The Most Powerful Way To Sustainable Freelance Business
The freelance market is booming and is expected to double in size in the next decade. This is a golden opportunity for those who desire to break free from traditional employment and build a sustainable freelance business.
While a freelance arrangement might lack the financial security of full- or part-time employment, freelance workers don’t have to earn less than their traditionally employed counterparts. In fact, according to Upwork’s data on freelancers, 44% of freelancers made more money than they did when employed at a traditional job. Additionally, the 2022 Payoneer global freelancer income report revealed a significant increase in the global hourly freelancing rate from $21 in 2020 to $28 in 2022.
Business News Daily, In Most Countries, Freelancers Earn More Than Average Workers
Choosing the path of a freelancer over 15 years ago was a scary decision, but it forever changed my life vector in the most profound of ways.
I resented the limitations and monotony of structured living – school, more school, a soul-numbing job – and complete lack of freedom and choice of people you are surrounded by, day in and day out.
It felt like a mind prison and I always rebelled against it, making up reasons why I needed to leave school and go home.
I didn’t enjoy discovering that most people were doomed to spend their days in roles they despise. Work towards someone else’s goals, build someone else’s wealth, and earn much less than their potential.
It’s what established education systems in most countries prepare people for, so the alternative way of making a living seems too frightening and demanding.
Freelancers, however, get to enjoy the flexibility to craft their ideal lifestyle and work remotely from anywhere in the world.
Sustainable freelance business allows artists to make a living by doing what they love, from the comfort of their home, choosing their clients and working hours.
This is the freedom that allows us, creatives, to live a more fulfilling happy life.
What’s not to desire?!
Today, markets offer all sorts of opportunities to freelancers, as they have been growing exponentially, especially since 2020.
Global Freelance Platforms Market size was valued at USD 4,942.31 million in 2023, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5% during the forecast period [2024-2032], and the market is projected to be worth USD 11,733.34 million by 2032. This report meticulously examines Market Sales, Revenue, Business Stake, and Future Growth Dynamics.
Data Analytics Gurus, Freelance Platforms Market Projections
Looking at the stats and projections, it is a no-brainer that if you are a creative, capable and thinking human being, you can seek a better way of living that suits your needs and desires best, and leave the traditional way of working behind.
Of course, though, the freelance path is not without its challenges and traps.
Understanding those obstacles before quitting a job you financially depend on will help you avoid unpleasant surprises.
The Key Freelance Challenge
Being self-employed sounds like a dream life: you’re in control of your time, you’re making your passion work for you, and you have plenty of room for creative freedom.
However, you still have to pay your bills every month, and sustaining your freelance work may feel like an uphill battle in the beginning.
The challenges are very different from those familiar to full-time or traditional employees.
Identifying and dissecting those challenges can help you create a more sustainable business right from the start.
Let’s begin with the major one.
Acquiring New Paid Projects
Your business depends on acquiring new clients and retaining current ones, and since more artists like you and I are joining this path now, it takes more effort to stand out from the growing crowd.
Getting your work in front of prospective clients’ eyeballs – so they can choose you – is an ongoing battle.
I always gravitated towards retaining clients I enjoyed working with rather than going after new ones.
When you aim to turn each new client into a regular, you focus more on truly understanding their desires, adjusting your workflow and schedule to their needs, and building trust.
It does not take long for it to begin paying off.
One of my first large beauty brand clients was Hourglass Cosmetics (before Unilever’s acquisition).
I shot and retouched the GIRL Lip Stylo campaign, and a few short months later they were back with a next project – CONFESSIONS Lipstick.
Some of the images from that photo shoot in 2016 are still licensed and used by the brand and its affiliates today – Confession™ Ultra Slim High Intensity Refillable Lipstick in Sephora – almost a decade later.
Around the same time, several other well-known brands – Urban Decay Cosmetics, Melt Cosmetics, Pat McGrath Labs, and others – became my regular clients.
That removed the need for me to chase new clients.
The beauty of this dynamic is that it gives you the privilege of focusing solely on the needs of a handful of clients, and delivering the best possible imagery within their timeline.
When your freelance work is sustainable, you can invest the rest of your time in experimenting and adding new creative work to your portfolio.
Delivering Exactly What Your Clients Value
Over the years, I’ve seen discussions between photographers and retouchers regarding the acceptable number of revisions they offer their clients. This is about the number of rounds of re-adjusting photos in post-production until the client is happy with the result.
That was never a question in my mind.
I will do as many reiterations and revisions as necessary because my goal is to ensure my client receives exactly what they need.
Relying on a solid retouching workflow that allows you to make quick and easy revisions is a given, of course.
Final rounds of revisions usually fall onto the last days of the post-production phase before the campaign launch, and you often have to get a lot of work done within a very short time.
If you are still developing your retouching skills and a professional approach to retouching, check out our in-depth Professional Beauty Retouching video course.
It will help you pinpoint and fix any bad habits you might have picked up from random tutorials, and prepare you for serious work with large, commercial clients.
Anyway, I don’t think any other approach makes sense and I always articulated it to my clients before I got hired.
Of course, some clients will want to take advantage of your willingness to be of service even if it is at your own expense.
I am fortunate those were rare for me. But when you do encounter them, there are only two ways to proceed:
One outcome: They will suck every last bit of your goodwill, time, and expertise and move on. Appreciate all the lessons you’ve learned and let them go with an easy heart – there are plenty of low-maintenance higher-paying clients.
A better outcome: You will push through the endless revisions, provide exactly what they wanted, and, quite possibly, turn them into a loyal client for a significant stretch of time.
What Do Clients Want?
Put yourself in their shoes for a moment.
- Brand personnel responsible for creating promotional materials are very busy people.
- They bear the heavy responsibility of conceptualizing and executing creative projects that yield measurable and significant financial results.
- They want to work with creative professionals who will make their job easier.
- They don’t want to constantly gamble on project outcomes and explain the nuances and unique requirements to new hired creatives over and over again.
If you get them once and deliver, they will want to hire you again because now YOU are the creator who knows exactly what they need.
You have already proven that you can successfully complete their projects and communicate effectively.
Every subsequent job you do together will be easier for both you and them.
This is how you gain loyal, long-term regular clients who stick with you for years, and build a sustainable freelance business and a financially secure future.
The Beauty of Repeat Client Work Dynamic
Your work life becomes a series of creative hangouts with the same like-minded people you enjoy.
- It feels like going back to visit old friends each month to execute their new fun ideas and help them make their creative visions come to life.
- Another cool bonus is that if you are a commercial photographer in the industry you are genuinely interested in, you get to see and use new products before anyone else outside the brand – that is fun!
- This familiarity with your clients’ teams and needs will also help stop the anxiety of going into a large production.
- With a new client, you don’t know what to expect and whether you will deliver the results that are up to their standards. It’s still nerve-wracking to me every single time.
- Another great benefit of this approach is that you save a lot of precious time, energy, and funds on your marketing efforts.
Between big paid projects with your regular clients, you can focus on adding new creative work to your portfolio.
Or expanding your freelance business in other ways. For example, adding new income streams, skill-stacking and developing new skills – we’ll talk about that later as well!
According to the Freelancer Map annual survey, over 61% of freelancers consider building a client base that offers consistent work is the biggest hurdle to overcome.
While you can follow the common recommendations on how to overcome this challenge, I believe that having an underlying strategy of building long-lasting, trusting relationships with each client that comes through your door will take care of the inconsistent flow in the long run.
Till next time!
Julia
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