If you work at a traditional job, this might not be your natural reaction when someone gives you a new project, but if you are a freelancer or an entrepreneur—or think like one—a day when you get more work is a day for smiling.
Why is more work better?
Well, to begin with the obvious, for a freelancer, more work = more money, but there is more to it than that. When you are developing your own business and a client list, every project is an opportunity to:
- Deepen your skillset
- Use your creativity to solve a problem
- Prove yourself
- Enhance your portfolio
- Make valuable network connections
- Get free word-of-mouth advertising
A busy freelancer is a happy freelancer. Probably also a tired freelancer, but the benefits of working long hours are greater than the costs.
How to get busier?
- Stay connected—don’t let relationships with past clients lapse. Even if they don’t have a new project for you, maybe someone they know does.
- Keep your portfolio up-to-date and easily accessible—you never know when or where someone will ask to see your work.
- Register with a recruiting company which places freelancers—a recruiter can help you broaden your client base while making it easier to get paid on time.
Being a freelancer makes me happy every day: it suits my family, my temperament, and my skills. And more work always makes me smile!
Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative