Riding out the current recession
I don’t know anyone who isn’t concerned about the current problems facing the global economy. And, obviously, the effects of those problems closer to home. Freelancers seem to be especially vulnerable to the fluctuations of the market.
A while back, journalist Bruce Byfield wrote a blog post that explained why freelancers are best equipped to survive a recession.
What’s interesting is that shortly after publishing that post, Byfield lost a market that was supplying him with a good chunk of income. He chronicles how he adapted here. Byfield’s brutally honest: he got complacent, and had to really hustle to find some new markets for some of the things he’d written or was writing. But he managed to do just that.
(As a quick aside, I’d just renewed my acquaintance with the same publication just before it closed its doors to submissions.)
What Byfield wrote reminded me of something freelance writer Paul Lima mentioned in a seminar a few years back. When the dot com boom went bust, a lot of Lima’s work dried up very quickly. Instead of panicking, he got on the phone and called people in his network — other writers, former clients, and the like — and managed to find gigs to replace the ones that vanished.
The lessons here? As I see them:
- Perseverance is crucial. If you give up, or only put in a token effort, chances are that you’re not going to get the gigs. Or not get enough of them.
- Use your network. You can’t know about every job or gig out there. But you probably do know one or more person who saw or knows about something that you missed. The only way you’re going to find out is by asking.
- Marketing is essential: To get known, you need to get your name out there. You’ll have to do it aggressively, too. It’s tough — I’m speaking from experience, not being the consummate marketer. But I’m learning.
You might not get results overnight, but if you keep plugging away something will definitely turn up.
So, how are you coping (or planning on coping) with the recession? Feel free to leave a comment.
Related posts:
