Why Freelancing is "Feast or Famine"

Have you ever been head-down on a project so deep that time passes without you even noticing? You hit save on your file, put your pencil down, look up, and it feels like pulling your head out of water?

How about this scenario? You finish an epic creative sesh and realize that you’ve missed a meeting, 20 DMs, and almost the entire business day. You also forgot that important pitch, quote, or follow-up email you were supposed to send.

And why does the thought of switching to that type of thinking feel like downshifting from top gear all the way to reverse?

There's actual science behind why this gear-shifting feels so jarring. When you're head-down on creative work, you're operating in what researchers call focused thinking mode - an intense, task-oriented brain state that engages your prefrontal cortex and shuts down pretty much everything else.

The networking, relationship-building, opportunity-spotting part of your brain needs "diffuse thinking" - a completely different brain mode where your mind wanders and makes unexpected connections.

Now take this phenomenon and stretch it out for a few days - heck, maybe even a few weeks of absolutely crushing the best project of your career. Send your final invoice. Look for your next opportunity and…

Shit. You’ve got nothing booked.

Now you understand why people at parties say “Oh ho! A freelancer? Feast or famine, huh?”

And you did it to yourself.

Biz Dev Is Life

So at what point during the project should you have stopped and started sending out cold calls?

Well, I don't know what you do, but I can tell you there likely isn't a natural stopping point mid-project. You need to build constant business development into your routine.

Enter: Biz Dev Mondays.

Every Monday morning, before I open any project files, before I check on project progress, before I even think about client work, I have a bowl of high-fibre bran cereal and spend the morning in pure diffuse thinking mode.

I review my CRM (see link below in Further Reading on how to make your own), send my check-ins and follow-ups, creep LinkedIn for opportunities, and reach out to contacts.

Monday mornings are perfect for this because your brain is fresh and hasn't locked into focused creative mode yet.

The key is treating this like an unmovable appointment. Even when I'm swamped with client work - actually especially when I'm swamped - Biz Dev Mondays are sacred. Because I know that in a few weeks when I resurface from whatever salt mine I'm about to dive into, I'll thank myself for having kept the pipeline warm.

Further Reading

I recently wrote about how to keep things moving with leads and clients and how to build yourself a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. CRM sounds complicated but it’s basically post-it reminders on a board. Check out The Unnatural Way To Keep Things Natural With Clients to see the system I’ve used for years.

Parting Thought

Last week we talked about how doing work for free can lead you to treat a project with less attention and commitment. The inverse of that is thinking your lack of organization is a reason to charge less. What we’ve read this week can put you in a position where you’re desperate to land your next gig so you naturally lowball yourself. The conclusion is clear. The more organized you are, the more you can charge. 

I’ll be diving deeper into this in the coming weeks with some more tools and processes to help you pump those numbers. You’re worth it. You forgot to email me. But I like you.