What To Do When Business Is Slow

It happens to every freelancer: work is slow, or even "dries up" for a while. This happens to almost every freelancer, especially those who have not been in the business for long. Ed Gandia, whose book "The Wealthy Freelancer" I am re-reading, writes that it took him about 27 months to really get going as a freelancer (by "get going", he means: making very solid money).

So what to do when things slow down ? (By the way, these are not just my ideas, but I have culled ideas on this from a number of freelancers). First of all, let's discuss what not to do:

What not to do when work is slow:

• Panic and get into ruminations like, "I will never work again". 
• Adjust your price downward to get more work
• Leave the profession and take a job at Starbucks

What to do when work is slow: 

• Call up an old client and just ask them how things are going
• Learn a new skill (I am learning to program software right now)
• Read books on subjects that are of use to your freelance business (I would suggest: "The Wealthy Freelancer", "The Prosperous Translator")
• Attend a conference
• Take a short trip
• Go to a trade fair and talk directly with company representatives in your subject matter area
• Go to the local chamber of commerce or international chamber of commerce and market your services and/or attend events
• Take up membership in a national or regional translators' association
• Take a course or go online (I-Tunes University or the MIT online courses) and learn a new subject matter, or deepen your knowledge in a subject matter that you use in translation
• Read an ebook or two about writing skills in your native language, or take a course on writing in your native language

The temptation would be to "panic" and go to one of the "translation dumping portals", as one translator referred to them, and try to compete at 3rd-world rates for translation projects. But - unless you are in a very critical cash flow situation - wouldn't it be better to use your time to learn a skill that you can use to command higher earnings, than to try to compete in the "race to the bottom" ?

For a more full discussion of this, please see Alex Eames's essay: How to Kill Your Translation Business, on how charging low rates and thus working long hours is the best way to destroy your business. 

The problem with adjusting your price down is that when the work starts to flow in again (and it will), you will be stuck with "nickel and dime"-type clients who are fixated on low price because they never learned about value pricing, rather than clients who are fun to work with and who pay well. 

There is a reason, mentions Gandia and the authors of "The Wealthy Freelancer", why restaurants put their menu prices outside for all to see: it deters "cheap" customers who don't want to pay for the quality. As one Indian translator put it, "your price is your signature". In other words, if you have a low price, you are signaling, "I am McDonalds". If you have a higher price, your "signature" is something different. (Note that there is nothing wrong with being Wal-Mart or McDonalds, as long as it is a conscious decision on your part. Your price should be the one that maximizes income, which is not the same as the highest price. But the decision should be a conscious one, not a panicked decision). 

If you think of your time in terms of opportunity cost (what could I be doing, instead of this), then lower prices might make sense, but they also might not make sense, particularly if the lower price saddles you with clients who pay low and are a hassle in future. 

... when you could be learning new skills, taking courses to improve your writing, or gaining new, high-paying direct clients who are fun to deal with.