I've talked a lot about how much I love freelancing... and I do! However, I feel I should present a balanced view. Christmas is a time that presents unique challenges for the freelancers among us. In this article I will explain some of those challenges and my personal recommendations for overcoming them.
Allegedly (I have no idea where this figure comes from) 78% of freelancers miss having a company Christmas party. Personally, I never cared about Christmas parties and usually looked for an excuse to miss them. If that paints me as a misanthrope then clearly freelancing was the right choice for me! However, it does tie into the issue I've mentioned about loneliness as a freelancer.
If you get lonely during the festive period there are more and more opportunities to make your own Christmas party. Check on meetup.com and similar sites for digital nomad events in your area. Do you use a coworking space? There's a good chance they will arrange something or will be open to the idea if you suggest it.
The main issue I want to talk about today is the fact that everyone disappears over Christmas. This is actually part of a broader issue. There have been a number of times that Agi and I have had to deal with flakiness from clients. The situation usually goes down something like this: a new or current client can't send work through because they are too busy.
This week is flat out, I'll get something to you next week.
This creates a difficult situation - while waiting for the new work to come through you are not getting paid. Should you look for something else and risk not having time for the work when it does come through? Should you wait for the new work and not get paid in the meantime? This gives you plenty of opportunity to catch up on TV but it doesn't pay the bills!
Christmas is this problem writ large. Nearly everybody takes some time off over Christmas which means there is a good chance you'll miss work over the period. Most people are so busy on a daily basis that they won't have work prepared for their freelancer to keep them going over Christmas. I'm not trying to write a sob story for freelancers; I still prefer it to any other job I've ever had. Also, if you can afford it then why not take a break over the Christmas period?
What to do about it?
Develop good relationships with clients
If you are your clients have a good working relationship then you can discuss things openly. Clients who value you will want to make sure you are OK and able to keep working for them in future. They will take the time to give you extra work if you want it. They may pay you a bonus or a retainer to help you over the dry period.
Look for recurring tasks
A lot of clients may have recurring tasks that need to happen at any time of year. If you deal with these on a regular basis then let your client know that you are available to continue them over Christmas.
Prepare for the down time
This is probably the best option. Working freelance requires that you are well aware of your finances. Any time that you want to take a holiday you will need to prepare and save some cash. If you are already doing this then put something aside to cover the Christmas dry spell.
I hope these tips are useful to you. If you would like more then we love to talk freelancing... why not get in contact?