It’s just been the summer holidays here in the UK, when a lot of small business owners and company staff are off work to be with their kids. This can cause a bit of a slowdown for freelancers over August, which can delay projects, affect morale and limit cashflow. This can also happen around Christmas or New Year with similar results. The same can apply if you’re in-between contracts or larger jobs.
Here are some tips on how to handle these quiet times as a freelancer.
Have A Holiday
If you can’t beat them, join them. If people aren’t getting back to you on projects, maybe take some time off. During the summer break is a great time to work shorter hours and make the most of the sun (especially in the UK). It doesn’t have to be the whole month, but consciously having a rest while things are quiet can mean you’re raring to go when everyone gets back off their holidays and wants to pick up on projects again.
With prices being high in school holidays, a stay home holiday can work just as well, hanging out in the park or visiting local places.
Work On Your Side Projects
I’m sure we’ve all got side projects on the go that get neglected when we’re busy with client work. A slowdown from clients is a great time to get on with these projects, sharpening skills (or learning new ones) and restoring motivation.
A side project could also become a source of income, and if it makes enough, maybe even be a way of not doing small client projects at all!
Work On Your Website & Marketing
Maintaining our own websites and doing our own marketing often slides when we’re busy with client work. Natural breaks in projects are a great time to update your website and plan your next marketing cycle, working on strategy and creating marketing materials for the coming months.
Plan Ahead For The Next One
It’s a bit late for this summer, but if you know you often have a slow period over Christmas or other times during the year, maybe plan ahead and book in work for these times so you have paid projects to be working on. You can then deliver the work and get feedback/paid as soon as your clients are back in their offices.
Summary
We’ve looked at a few ideas here to help smooth out the peaks and troughs of freelance life or make the most of times when clients might not be available to work on their projects.