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How to Run a 6-Figure Freelance Business in 20 Hours a Week Keep a profitable side-hustle venture, guard against burnout and continue to generate revenue.

By Laura Briggs Originally published

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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Two years ago, I took my thriving freelance-writing business down to 20 hours a week of work, as I noticed that I had fallen into the trap of "More hours means more output, right?" At that point I had been writing full-time as a freelancer for six solid years and was growing tired of the grind. Since then, I've been able to run my freelance business as a part-time venture while still maintaining consistent high revenue.

Instead of seeing more output, I saw more of all the wrong kinds of things: fatigue, eye strain and overwhelm. It clued me in that something had to change, and it all started with the clock.

Freelancing is a very flexible kind of business ownership that allows the creative or technical specialist at the helm to scale up or down as needed. While there are plenty of people choosing to freelance full-time, there's another growing group of freelancers who start their company as a side hustle and are happy to stay there. Count me among them.

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