It can be tempting as a freelancer to take that huge steady job and just ignore all the little inconsistent ones that are coming in. After all, getting a check in the mail every week or month is pretty nice! You can actually budget, something that can be very difficult for freelancers and knowing when the next money is coming is a big relief.
BUT, it´s not all it´s cracked up to be. Freelance jobs are fickle and I can tell you from personal experience that your big beautiful job won´t last forever. They never do. And then you´ll be stuck scrambling to build your freelance business up from scratch again, taking on those inconsistent jobs that you spurned in favor of the steady one.
Putting all your eggs in one basket might seem easier, but when that basket falls . . . you´ll be left with nothing. So, it´s a good idea to spread yourself out a bit. Here are a few things to consider.
Is it REALLY that great? Do the math on your steady job. Can you earn more taking on one-time gigs? I have a blogging job that pays a certain amount per month, per blog, but when I do the math, figuring out the number of words written, etc. I could earn four times that amount by taking on other jobs. That doesn´t mean you should underestimate the value of a steady paycheck, but keep it in mind.
Can you outsource? Most freelancers want to take on all the jobs themselves, but there are advantages to outsourcing the occasional high paying gig. You get to keep your clients while still bringing in that steady paycheck and collecting a small percentage off the other job.
Is it possible to downsize? This is what I recently did with the blogging job, dropping the blogs that were taking up too much time and causing problems . . . it meant a cut in pay, but now I can work on other projects that actually pay better, but aren´t steady. Sometimes, having a specific amount of your monthly income coming in steadily is fine, then make up the rest with other jobs.
Freelance moms have a lot up in the air and it can be very tempting to just take the easy route. After all, you´re comfortable with your steady client, you know just what they want . . . but bills will still need to be paid should the job end and you can save yourself a lot of stress by having other methods of earning.
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4 Responses to “Freelance Moms . . . Don´t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket!”
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I love your blog! It is informative and does provide motivation to wahms. In fact, I featured your blog in my “Top 5 favorite Blogs” this week.
Interesting idea! I took the liberty of linking to it from our forum (at http://www.odesk.com/community/node/3324) to see what freelancers using our website think about it.