An Optimist’s Guide to Freelancing Through a Recession
Where there are risks, there are also opportunities.
Monday brought an unfortunate first in my freelance business. Two of my five retainer clients, within hours of one another, both decided to adjust our contracts. The good news is that neither client fired me. However, one reduced my workload (and by extension, my pay). The other requested a one-month pause to reevaluate their marketing strategy.
I didn’t take the conversations hard. It helps that both companies insisted that they want to continue working with me. The interest is mutual.
It also helps that I believe economic downturns are healthy. Companies must respond to a changing world. Crises cause bad companies to go under and cause good businesses to refine or set new strategy. In fact, I left these client conversations hopeful about the future because I share their desire for new direction.
Every recession is an opportunity to reset, to take a skeptical look at anything you can describe as “business as usual.” That’s exactly what I’m doing in my business. I’m asking, where are the biggest opportunities?
In March 2020, as awareness about Covid rose around the world, markets fell. My wife and I doubled down on work. We had never endured a fear-stricken…
