3 Things to Do When Work Dries Up
With Memorial Day safely behind us, summer has officially begun (well, technically, summer begins on June 21, but let's not quibble). While businesses in the U.S. don't generally shut down for the summer, things do sort of slowdown as school lets out, college kids go home, and people go on vacation.
While some full-time employees may be able to breathe a little easier because the boss has gone off to Europe for the month of July, free-lancers eye the dog days of summer with not a little trepidation. As a case in point, I received this question as part of a comment on this post: What is your advice during the slow months of the Spring and Summer when business is slow? How can you reinvent yourself?
While I would like to suggest that, if you are hitting a slow patch in your freelance business, you should give Aquent a call and use them to supplement your workflow, I'm aware that this might not actually address the problem (and could be perceived as fairly self-serving). That being said, wondering where your next gig is going to come from is a fairly typical worry for freelancers, and one that can be tackled in several ways.
Way 1: Never Stop Looking for Work
Most companies have a division of labor between the sales team that spends all their time drumming up business and the service or production team that spends its time doing work for clients. When you're freelancing, you've got to be doing both and unfortunately you can't stop looking for work just because you happen to be doing work. The best way to perform this juggling act is to schedule regular weekly (or daily, if you can swing it) business development activities. If you can think like a salesperson from time to time and maintain a heatlhy sales funnel, fueled by regular networking, you may be able to avoid the work doldrums altogether.
Way 2: Get Some Steady Gigs into the Mix
Many freelancers, particularly freelance writers, find that they can provide themselves a baseline of guaranteed work by getting teaching gigs here and there. While competition for adjunct work may be stiff at the big name universities and colleges, community colleges and adult education centers are often looking for part-time faculty or instructors. In addition, adult ed centers will usually allow you to recommend potential course offerings, which they'll include in their catalogs if they believe there will any interest in them. Of course, most schools are on some sort of quarter or semester schedule, so these teaching engagements will have to be set up several months in advance.
Way 3: Plan NOT to Work
The best way to deal with slow times workwise is to plan on not working. Naturally, this means making sure that you have money squirreled away for the dry spells, which is why you should be taking this "time off" into account when budgeting. Of course, since it is always a challenge for freelancers to find time for honing their skills or acquiring new ones, these slow times could be the perfect opportunity to take a class or "woodshed." Heck, if you can swing it, why not actually go on vacation?
Do people out there have any other suggestions of tactics for handling the slow times when freelancing?
Photo courtesy of OctaviusPie.
Social Bookmarks
Comments
I actually was given advice to try different industries. I tried the funeral industry but had no luck there.
I also attend various workshops and seminars to meet potential clients. In the past week: Art galleries, journalist panel discussion**, mediabistro.com functions, and two minority trade show/business receptions (I was covering a story). My niche is that I am a copywriter/reporter. But I try to pass my cards out and follow up anytime I am out. Also, joining associations can help as well. Still looking for other feedback though.
Posted by: Nelressa @ Jun 13, 2007