Become a freelancer and employ yourself
by Randy Place
You’ll recall last week’s post on Your Career Service about how to become employed — “How the unemployed can become self-employed” – gave ideas about getting customers for your new freelance business. But when you’re busy serving the clients you have, where do you find time to solicit?
I faced this problem after starting a writing/communications business some years ago. When early selling efforts landed my first three clients, I thought it would be easy street from there on in. But after I finished the assignments for those new clients, street came to a dead end street. I was unemployed once more.
Then I bumped into an acquaintance on the commuter train. A copywriter for Compton Advertising for many years, my friend had left the agency to start his own writing business just as I had. But he had many more clients. When I asked the secret of his marketing success, the former advertising man replied, “I write for my clients at night and solicit new ones during the day.”
I faced a dilemma. While preferring to write early mornings, I learned from my friend the necessity of marketing each day in order to stay in business. So I continued to write each morning and made solicitation calls before lunch each day. The lesson I learned the hard way – even though you’re a freelancer swamped with work, keep on pitching in order to promote your freelance service.
Freelancers can beat unemployment by pledging to make one call each day before lunch. After a week, you’ll have made five solicitations; and that’s 20 a month or over 220 per year. Your efforts will bring in more work. Guaranteed.
A dry spell isn’t the result of a dry spell in business. It’s the result of slacking off in your sales role. Remember when you go freelance, you run the show. You’re the CEO, advertising, sales, and accounting departments.
Your one-man sales department needs to make something happen. Things will happen when you make at least one or two calls every day before lunch.
Click here to read, “Freelanced work — another way to avoid a pink slip,” a previous post on Your Career Service.
