Game Plan During a Freelance Famine

Image from Ryan Cheng, Unsplash.com

The dreaded Famine. Ugh.

This is an odd but almost universal work cycle that happens to the vast majority of freelancers at some point in their freelance career. In the “Feast or Famine” cycle, there will be periods of time where many clients, projects, and money will come into your business. Eventually that upward slope will reverse, and those “Feast” times are followed by periods of little work, few to none new clients, and not much money. Aka, “Famine” times.

I have been in several Famines over the last year, including one that I’m going through right now, so this is a hot topic for me. I have read many blogs about what to do during this time and I have tried out many of the tips and tricks they recommended. Some have worked, some haven’t, but I have kept track of the tips that have worked for me.

The blurbs below are ideas that have been helpful to myself, but they are not the only things you can do. Feel free to explore other blogs about this topic, and see if any of those ideas work better for you. If you are a full-time freelancer who has found yourself stuck in a Famine, I hope this blog will help you pull yourself out of it, or at least give you ideas on how to feel productive during this difficult time!

Don’t Give Up…

This is the MOST important thing to remember. Here’s the good news, my friend: the “Famine” does NOT last forever. Eventually it will break, and you will start getting clients and projects again.

But it is hard to be patient and hard to find the energy to keep going when it has been weeks since you last got a new project. Persevere! In a way, this is your current “job,” and you need to schedule your time accordingly. Give yourself a certain number of hours per day to reach out to past, current, or new clients; apply to job sites like Upwork or Fiverr; create personal design projects to practice certain skills or layouts…whatever you need to do. All of these will help keep you productive and will help your business move forward, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Rethink how you approach a Famine. You now have all this time where you get to work on fun personal projects, or make plans for increasing your business, or consolidate your processes so your projects will move faster! Give it a positive spin, even if you have to be aggressively positive. 

…But Don’t Work Constantly

This is a thin line that is very easy to cross. The first time I was in an extended Famine, I had this constant feeling that I HAD to look for jobs all day, every day, and that if I didn’t I was being lazy. That anxiety made it hard to sleep, which in turn made me more anxious during the day. See the spiral? And guess what: if you look for jobs constantly, you 1) burn out, and 2) start looking for BAD jobs that will cause you more harm than good.

Back up, take a breath, and allow yourself to rest every day, because your mind and body need it. Give yourself a cut-off time every afternoon or evening where you shut off your computer and force (yes, force) yourself to stop working. Do an activity that helps you relax, or something distracting like a movie or video game. And I highly recommend that at least 3 times a week, if not more, have some kind of interaction with friends.

Get Outside

Get away from the computer! Get out of the apartment, get some fresh air, and stretch your legs. Parks are good, or if you don’t have enough time, just walk around the area you live in. If you have more extra time than you would like, I recommend going on a country drive. There is something about nature that is inherently good for the human brain, and seeing the trees and fields will help you relax. The walking will also get you exercising, releasing those feel-good endorphins and removing some of your stress.

Personal Design Projects

Personal projects have been very helpful to my mental state, both because this feels like a “real” project, but also because they are fun! If there is a particular type of project that you would like to add to your skill set, but you haven’t had the opportunity to create it yet, now is your chance. For example, if you want to practice ebook layouts, find an old ebook and recreate it. Need to get better at web banners? Create a handful based on an old client or a client you wish you had. Business cards, book covers, social media posts, videos…whatever you want!

Personal projects are great for graphic designers because they can be added to your portfolio, even if they aren’t a real project. They are ways to show your style, your skills, and the type of designs you are good at. They also show art directors and project managers that you are actively learning new skills and using your spare time to improve yourself, which looks great in a potential hire.

Reach Out to Potential Clients

Are there any clients or businesses that you’ve thought about reaching out to, but haven’t had the guts to do it? This might be the time because, hey, what do you have to lose? Research your ideal companies, look for connections on LinkedIn or Facebook, follow them on social media. If you have connections, great! Use them to reach out to the director or manager of whatever sector you want to work in and let them know your interest. Don’t have connections? You could always try a “cold call” (or in my case, a “cold email). There are many websites with great examples of cold call or cold email templates, and although it is harder to get responses that way, I have had success with getting one of my university press clients that way. It can be done!

Non-Design Gigs

This one was recommended by a business mentor of mine. He said to find some kind of side gig that I could do when work is slow, which would not only get me a little bit of money coming in but would also keep me busy and active. I chose DoorDash, and I like it! It gets me out of the apartment/work area, away from my computer, and interacting with people. The pay isn’t high, but even a little income helps your mental state. There are many other gigs that can be done either on the road (like meal or package delivery) or from home on your computer. Go hunting online and see if anything catches your eye!

All the best!

Brittany Becker