What we have learnt from the first lockdown, is that there is a lack of wiggle room for freelancers and small businesses in the creative industry to adapt to times of uncertainty.
But itโs not impossible!
There is a growing shift in how freelancing now works, here are some new tips to get the new year started with a bit more certainty.
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๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ #๐ญ – ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐!
I think itโs always been said, when going freelance, itโs important to have a healthy reserve of cash. There will be those moments of quiet and youโll need to be ready for them. No one couldโve predicted that national lockdowns would happen, and it would impact our entire year of earnings. Donโt stress yourself out if you donโt have enough savings; what you should prioritise for the new year is to try and have money in the bank. This comes from you reshaping your financial liabilities, and earnings for your freelance business. Try and use financial calculators to work out how you can save more!
๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ #๐ฎ – ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ!
I think we can all agree that waiting 30 days (sometimes even longer) to get paid is ridiculous! With the current situation, itโs important to shift on how and when you get paid. “Make your payment terms work for you,” says London-based photographer, Ameena Rojee. Use WishuPay escrow system to get your freelance project payments. This way you get paid directly and without the hassle of waiting for your project manager to login into a bank account.
๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ #๐ฏ – ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐
“Be kind and human to clients, at all times,” says freelance graphic designer, Simon Minter. We’re all in the same boat, so try not to make assumptions or forget that your client will be struggling too. In which case, pick up the phone and chat with them.
๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ #๐ฐ – ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐
Start new ways of approaching clients. Use effective communication through cold emails, and social media to explore new opportunities.
๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ #๐ฑ – ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ!
“I won’t be letting work overcome my boundaries to consume and define me. And I’ll be finding purpose outside of it all.” – Joan W
๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ #๐ฒ – ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐
Explore different income streams that would work for you. Itโs now pretty clear that we shouldn’t have all our eggs in one basket. Having a few revenue streams is important and works very well when faced with situations like a national lockdown or project restrictions.
Check out yesterdayโs webinar on the topic of Passive Incomes: https://bit.ly/2GTjHJq
๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ #๐ณ – ๐๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด
“It’s important to work on your website or marketing right now. Company marketing/PR spending will most probably be reduced even when the world starts returning to normal. So you need to be on top versus your competitors to get what work will be out there,” says Elizabeth W.
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