The freelancer feast and famine cycle has become part of freelancer folklore, but what is it, why do freelancers dread it, and how can you break the cycle?
The feast and famine cycle
The feast and famine cycle is something most freelancers have experienced. It’s when you don’t have much, if any, work coming in one moment and then the next get too much.
Freelancers dread it because you can never accurately predict income streams and cash flow, and it sometimes means you can go for long drought periods with not enough work coming in.
Aside from the financial aspect, this can be demoralizing and impact on your efforts to attract clients and secure further business because you come across as desperate. It could also mean you take on work you don’t enjoy or have to lower your rates just to put food on the proverbial table.
It can seem like the feast and famine cycle is baked into the freelancer cake due to the very nature of freelance business, i.e. you are not an employee, so clients can hire you and let you go at will. Furthermore, a lot of work is ‘one and done’. You are hired for one particular project, and that’s it.
But it doesn’t have to be this way; there are ways you can break this cycle.
Build relationships
Building good relationships is fundamental to business, and this is especially true for freelancers. Developing long-term mutually beneficial relationships with clients is key to freelancer prosperity. It could be that you secure longer-term contracts so you can predict future cash flow or that you provide an excellent service so you have return clients.
Fostering good freelancer-client relationships and providing as much value as possible is never a bad idea and can help buffer you against the feast and famine cycle.
While building those relationships, it’s also a great opportunity to identify other ways you could add value and create products and services that will serve your clients and boost your income. If you can, focus on finding long-term regular clients rather than lots of short-term ones – it’s easier to maintain a long-term client than to find a new one – low-hanging fruit, so to speak.
But also be careful not to put all your eggs in one basket. If you have just one client, you haven’t got a buffer if, for whatever reason, that work ends abruptly.
Passive income
Developing passive income streams is a great way to ensure you always have money coming in, and the great thing is, it doesn’t have to be a significant sum to keep things ticking over.
While you might have a passive income stream from outside your business, i.e. rental income from a property, dividend stocks, investments, etc., you should also consider how you can package your skills to create extra income.
For example, you could have an info product such as an online course or e-book that teaches others your skills or how your skills can help them. The great thing about courses and books is that they also act as a great sales funnel and lead magnet to attract clients to you – so it’s a win-win.
And lastly, don’t forget about all those possible lucrative affiliate marketing deals you could be sharing on social media, your company website, and even in regular newsletters!
Recurring revenue
In addition to passive income, you could add recurring revenue to your business through an online membership or even a subscription service for services such as coaching.
Another way to add recurring revenue is to have retainer agreements with clients – whereby clients pay you a set amount each month in exchange for a set amount of work or time. These can be particularly lucrative as you can upsell or create add-on services as the need arises, and it also means you have a more stable income stream.
For recurring revenue streams, Invoice Ninja can save you time by automatically billing long-term clients with recurring invoices so you can focus on doing what you love. Furthermore, clients can pay directly from their invoice with the click of a button, which means you get paid on time and faster.
Always be marketing
One reason why freelancers fall into the famine part of the cycle is that when they are feasting, they don’t continue to market their business. When they have a slower period, they pick up the slack, but it can be too late by this time.
That’s why you should always be marketing your business in some shape or form. Even if it’s just 30 minutes a day on social media, you need to be raising brand awareness. Make sure you schedule time to work ON your business as well as in it – it will pay off dividends in the long run.
While spending time on billable hours and projects so you can invoice clients and get paid is crucial, attracting future clients is too. There is a saying attributed to Henry Ford that says “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” It’s the same with marketing.
So to summarize:
- Look to build good long-term client relationships
- Create passive income streams
- Identify opportunities for recurring revenue, such as client retainer agreements
- Always be marketing your business
And finally, when feasting, be sure to put some money aside for when you are snacking.
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