Lessons of Lockdown: What creative freelancers will do differently

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.

𝗧𝗶𝗽 #𝟭 – 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆!

I think it’s always been said, when going freelance, it’s important to have a healthy reserve of cash. There will be those moments of quiet and you’ll need to be ready for them. No one could’ve predicted that national lockdowns would happen, and it would impact our entire year of earnings. Don’t stress yourself out if you don’t 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!

𝗧𝗶𝗽 #𝟮 – 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱!

I think we can all agree that waiting 30 days (sometimes even longer) to get paid is ridiculous! With the current situation, it’s 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.

𝗧𝗶𝗽 #𝟯 – 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

“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.

𝗧𝗶𝗽 #𝟰 – 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

Start new ways of approaching clients. Use effective communication through cold emails, and social media to explore new opportunities.

𝗧𝗶𝗽 #𝟱 – 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲!

“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

𝗧𝗶𝗽 #𝟲 – 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀

Explore different income streams that would work for you. It’s 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 yesterday’s webinar on the topic of Passive Incomes: https://bit.ly/2GTjHJq

𝗧𝗶𝗽 #𝟳 – 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗥 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

“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.