Is Your Freelance Career Slowing Down? How To Resist The Temptation of Returning to Corporate America!

If you're anything like me, you made careful, deliberate plans to leave the drab four beige walls of your cubicle for the more adventurous lifestyle of a freelancer. If you read my last blog on becoming a freelancer, I'm sure you paid off credit card debt, saved several months of salary for emergencies and read the Peter Bowerman books, am I right?

Things have been going well with only a few bumps in the road but now, it seems there aren't any jobs to be had! What happened? Were you intoxicated with the idea of leaving the grindstone of Corporate America? Was it just a pipe dream? Of course not! Below are some ideas that will get you through this period.

Freelancing is like riding a rollercoaster. That thought sounds awfully Forrest Gump-ish, but it is true. I had a neighbor tell me once, "Be prepared. You're either going to be swamped with work, or your going to be high and dry." Little did I know just how true his words would become. For some reason, there is a cycle that happens with freelancers when work is so plentiful, you may find yourself calling upon others to help with the overflow work. Then, there are some times when you may be thinking, "What in the heck happened here?"

I've been going through a dry period fo a month or so now where I used to panic if I didn't have at least 1 project on my plate. I've learned now that saving for these rainy days is absolutely CRUCIAL. Honestly, otherwise, you will have to resort to (gulp) temping for Corporate America or working in a convenience store. To avoid all of that, here are my ideas to get out of the slump:

NETWORK - Go online and access the Chamber of Commerce website and accumulate as many emails as you can. Construct a short, businesslike email stating your skills and ask for a meeting. If they only provide a mailing address, construct a business letter and send brochures and business cards to interested businesses. Follow up with a phone call to make sure they recieved it and to introduce yourself. Try to arrange a quick meeting as a "Nice to meet you" session.

MARKET YOURSELF - Now is the time to write press releases about your accomplishments, contact the local press (newspapers, magazines, ezines etc.) to tout your credentials.

TRY SOMETHING NEW - Have you always wanted to learn how to write grants? Now is the time to learn! It could be any form of writing. Maybe you want to really start on your novel, do it! What about learning how to write a business plan, etc? Try something new to make yourself even more marketable. You might try doing these projects pro bono. It's a nice thing to do, especially if you let the client know that you are a novice in this area.

CALL YOUR WRITER BUDDIES: Maybe they are drowning in work. Offer to take on overflow work. Let them know you are ready for some work.

SET UP GOOGLE ALERTS: Something to the effect of "Writer wanted" and google will pull every piece of web content to you and send to your email. You may get a jump on a job the instant it is posted.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU NEED CASH NOW: If you are completely out of cash or getting very close to it, you may have to bite the bullet and temp for a bit. BUT, at least you will know next time how to fill your time with constructive ways to market yourself so that your name continually gets "out there".

Most of all: Don't become discouraged. It's very easy to become spoiled to recieving a paycheck every week or month, but think of the perks and trade off in quality of life you are recieving as a freelancer. It more than makes up for the less than perfect method of getting paid regularly.

Try these ideas, you'll be glad you did! Good Luck!