Freelancers may have more control of their time, but they’re subject to irregular income unlike employees. This is often referred to as the “feast” and “famine” cycle.

Feast refers to the time when you’re enjoying lots of job offers from clients, while famine is when there’s few projects on your plate, or worse, none at all.

Lean months for freelancers is a reality – projects end, clients leave, jobs don’t get renewed. And it’s important to know how you can survive this period if you want to be a successful freelancer.

Here are some few tips to get you through the drought.

Always plan for the future.
The most common reason why freelancers experience a slump is because of holidays where clients are understandably with their families or in vacation. Take note of the months with the highest demand and be prepared to ensure you have enough offers to get you through the seasonal drought.

Make use of cash flow forecasts just to give you an overview of the last three months, which will give a realistic perspective in your money situation. Save any extra cash you have that you don’t need spending and make it act as a buffer when the situation arises.

Create a contingency plan.
If you often run out of money for your expenses, then learn cash flow management. Control your spending when income is good, so you’ll have enough when projects decline.

Moreover, as a contingency plan, you can also take part-time jobs, or do fast-cycle projects to fill your time. 199Jobs is one of the places you can use to fill the income gap.

Keep an eye in your invoices.
A productive thing to do while wading through the sluggish flow of work is to manage your unpaid invoices. Rather than waiting to finish your completed job offers, make use of the free time for checking in on unpaid invoices.

Reach out to past clients.
We all know that maintaining good relationships with existing clients can benefit both parties. It is not out of the question to contact inactive as well as prospective clients!

Don’t be shy to message your old clients and remind them that you are available for work. After all, you are a freelancer and taking any offer is an opportunity for further growth.

If there are holidays, put some heart into your message, greet them with the appropriate holiday and remind them that you are open for any offers so as to reduce their workload while they relax.

Don’t be discouraged if your old clients have not kept in touch with you for almost a year or more. Reaching out to them by responding with a quick email or call every now and then just to get an update from them can renew your relationship with them and the likelihood of a new job increases.

Make use of the time for a break.
Everyone needs a rest every once in a while, especially freelancers who have been consistently completing one job after another. Taking a break can reduce the likelihood of a burn-out as well, something that happens when you put too much of your heart into work.

It is better to relax alongside with your clients, than to put pressure that you are not able to do anything productive with your time. Freelancers deserve a rest too, and having a break will always benefit you because you are able to ease and relax your mind, all the while refreshing your brain to work better in your future job offers.

This article is written by gio_s199. Order an article from him.