Staying Ahead of the Lean Times

Are you changing the way you work or developing different projects as a direct result of the current economy? If so, what are you doing differently?

I am very conscious of the current economy. The same week my part-time position went away, my biggest client decide to play “Catch Up” and put my work on hold until she had finished preparing for the launch of her current web page. I suddenly found myself looking back on the previous months of plenty into the gaping whole of not very much. (I can’t say “nothing,” but it’s pretty close right now.) The magazine I had been querying on a regular basis before the comfy part-time gig had not heard from me in several months. And the bidding sites showed “0” in the “earnings in the last six months” section of my profile. I had been working regularly and now it was a temporarily dry dustbowl, kind of like before the rains hit the Grand Canyon.

So, I started wondering how to do things differently so as to stay ahead of the lean times. I have printed new postcards offering a sizeable discount, am searching for the jobs as soon as I sit at the computer for at least one hour per working day, and am staying up late logged onto my computer coming up with queries and story ideas for those dollar-a-word magazines to which all freelance writers aspire. It’s not very much, but it’s a start to keep my business afloat.

What are you doing to keep your business viable? I would love to hear your thoughts.