Has Recession Been Good For Your Writing Business?
Has recession put the squeeze on your freelancing business?
Late last year I wrote about Recession and the Freelance Writer. At the time, I shared my initial thoughts on how economic recession might affect freelance writers. Many of you also contributed your ideas on emerging trends. So, six months on, has it turned out as I expected?
Getting The Work In
To kick things off, here’s how I think recession has affected my writing business. As it happened, I was lucky, landing a couple of new contracts just before companies started to feel the pinch. Those cushioned me from the worst effects and I have seen very little fall off in business from my better clients.
Outsourcing
Where it has made a difference is to outsourcing. I used to have a lot of work to outsource. Now I have very little, as I find that most of the time I can comfortably handle the work that comes in. I still outsource a little, but only to a couple of people who produce excellent and reliable work.
Getting Paid To Write
There’s also a difference in getting paid for my writing. Some clients pay up as promptly as ever, while there are two whom I have to chase every month. This is obviously their way of managing cash flow, and since they never get too far behind, I am not worrying too much about it. Overall, I would say that recession has not harmed my writing business, but now, more than ever, it pays to be vigilant about cash flow.
Your Turn
What about you? Is business booming, shrinking or somewhere in between? What are you doing differently to keep yourself afloat? I’d love it if you would share your experiences with us.
You might also enjoy:
- Recession And The Freelance Writer
- Freelance Writing Questions: Creating A Writing Business
- Lessons Learned From Getting Stiffed On Writing Jobs
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16 Responses to “Has Recession Been Good For Your Writing Business?”
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Get Paid To Write Online by Sharon Hurley Hall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Copyright for posts written by guest authors remains with them.Useful info
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Hi Sharon,
I was initially worried about the recession and bad economies that is affecting everybody worldwide.
My income were dropping steadily since December 08, however this month my total income have reach the highest level ever since I started making money online.
However, I did work very hard ever since the drop back in December
Roseli A. Bakar´s last blog post..Money-Making Niche Blogging
Hi Sharon,
Mixed. Some months better. Some months worse. Will know when it’s over and add up the balance sheet.
Karenne Sylvester´s last blog post..In the age of Twitter and Facebook, what’s happening to English vocabulary?
Diversifying is the answer Sharon !!
Roseli A. Bakar´s last blog post..How To Earn Money Online as a Freelance Writer
I’m outsourcing much less too. I’ve definitely felt the pinch with formerly busy clients. In the last few weeks I’ve taken time to get marketing myself again and that has helped me rebound a bit so I now have a clear answer of avoiding the pain of the recession and that’s advice I’ve dished out previously which is “Avoid complacency!”
Dana – The Writer’s Blog´s last blog post..Favourite Writer Blogs – GetPaidToWriteOnline
I’ve felt the effects — some positive, and a lot more negative. I’ve decided to change the way that I market myself.
Great post!
I’ve wondered the same thing.
I lost a few of my smaller, lower paying clients last year before the recession was really official. One client that was slow paying has become extremely slow paying. I’m also not seeing as many new clients. However, three clients are requesting even more of my services than last year – so that has cushioned me.
Good plan, Yolanda.
That’s one of the reasons why it’s great to have a balance, Laura.
I wouldn’t say it’s been good, but it’s made no difference in my earnings at all!
Katherine´s last blog post..Thoughts on Living a Simpler Life
Haven’t really started seeing a profit from my 1st year (june 4th) of starting freelanze writing biz…have however made great connections, community of folks and landed a couple of swell interviews for clara54…
Next year will be the deal breaker:)
Sounds like a good start, Clara. Good luck on your second year of freelancing.
I agree that marketing and promotion are key. For me, I think I have seen a slight decline, but not as much as I was expecting.
Melissa´s last blog ..May Madness, Only $9.95 to Start Your Own Business
Glad to hear you have seen a recovery, Roseli. It seems that diversifying is one possible answer.
Couldn’t have said it better, Dana. Marketing and promotion are two of the keys to surviving lean times.
Stable is good, Katherine, compared to the alternative.