What to do if you're losing freelance work, with Jason Montoya

This article is reproduced with the permission of our partner, Trupo, which is hosting virtual get-togethers through its Freelancers Mutual Aid Circle.

If you missed the previous virtual class taught by digital B2B content marketing consultant, Jason Scott Montoya, 1. Don't worry, there are more workshops coming up and 2. Some of Jason's freelancing tips are below.

Being a freelancer always requires a specific mix of flexibility and practicality–and especially during a global pandemic, when landing clients can be trickier than ever. So what do you do if you find your financial situation dramatically changing week-by-week, or are just starting out as a freelancer? Here are three tips below from Jason Scott Montoya, author of Path of the Freelancer: An Actionable Guide To Flourishing In Freelancing:

Recognize the three "levels" of freelancer status.

Because freelancing often involves episodic income and less structure, it can be tough to define your overall financial experience when some weeks might be really great client-wise, and others, not so much. That's why it's good to do a temperature check, according to Montoya, who groups freelancing status into three categories:

Think about this moment. Where are you at right now, this week? If you're at yellow, do you feel like you're approaching green or red? Knowing this will help you figure out what to do next, like:

Quickly adapt your spending habits.

Using the color-coded system, Montoya suggests doing the following:

Red: Budgeting enough to pay the minimum bills

Yellow: Paying your bills and saving a little

Green: Putting more into savings and use the rest to treat yourself

It's important to note that whenever you can save, you should, because a green period usually doesn't last forever, and you want to feel as secure as you can if you ever hit red.

Know how to ride the waves.

Again, because freelancing can be so unpredictable (which is also part of why it's exciting), it's best to prepare for the inevitable slumps–as well as know when to rest up or enjoy the times when you have tons of dream clients.

The best way you can do this is to keep up a level of consistency with saving, filing/tracking invoices, and maintaining relationships with clients. Freelancing is very much a marathon and not a sprint, and knowing how to pace yourself is the key to success.

We’re looking for peer mentors and webinar speakers! If you have presentation experience and have a topic you feel freelancers could benefit learning about, or just want to provide mentorship, feel free to reach out to us at help@trupo.com.