10 things to do when work is slow
Certain times of the year will be slow for you.
If you’ve figured out the secret to never encountering slow seasons as a freelancer, please go start your own blog.
In the meantime…
Here are 10 ideas about what to do during slow seasons:
Create a digital product. There must be some digital template or tool you’ve created that makes you work easier. It doesn’t have to be anything revolutionary, and it’s ok if other people have done it before. Just put it out into the world. Sell it for $25-$100. This might bring in an extra $1k - $2k annually for you.
Offer coaching. Is anyone asking to “pick your brain?” Do you find yourself giving out advice to various people? You could be charging for this. It doesn’t' need to be anything official. You can just set up a calendar link for people to book portfolio reviews, strategy time, or brainstorm sessions with you.
Publish some of your work on licensing sites. If you have great images, drone footage, songs, or designs, why not publish them on licensing sites? This probably won’t drive any meaningful revenue, but they could help you get discovered, and at least there’s a tiny chance you could make some money from it.
Set up a one-day sprint work session. I’ve seen photographers do this. They’ll rent a studio for the day, and then sell 30-minute portrait sessions to their friends, family, and audience. This could be cheap enough for the average person ($100 for 5 photos, for example), but if you book up 15-20 slots, that’s $2k in revenue. Spend the evening editing photos, and wipe your hands for the day. Even better: do it at your house so you don’t have to pay for the studio. I’m not totally sure what a version of this could look like for a videographer or a graphic designer, but there must be something in here for you.
Post your profile on freelance work sites. Some places I (occasionally) hire freelancers are Production Hub, Upwork, Fiverr, and ilovecreatives. I can’t guarantee you’ll be getting a lot of phone calls from these places. But I can guarantee you’ll be getting zero phone calls from them if you don’t have a profile up.
Get coffee with your freelancer friends. This won’t get you a job tomorrow, but it might get you a job in the next few months. Also, it’s a cheap way to vent, get ideas, and just make friends.
Work on your script (or your short story, or your website, or your reel, or your logo, or whatever). Work on whatever it is you’d tell yourself you’d work on when things “finally slowed down a little.”
Get a part-time job. If you’re really strapped for cash, it’s okay to get a part-time job. There’s no shame in this. There is shame in being too prideful to get a part-time job. Go sling some coffee, or move some boxes, or drive people to the airport, or walk some dogs. The people who love you most would rather see you able to pay the bills and not so stressed out, instead of some idealistic version of a “starving artist.”
If you’re not strapped for cash, take a break. Enjoy it. Remember all the times you were double booked, feeling like your hair was on fire, wishing you could just sit on the couch all day. Slow times are the natural antithesis to these times. If you don’t enjoy them, then what was all that wishing for?
Volunteer somewhere. Why not? Go meet some people. Help people who need help. It’s certainly more of a net positive compared to watching another episode of God-knows-what.
The inconsistency of freelancing can be demoralizing. But this is also its main benefit. I’m giving away to punch line of the last chapter of my book here, but the beauty of inconsistency is the flip side. If your income can go down at a moment’s notice, it can also go up.
