My Offbeat Journey: The Importance of Diversifying your Income as a Freelancer
Hey everyone,
Welcome to another episode of My Offbeat Journey where I share the realities of being a location independent entrepreneur and freelancer.
Today we will be talking about diversifying your income when you are a freelancer and how important it is to do that, especially when you are just starting out.
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If you know my story, you know that before I left my job, I paid off all of my debt, saved money from my day job and also made it a goal to create income from my business before I left.
I wanted to be prepared, but honestly, you can do all the preparation you want, there will always be something that will come up.
So, I made my list, created a deadline and when I checked all of them off I gave my notice and left.
I began to work less and less in my day job, so it was not something that was sudden. I was already getting clients. But again nothing really prepares you for the actual lifestyle.
When I first started, I had no clue like many of you and just asked a lot of questions and started working on projects that interested me. Some stuck and some didn’t.
I began to realize that in order to make this lifestyle sustainable I knew I had to create different streams of income in order to be less stressed, but I also didn’t want to do work that I hated, because otherwise, why leave the day job am I right?
So, I created packages for my business, instead of offering one service I offered 5-6. I also began writing articles for publications that had something to do with my niche. Not only did I create income from this, but it also gave me more credibility in my industry.
Every collaborations and work I took, was strategized so that it still went along with my long term plan, and I was going to gain something more than just money from it.
So if you are looking at your current situation right now, think about what other ways can you monetize and provide more services that your clients will need. Instead of just writing, can you also offer photography services, can you offer social media marketing, can you offer consultations and so forth.
The more out of the box you are the better. But always remember to do work that aligns with your overall goals. Because like I mentioned, why leave your day job when you are going back to doing jobs that you hate again.
So here are a few tips to creating more diversified income:
Look for client work.
One of the main income you will probably have in the beginning is client work. If you are mostly working with one main client, make sure you are getting more. You do not want to take the risk of losing that single client and being strapped for cash because it was your only source.
Freelance writing/blogging.
Freelance writing is one of the most popular ways to create income. It can be hard to get good-paying jobs in the beginning, but if you get enough experience you can start gaining more authority and more pay.
Sell digital products.
Selling digital products is one of my favorite ways of creating an income because you do not need to keep inventory and it will not cost you a lot of money to create these products. You can also create passive income with digital products.
Consulting Services.
If you are an expert in a subject, it can be a great way to create another stream of income. You will be sharing your knowledge and get paid for it.
Look at what other ways you can provide services in your current market.
Often times you do not need to go far in order to find the services that you can offer your clients. Think about what you are currently doing for yourself that you can also offer to do for your clients. Do you edit video, audio, and photographs, do you create marketing strategies for your brand and so much more.
These are just a few ways to diversify your income, I’m sure if you look hard enough you will find other ways to do it in your business.
I hope these tips work. Let me know how you are able to diversify your income as a freelancer or if you need help let me know too!
I always love to help.
I will catch you guys on the next my offbeat life episode! Talk soon.