The SIMPLE Way to Avoid the Freelance Feast or Famine Cycle

Freelance writing is like any other small business.

(Have I said that before? Have you heard me talk about treating your writing like a business? I know it must have come up, once or twice.)

Like any other small business, the Freelance writing business is susceptible to good times and bad times. There are times your business will grow, and times when it won’t. Everything from a natural disaster to a disaster of an economy can impact your business as fast as you can say “second mortgage.”

Still, while you can’t avoid the cyclic nature of our business, there are things you can do to make sure the lean times aren’t quite so lean:

Save

Most freelance writers, especially when they start out, aren’t saving anything. They’re living one gig to the next. We’ve all been there, and it sucks. But if you want to be successful over the long term, you’ve got to set aside something during the good times so you’ve got a backup when times aren’t as good.

You need to set a goal of setting side some percentage of your income – 10% is usually a good number to start with – into a savings account. Once that account hits around six months of your income, you can stop saving and put that money elsewhere.

Invest

When I worked in the corporate world, I had a sizable retirement account. When I left, I had to use most of that up to get by, and to put myself through graduate school. In early 2008, after several years as a freelancer, I’ve finally been able to start setting aside some money again for my retirement.

While I don’t mind the idea of working my whole life – I enjoy my career, you see – I’d like to think that I can take the last five or six years off. To that end, I pursue investments. For those of you in the U.S., the Roth IRA is a good choice, but there are plenty of other ways to invest out there.

Market

Freelance writers have to promote and sell their services. They have to understand branding, they have to understand at least a little bit about copywriting (even if that’s not their strongest area) and they need to know how to attract clients.

Probably the biggest secret to marketing for the freelance writer is this: you have to believe in yourself. By that I don’t mean some touchy-feely sense of self-worth; no, I’m talking about something much more powerful. I’m talking about identifying your strengths as a writer and articulating them to potential clients in such a way that they want the quality product you have to offer.

Plan

What will your freelance business look like in six months? How about a year? Five years? If you’re not setting goals for your writing business, you can’t meet them. What I do at this blog and with my coaching program is all about helping you reach those dreams. But if you just have a dream and no roadmap to get there, you’re not going to make it, no matter who helps you.

Dreams require goals, goals require strategies, strategies require tactics, and tactics require individual actions. Many freelance writers can’t get past the tasks of today to establish the goals of tomorrow, so when the lean times hit they’re totally unprepared. Plan your writing business to maximize growth opportunities and to be ready for the lean times.

Live

You can’t predict an illness. You can’t predict a house fire. You can, however, predict your daughter being ready to go to college. You can predict wanting to buy your son a car for his 16th birthday. You see, in addition to planning your business, you’ve got to plan your life. Know what your big expenses are, when they’re coming, and then plan and save accordingly.

Experience

Most freelancers (and other small businesses) close the doors within three years of opening. In many cases, they just can’t handle the feast-or-famine cycle. Part of success in your freelance writing business will come from experience. It will come from having a few lean cycles as well as a few growth cycles.

When you first strike out freelancing full time, there’s often this overwhelming fear. You worry that work will dry up, and you won’t be able to feed your family. You worry that you won’t get any new clients, and that your old clients will all dump you. Frankly, it can be horribly unnerving. Part of maturing as a freelance writer means that you’ve seen feast and famine both, and knowing that, no matter how lean things might be today, they will be better tomorrow. You can be confident of it because you’ve been through it many times.

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The SIMPLE principle isn’t a magic formula. You’ve still got to be good at what you do, both in your writing and in your business management. Still, following these ideas will help give your freelance writing business a healthy shot at success.

(If you haven’t already been there, head on over to Freelance Folder today and help those folks celebrate their one-year birthday. There are plenty of prizes in their Birthday contest, including an EeePC. Hurry, though, the contest ends today!)

Photo by kalleboo

Related Thoughts on the Writing Life

• Freelance Writing the Michelangelo Way
• How to Start Your Freelance Writing Business: The Costs
• How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Finding Work
• How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Building Your Portfolio