It takes a lot of hustle to make it as a freelancer. While it can be extremely gratifying to be your own boss and work on the projects you choose and aren’t chosen for you, it is also a challenge. There are often gaps in your work year and it takes time to rustle up new clients.
This means that you have to focus on ways to make more money to be able to survive as a successful freelancer. A lot of time can get wasted by trying to find clients or even to increase the money that you make so it pays to understand a few things when you freelance. In this article, we will cover some methods that will increase your income so you can weather the lean times.
Focus on productivity
Wasting time is equal to losing money. There surely is a lot of time that is not being used adequately which results in less money being made. Try to get the most out of the hours that you are working so that you don’t have to work longer to make up the difference in money.
This means that you should find some productivity hacks to make sure that an hour of work is maxed out. Using the right equipment is part of this. If your computer is slow then this is costing you money. If you can only print so many pages of documents at a time then speeding it up can allow you to focus on other things so research inkjet vs laser printers for the right one for your business.
Create some processes that will help you streamline the work that you do so you aren’t repeating tasks. There is a lot of software out there that can automate many parts of your business from accounting to administrative tasks. This allows you to do more work that pays and not waste time with redundant matters.
Upsell your current clients
Working smarter instead of harder is a great way to make more money. Think about a food server at a restaurant that tries to get you to order more food. This is because they will make a bigger tip on the bill without having to do more work.
You should be doing the same for your clients. Give them some added value that they will be happy to pay more for. If you have a base rate then make some kind of bundle that gives them a better rate for additional work being done to keep the job going. They will be happy to be getting more for their money and you will pad your income without having to find new clients.
Do high value jobs
It is tempting to take any work that comes your way when you are trying to make a living. Think about this though: While you are working on a low-paying gig there is somebody that got a higher-paying one that could have been yours.
Don’t sell yourself short and undervalue what you do. Go for the high-paying jobs and focus there instead of taking whatever comes.