Meet Lorna from Accounting
She is my secret to getting paid in full and on time
If you’re the type of freelancer who has no problem sending out invoices or following up on unpaid invoices, then this story is not for you.
But if you’re like me and countless other freelancers I know who find this part of freelancing hard, maybe my technique can help.
Ever since I started my freelance business, asking for payment and insisting on getting paid has been very difficult for me. Even though I earned the money I was now asking for, I never wanted to seem avaricious or needy. And the strangest thing is that I don’t work with clients who ghost me or who refuse to honor their end of the bargain — all this angst about the invoicing process is purely in my head.
Just because my discomfort isn’t based on anything real doesn’t mean that it’s easy to overcome, though. The upshot has been that I’d drag my feet on sending out invoices. And it’d be months before I follow up with a client about not receiving a payment.
But a few months ago, I came up with an idea. Why don’t I outsource the whole invoicing/payment process to an alter ego. A more assertive, less emotional version of me.
So, I created a persona: Lorna from Accounting.
Lorna is a no-nonsense woman whose job it is to handle invoicing and accounts payable for my freelancing business. She doesn’t have anxiety attacks about what a client might think of her when she sends out a polite reminder that the money is due. She doesn’t avoid sending out invoices for weeks at a time. She doesn’t spend time overanalyzing every word in a two-sentence email that basically says “attached is an invoice for…”
Because her job is to make sure that my business gets paid.
Creating Lorna from Accounting has been life-changing for me. On the day that an invoice is due to be sent, I tell myself that I’m now her and proceed to take care of the money aspects of my business. No more foot-dragging, no more dread, no more silly conversations with myself about how my clients will feel about the invoices. Everything is handled efficiently, with zero drama. I don’t feel emotionally exhausted at the end of invoicing day, either.
Creating Lorna also means that invoicing tasks don’t sneak up on me by surprise. I used to resist even adding these tasks to my to-do list because it would provoke so much stress. Now, I add these tasks in ClickUp (my writeup about why this tool has made me a much better-paid freelancer is here), and when it’s their turn to be done, Lorna is there to take care of them.
I know a few solo business owners who go so far as to create a separate email address for a fictitious assistant and handle all the difficult tasks through that persona. But I’ve found that I don’t need to do that. All I need is to think of myself as Lorna from Accounting on invoicing/follow-up days, and the procrastination that used to plague me is gone.
If you do try this mind trick, please let me know how it works out for you. I’d love to hear about your experience.
