When it comes to freelance work, there are far more positives than negatives. From flexible schedules and working out of a home office to skipping long commutes and finding a way to earn money doing something you truly enjoy, freelancing can be a wonderful and satisfying experience.
As for disadvantages, one issue that can crop up from time to time is being too specialized and figuratively putting all of your freelancing eggs in one basket. For instance, if you are a freelance writer who works primarily for small local community papers, if one or more of them suddenly folds, you could be scrambling for new assignments to keep the income coming in.
In order to help prevent this from happening, it is important to diversify your portfolio and find additional work opportunities. Here’s how:
Launch Your Own Side Business
A great way to diversify your freelance work is to start your own side business working for an established company. For instance, Amway is the world’s No. 1 direct selling business. Started in 1959, the company has been offering go-getters like yourself the chance to learn how to sell high-quality products for decades. Amway also provides its independent business owners with plenty of tools and resources to get going, and you can work for them as much or as little as you wish—all on your own time. You can continue to focus on your main “bread and butter” freelance gigs, but when the assignments and clients start to ebb a bit, you can have a solid secondary source of work and income.
Sell Homemade Items or Collectibles
Another effective way to branch out as a freelancer is to launch your own online store. You can set up shop in an established marketplace like eBay or Etsy and sell either collectible toys and books or beautiful homemade crafted items, or if you wish you can use a user-friendly platform like Shopify to come up with your own customized domain name and online store. If you enjoy shopping at estate sales and have a keen eye for highly desirable items that you can resell at a profit, or if you genuinely love sewing, painting, woodworking or other skills you can translate into a business, these options could be quite lucrative for you.
Diversify Your Existing Skills
Going back to the aforementioned freelance writer, you can diversify your work by looking for other opportunities to write. If you focus on community papers, reach out to some local magazines to see if they are looking for freelancers, or consider starting your own blog. People who work in certain industries may also be in the market for your skills; for instance, realtors may need assistance with video scripts about neighborhoods, and naturopathic physicians who have created their own supplement formulas could probably use a talented freelance writer like you to compose some pamphlets and articles. The same broadening approach can be used for other types of freelancers—for instance, if you sew and sell children’s clothing from your home studio, you could consider offering tailoring and alteration services and/or custom-made quilts.
Become a Tutor
You don’t have to be a total expert at a subject in order to help others—all that you need is a good solid skill set and the desire to teach. If you have an online community website in your area like Nextdoor, join it and announce that you are willing, ready and able to tutor elementary and middle school kids in math or reading. If you are fluent in a second language you could also tutor high school students who are struggling in Spanish or French, or you could help adults who recently moved to your area from another country to learn English.
Opportunities Are Out There
The last thing you want is for your beloved freelance career to come to a screeching halt due to a client no longer needing your services. By adding some side hustles to your existing work, you can build your freelance portfolio, diversify your talents, add to your current list of amazing skills and continue on as a successful and satisfied freelancer.