Welcome back to the Six-Figure Freelancer Recipe! I’m Jaz, your pricing queen, and in this episode, I want to have an honest conversation about the realities of running a creative freelance business—the kind you probably left your nine-to-five for. If you’re anything like me, you might have imagined total freedom and more money, only to find yourself drowning in client work, putting out fires right and left, and still not hitting your income goals.

I get it—because I’ve been there. When I first started freelancing, I let my clients call all the shots. I was constantly on edge, afraid that if I said no to anything, the work would completely dry up. I said yes to every opportunity, worked longer hours, offered more services, and even discounted my rates, hoping something would finally click. Instead, I found myself stuck in a reactive, stressful cycle—measuring my success by how busy I was rather than how intentionally I was running my business.

But here’s the thing I had to learn the hard way: the problem isn’t your skills or your work ethic. The real challenge is shifting out of the employee mindset and fully stepping into your role as CEO of your business. This episode focuses on that shift. I share my personal journey and walk you through some powerful questions to help you do the same—questions that get to the heart of who’s really calling the shots in your business and what decisions you’ve been avoiding.

Take the time to write out your answers to the questions I ask in the free, complementary guide available at creativebusinesskitchen.com/6figures.

It’s time to finally move away from that client-to-client scramble and into the creative business owner role you deserve. Whether you’re struggling with burnout, feeling guilty for wanting more control, or just tired of being busy for the sake of being busy, this episode is for you. So let’s break out of the freelancer trap and start making those boss moves together.