Freelancers remorse

Posted on 13th May 2008 by James Young | There is just 1 comment so far

I’m a worrier. I’m the first to admit that I worry not only when I’ve got no work on but I also worry when I’ve got too much. It’s a fine line being a freelancer and the worrying is always going to be a part of the job.

One of the things I worry about which I’m sure most freelancers and self employed workers in any industry worry about is what they’re going to do when their current job is finished and there’s nothing to immediately do afterwards and you’ve got to repeat the cycle of finding and securing more work to keep the bank balance healthy.

What can you do to reduce the downtime between projects?

I’ll concentrate on the two things I do to ensure I’m not unemployed for too long.

1. Cross market your skills to other companies in the same industry as your last project

2. Dust off the CV/Resume and contact agencies and recruiters to notify them you’re available for work very soon.

Cross sell your projects

I don’t mean you should simply re-bundle the site you’ve just built and change the logo, that’s not right. However, there’s an avenue you can explore here in terms of getting extra work.

I tend to find while I’m working on a project I get a good idea of how a particular service or industry works depending on what the client is selling/offering.

It’s well worth looking into speaking to their competitors or companies in a similar industry and getting in touch to say you’ve just launched a new site for “company x” which has improved their traffic/sales/ROI due to a redesign or additional development. Whatever it is you’ve just done for them, offer your expertise in applying what you’ve just learnt to improve on an a competitors site.

It’s a good avenue to explore and you can immediately provide a relevant case study, perhaps even one of a company they know) to prove your points.

Build your agency contacts

I know not everyone works works as contractor but it’s a good break from having to deal directly with all the other things freelancers have to take care of such as account management, billing and project management.

If you’re not already on the books of relevant and respected design recruitment agencies, it’s worth calling them to speak to someone who will be able to give you a bit of advice and a heads up on what the market is like in your area and for your skills.

Send them a CV but also speak to a few to get an idea of the demand for contractors over the weeks following the completion of your current project. It’s always to jump between direct clients and agency work because it can also provide a bit of a mental break because you tend to find agencies hire you for a specific job they need extra resource for so there’s usually a better brief and project timeline.

In summary

Prepare for the finish of your project about a week to two weeks before it’s due to finish. It’ll enable you to start making contact with potential new clients / agencies in advance without having to finish what you’re doing then sit there wondering what’s next as it does sometimes take a while to sign up new clients!

I hope this has given you a little food for thought and helps reduce the stress that comes from knowing once you’re finished on a particular project you might not have any other work booked in. If you have any other tips to share on moving smoothly from job to job, please feel free to post them in the comments below.