How To Supplement Your Freelance Income
Let’s face it, freelance income can be unstable. Especially during the current times we live in, it can be easy for income to dry up, have random spikes, and overall have an inconsistent vibe. As a freelancer, you might be wanting to have a more stable income. If that’s what you’re thinking, I encourage you to supplement your income. Providing yourself as much stability as possible is a good goal to go after. There are a multitude of ways to approach and gain that stability.
Related Listening: How To Accept Money From Your Clients
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I Got A New Job With WorkBright!
If you haven’t been following me on my Instagram for The Happy Arkansan, you might not know that I recently got a job. WorkBright has been one of my favorite clients since 2018, and I recently got the opportunity to join the team full-time earlier this month. I am a few weeks into my job, and I love it so far. It’s a challenge, but I have a lot of perks (remote work, good insurance, vacation time, and paid holidays, to name a few.) I am so excited to join the company as a Marketing Coordinator And Content Writer. I am still getting adjusted to the entire company, but I am having a good time so far.
So, what does this mean for The Ambitious Freelancer? Well, you might notice some amount of inconsistency as I make this transition. I hope to have no downtime, but I can’t make any guarantees. I have been trying to record podcasts when I can, but these past few weeks have been pretty hectic. I still intend to freelance; in fact, I recently wrote my first article with Lattice right around the time I was starting my new job.
I will be keeping y’all up to date on my new job as it feels appropriate. I can’t wait to share more with y’all.
In today’s episode, I am giving you a few ideas for supplementing your freelance income. I know we are all about multiple streams of income here!
1) Sell Templates, Products, Or Online Courses
In my recent episode with Melody Johnson, we talked all about the power of digital products as a freelancer. As a freelancer, you should strive to create products and templates so that you can raise your prices and work with the best clients. When you raise your price, you will stop some people from working with you. Create some low-level products that allow people who can’t afford your services to tap into your insight. Digital products allow you to scale without wasting all your hours servicing companies who can’t afford your current rate.
2) Sell Thrifted Goods/Stuff Around The House
I am never going to be one of those people who encourage you to sell the shirt off your back to afford a freelance lifestyle. There are certainly ways to make money selling stuff you have on sites like Poshmark and Facebook Marketplace, though. Alternatively, you could also make money by buying and flipping/selling thrifted goods. There are lots of individuals who make extra income this way. This has to be something that you are interested in because making a name for yourself as a seller and shipping product takes time and effort. If you are flipping or transforming the items you sell in some way, this will take even more of your time.
3) Get A Job
Now, you can also get a job to supplement your freelance income. There are plenty of freelancers who go in and out of employment. It’s about what makes you happy and what puts food on your table. Some freelancers hate the 9-5 life. I never felt that way. I just really didn’t like the grind of academia, and I didn’t know what to do besides education. Taking these last few years to understand that I had different career options was a blessing. Now, I am glad to be employed by an HR tech company I love.
You don’t need to take on a full-time job to get a job. There are tons of types of jobs like:
Part-time
Full-Time
Contract/Temporary
Seasonal
Think about what kind of job would work best for you right now. What level of stability are you looking for right now? Some industries are still hiring, even during this crazy time.
4) Add A New Service
If getting a job doesn’t make you happy, you might want to add a new service. Figure out what you are offering right now and figure out a different strategy. Pivoting is vital to be able to keep up with your financial goals. You might want to offer a new iteration of the service you already provide, paid consultation/pick your brain sessions, or any number of things. Look at what people in your niche offer, consider what your clients have asked you to offer in the past, and think about where your interests lie. Create new offers and share those with your existing customers (and your email list if you have one.)
Related Listening: Marketing During Uncertain Times With Nina Addeo; Freelance Marketing And Networking Tips With Latasha James
5) Connect Other People To Opportunities And Charge A Fee
Some people are great at finding opportunities for other people. If that’s you, you might want to create a service out of it. For example, you could become an affiliate for certain programs you think your audience should use, you could make a paid newsletter for people in your niche to find work, or you could send opportunities directly to colleagues for a fee. You want to be careful here, because community does matter, but you can often connect people and charge without exploiting anyone.
6) Work For Another Contingent Company Like Uber, Lyft, Instacart, etc.
In last week’s episode, we talked about why you might decide to work for a company like Instacart. These gig economy jobs aren’t for everyone, but they can help you stabilize your income. Companies like Instacart are blowing up right now because many people don’t want to go grocery shopping. If you have some free time that’s not being taken over with freelancing, you might consider connecting with these companies to make some extra cash.
7) Don’t For For Predatory Multi-Level Marketing Companies (MLMs)
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I am against MLMs. Did you know that 99% of MLM participants lose money? This is a fact that most people in an MLM will try to hide. It doesn’t matter which MLM you join. Most MLM participants won’t succeed. There are better and faster ways to make money. Don’t get wrapped up in these predatory schemes. You don’t want to wind up with thousands of dollars in inventory and worse off than when you joined.
8) Cut Back On Expenses If You Need To
Like we discussed in Candace’s episode last week, you might need to cut down on your expenses. That’s okay. You can always pick expenses back up when you have the income to support those costs. Cut expenses that aren’t necessary, and that will help you stretch your income further.
Conclusion
Freelance income is terrific, but it’s not always the most stable. You have to decide how much income you need to live a stable life, then figure out to make that amount. I hope that today’s podcast gave you something to think about as you determine what the next few months/years of your life look like.
Above all else, don’t let anyone tell you what being an ambitious freelancer looks like. You can be an ambitious freelancer with a full-time job, a side hustle, or anything else. Your version of freelancing is the best version of freelancing for you, and that is all that matters.
I hope that you can make financial decisions that have the brightest impact on you and your financial goals.