any extended break) without missing a beat. Not only is this possible, it's an opportunity to strengthen your business and come back stronger.

My guest is a very successful freelance writer and content marketing strategist, Satta Sarmah Hightower. Satta is a previous coaching client of mine. And while we were working together, we put together a plan for a successful maternity leave.

Of course, not every plan works seamlessly. So I wanted to bring Satta into the show to tell us what she did, how it all went, what she learned from the experience — and what advice she has for other freelancers who are thinking about taking an extended break like this but aren’t sure how to make it work.

Satta didn't just manage her maternity leave; she mastered it. From planning and preparation to execution and the transition back into the business world, her journey is a blueprint for any solo professional contemplating a similar break. I’ve been particularly impressed with how she’s managed the work/life balance upon her return—especially with two little ones.

We also spent quite a bit of time discussing her secrets to success. Satta has built a very impressive, high-six-figure business where she’s almost always fully booked. So I asked her to share the biggest factors that have made that possible.

Even if you’re not contemplating a maternity leave or an extended break, I urge you to give this one a listen. You’ll get a glimpse into how a seasoned solo professional runs a very successful business that enabled her to truly exercise the freedom freelancing is supposed to give us.