Reasons to Launch Your Freelance Business in a Recession

“The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate apparently ordinary people to unusual effort. The tough problem is not in identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people.”
– K. Patricia Cross, scholar of educational research

In Issue #178

Monica’s Note: I met Ed Gandia a few years back when he was just getting his feet wet – and I remember thinking he was a diamond in the rough. He had an unbeatable combination for a freelance copywriter: solid writing skills, good business sense, easy to work with, and highly motivated. Turns out I was right. He hit the six-figure mark in no time in his freelance business. Along the way, he became an expert in this business of going freelance. In today’s guest essay, Ed addresses one of the top concerns on the mind of anyone starting off a freelance practice: the economy. Here’s why you don’t need to worry about taking the leap. In fact, you should do it sooner rather than later. Check it out…

5 Good Reasons To Launch Your Freelance Business in a Recession
by Ed Gandia

OK, let’s address the elephant in the room…

Considering the state of the economy in the U.S. and Europe, is this really a good time to launch a freelance business?

It’s a legitimate question. Many of you are either well on your way to going solo or are seriously considering the idea. When you’re in that position, even 5 minutes of CNN, Fox

News or CNBC is enough to talk anyone out of self-employment.

My advice: Don’t let the news discourage you. In fact, in many ways, the timing couldn’t be better for starting a transition plan or launching your freelance business. Here are just 5 good reasons why.

  1. Consider the media’s motives. The top objective of a newspaper is to sell more newspapers. For news channels, it’s about improving their ratings so they can sell more ad time and increase their advertising rates.

    Guess what type of news sells best? Bad news. Negativity is king. Always has been. So the media is having a field day with this “recession” talk, even though we’re not technically in a recession in the U.S.

    Hey, I’m not saying that all is rosy on the economic front. I also don’t think the media is evil. I’m merely pointing out that when in doubt, think about what’s really driving the messenger.

  2. Your success has more to do with YOU than with the economy. Don’t wait for the stars to align before you take steps toward building a freelance career. If you’ve decided
    that this is what you want, draft a transition plan and start taking action today!

    Thousands have launched successful businesses in tough economic times. If you wait until things turn around, there will be other obstacles in your way. So why not get going now?

    The late Earl Nightingale used to say that “luck” happens when preparation meets opportunity. So start preparing today. You want to be ready when the right opportunity comes along.

  3. Opportunities are greater in a tough economy.

    Layoffs and hiring freezes force companies to use more freelance help. Why? Because most of the work still needs to be done, but there are now fewer people to get it done internally.

    It’s shocking how much businesses will spend on freelance labor while instituting a strict freeze on new hires. It has become so expensive and burdensome to hire an employee
    that many businesses would rather outsource much of their copy.

  4. Many companies are struggling to fill openings.

    You might be surprised to hear that even in this economy, many companies are having a difficult time filling job openings.
    That’s especially true in the areas where freelance copywriters can help the most.

    In fact, a recent survey of marketers conducted by Bernhart Associates Executive Search found that nearly three-quarters of respondents are having some degree of difficulty filling openings, especially in the more specialized lower- to mid-level positions, which include copywriters.

  5. You need only a sliver of the market.

    To keep our garden well irrigated this summer, I’m thinking about buying a 55-gallon water barrel that collects rainwater from our roof.

    As I researched different options, I found an interesting statistic: Just half an inch of rainwater on an average 1,000-square-foot roof will yield more than 300 gallons of
    water! Since one barrel will be more than enough for our needs, this means that even the lightest rain will fill up our barrel many times over.

    It’s the same when you’re a freelancer. To make a very comfortable living, you need only a sliver of the market to have more work than you can handle. And even in a down
    economy, there’s more work out there than you’ll ever have time to pursue. You just need a way to continually capture what you need.

So is this a good time to get started? It’s as good a time as any. Take that first step and watch your momentum grow. It won’t be easy.

But if you keep at it, before you know it, your own “barrel” will be overflowing with work.

Resource Referral: The Book We Thought We’d Write But Didn’t

Krista and I have been talking about this economy issue quite a bit. We thought we’d maybe write a special report about it. In comes Ed with this article.

Then, we were thinking about writing an ebook designed for those readers looking to make the leap from 9-5 to freedom. Ed beat us to it again! When we were at the AWAI Writer’s Retreat in Virginia, we heard about Ed’s new ebook called Stop Wishing and Start Earning: A Low-Risk Plan to Escape 9–5 and Launch a Profitable Copywriting Business – rave reviews all of them.

Bob Bly says, “Ed Gandia’s new e-book is a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature on how to succeed as a freelance writer, with many original ideas and suggestions not found in other guides on this subject. It is well worth your time to buy and read this book, which you will want to keep handy throughout your copywriting career for reference when you need answers to tricky business problems.”

And Steve Slaunwhite had this to say: “In my opinion, Stop Wishing and Start Earning contains the best roadmap for "making the leap" into freelance copywriting ever written. That’s because it does something that no other guide to this business has done. It gives you a specific step-by-step action plan to making the transition from wherever you are now — a full-time employee, a busy mom, a retiree, a recent graduate, a mid-life career changer — to where you want to be: a successful freelance copywriter. I wish I had a book like this in my hands when I started as a copywriter fifteen years ago. I would have been a lot more successful a lot sooner!”

We agree – and think you will too. Check it out for yourself: http://www.webmarketingmagic.com/app/?af=795794

Attention Dear Readers: Call for Submissions

It’s hard to believe that we are 177 issues – and two years now – into writing The Copy Protégé! We’ve found that this weekly excuse to reflect on our lessons, challenges, and successes has taught probably as much if not more than we have passed on to our readers. So now, we’d like to pass the baton – a little bit of it at least – to you.

We’d like to invite you to share your lessons with us just like we have shared ours with you. Every week we will highlight a guest essay in one of our issues, and then the other will still contain an original essay from Krista or myself.

What we’ve learned over the least two years is that we are not only all students, but we are also all teachers. This is exactly what Ed Gandia did – he took notes along the way to success, and then turned them into an ebook to share with you. Now, it’s your turn. Tell us what you know. Send your submissions to admin@copyprotege.com. (Sorry, there is no pay available upon publication, but lots of glory, and a link to your website and/or your email address! So start writing!)