Happy New Year!
You might have realised that this newsletter is a week late. 😬 I was caught up with the festivities, but now, I’m correcting things by sharing my (week-late) 2025 year in review.
If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s a recap I do at the end of every year to reflect on how the year’s been for me.
Work was a blur
My schedule was generally full, being booked weeks in advance for most of this year.* Which led to a lot of internal screaming on my end as I fulfilled my obligations, but everything worked out fine…!
* Work softened during the last quarter of 2025, but I was never completely sitting around twiddling my thumbs, so I’m glad for that.
And in a display of the freelance feast or famine at work, I had a chill first two weeks of December. It was nice but also worrying…until I reached the last two weeks, which were not chill at all. 🫠
I made less profit
After paying my expenses (including my salary), I made way less profit in 2025 compared to previous years. 🥲
My revenue was down, especially with exchange rates being unfavourable last year.
Meanwhile, my expenses went up. One reason for this was that I hired a contractor to help with work.
(My experiences hiring a contractor could be a newsletter on its own. For now, I’ll say that while I appreciate how getting help has let me complete projects quicker, I still tend to be the bottleneck because I still have to review the contractor’s work before using it…)
A new career opportunity: public speaking and training
In 2025, I had the opportunity to do more public speaking and training.
I conducted four workshops on freelance contracts for NTUC and also facilitated an Arts Acceleration Programme session for the National Arts Council. (Some of you turned up for these events—thank you for coming!)
Then, in Q4, I signed up for the ACLP course to get certified to conduct WSQ-accredited courses in Singapore. A training provider offered me the opportunity to conduct these courses, and to take it up, I needed to be certified, so I signed up.
(And my FINAL exam for the course is happening tomorrow. Wish me luck!)
I’ll be conducting more workshops in 2026, and I’m especially excited to share about a new topic I’d love for more freelancers to know. More details when they become available!
So far, I’ve been using the venues’ wireless mics while conducting my workshops. But this year, I think I’ll get my own mic.
If you can’t beat them, join them
AI has changed the way businesses produce written content.
Instead of hiring freelancers to write drafts from scratch, some businesses now use AI to generate first drafts, which they then have a human review and edit.
And instead of just trying to rank well on Google, businesses also want to get mentioned more by ChatGPT and other AI tools.
There’s no point trying to deny or fight these trends, I feel. Instead, I’m leaning in on the things AI can’t do (yet).
I’m also branching out to meet clients’ new needs. For example, I’ve started helping a client with editing AI drafts. And I’ve updated my positioning to mention my ability to help businesses improve their AI visibility.
My New Year’s resolution
This year, I want to schedule more regular catch-up calls with clients.
I generally liaise with clients via async platforms like email and Slack. But because of this, our communications tend to be about work only.
In contrast, when I get on calls with clients, there’s more room for human connection.
I get to put faces to the messages they send me and learn more about them. Sometimes, I also get insider information on their organisations’ operations, which they may not put in writing. 😬
I haven’t decided on these calls’ frequency, but every 3 or 6 months might be a good start.
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I start 2026 with a relatively empty calendar. Yet, I feel confident there are opportunities out there, just waiting to be explored and seized.
I won’t be doing much seizing so soon, though. I expect to have a terrible start to this year, revenue-wise, because I’m travelling this month.
I might take a break from writing this newsletter until I’m back. If you’d like to have something to read while I’m out, feel free to check out my previous years in review:
Either way, have an amazing 2026!
More freelancer news
Free income tax-filing workshop for freelancers
This workshop is on 29 Jan 2026 from 7pm to 8.30pm. I’m not sure of the location (I’m not conducting this workshop), but it should be at the National Library.
If you’re interested, register here!
Bulgaria digital nomad residence permit applications are now open
Bulgaria started accepting applications for its new digital nomad residence permit last month.
Among other eligibility requirements, you must be:
- One of the three types of people who can apply. For example, freelancers who’ve been providing services to non-Bulgarian clients for at least a year.
- A non-EU/European Economic Area citizen who earns your income from outside Bulgaria.
The permit is good for one year and can be extended for another year.
Learn more about eligibility and the application procedure here.
This post was first published in my email newsletter on 8 Jan 2026. If you liked it, sign up for my newsletter here:
