How To Get Freelance Projects - The Lunch List

If freelance projects are thin, make a list of who you can get lunch with. 

I’ve been freelancing in varying capacities over the past five years, and during that time, one thing has become abundantly clear: relationships matter. Ideally, your work speaks for itself, people find you for what you’ve done and hire you with no doubts. But realistically, connections are what matter. 

When I first started my career, I was far too focused on my quality and output (working on projects to the point of greatly diminished returns), and not focused nearly enough on networking. After I had been living in LA and freelancing for a while, my network started to grow. Guess what happened? The projects started to roll in. 

People at brands want to work with freelancers they like. It’s a lot easier to like someone who buys you lunch. So, if you want to get hired, buy a few people lunch. You won’t get hired next week from it. Maybe not even next month. But I’m consistently amazed at how little friendly connections always seem to turn into paid projects a year or so down the road.