How to deal with quiet spells?
The "feast and famine" of freelancing can be hard to deal with, and periods of no work is always challenging.
FAQ
Take a longer term view, invest in your business, diversify your income, and look at the big picture.
It's a simple reality of freelancing that you will not be working full-time.
Even with the most effective new business pipeline, there will be periods where finding work is harder, and in certain situations, these dry-spells can last for weeks, even months.
It's important to recognise that not every quiet period is a failure of your business.
Right now, the economic challenges in the market mean that freelancing is experiencing a rough time: higher supply, lower demand, and fewer projects generally - many many freelancers are finding it incredibly hard to find work.
That doesn't mean you're doing something wrong - it just means you're facing the reality of the market.
Likewise, just assuming that you'll find some work if you wait long enough, is also not a sensible strategy.
You'll need to continue investing in business development, making new connections, creating opportunities for new work, or exploring additional and alternative revenue streams, so you're not reliant upon a single source of business.
That said, no matter how pragmatic you can be about quiet spells, it can hit your confidence.
We've developed a longer guide on Dealing with Quiet Periods when Freelancing which might help.
A list of related resources on freelancing.support.
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