Self-employed and no work on the horizon

[Firefly2021]

I’ve never been so quiet (web/graphic designer) and I wondered if any other mumsnetters were in a similar field feeling the same (or doing really well)? I know I need to get out and market myself but my confidence has taken a massive knocking during lockdown / homeschooling. I know I need to pull my socks up but seriously lacking motivation (apart from financial obviously!)

Do a couple of freebie things for old employers generate a bit of positivity and it will come ba ck toyou and so build yer confidence.

No you shouldn’t have to work for free!

I’m sure there are lots of new businesses springing up due to the recent changes such as food businesses, deliveries, gifts etc

I would get onto some local Facebook pages and offer your services at £50 for a logo or something. You could have some stock food business logos ready to go and just change the colours to suit.

That way you get your name out there, and could potentially get some follow on work doing stationery, web design etc for them too.

Exactly the same situation here. Self employed Web/graphic designer for 10 years. Most of my clients are small businesses that have closed down or struggling. There is also big competition from places like Square Space. Thankfully we don't actually need my income to survive and I have a few clients that still giving me bits and pieces.

I've recently come to the decision to slowly close down. I just don't enjoy it anymore and don't want to compete with the rise of DIY website builders.

Don’t work for free! Are you signed up to all the creative websites as a supplier? Contacted publishers/magazines on the off-chance they have work? Got in touch with people you used to work with reminding them that you’re freelance now? All of those have worked for me in the past. Freelancing really can be feast and famine, I try to go with the flow but I totally get how demotivating it can feel when things are quiet. Best of luck with it!

What about marketplaces like fiverr?

Hopefully things will look up soon

I was in exactly your position OP, I’m not a designer but I’m freelance and work in publishing in a creative job.

I had six months’ work cancelled last year and it has very very slowly built up again and I’ll be full time for the next six months - to say I’m relieved is an understatement.

Are you on LinkedIn? Boring I know but I think the best way forward for freelance creatives now is recruitment agencies and they are all on LinkedIn. Google creative recruitment agencies and you’ll find some to approach.

I treated looking for work like a full time job, so spent days working on my cv, portfolio, website, LinkedIn profile. You can also use Instagram as tool to promote your work - anything to get noticed really.

I also applied for every job going whether I was over-qualified or not. I ended up with about 4 different CVs all slightly different depending on what the job I was applying for was eg, one was for print publishing, one for digital publishing etc. I have applied for about 30 jobs I reckon... 29 of them didn’t respond. One of them did, I had four interviews and I got the job. I still can’t believe it. It’s been really really tough and I am honestly waiting for this company to call me and tell me I haven’t got the job after all!

I also wouldn’t work for free but I would tell all my contacts that I was available, maybe send them an updated portfolio?

It’s really hard not to lose hope but you have to keep plugging away at it - you only need one person to say yes.

Previously there was a lot of work building small websites. But nowadays small businesses tend more to self build their websites using Squarespace, Wix or Wordpress. The companies who are paying for websites are bigger companies who want to invest thousands in a fully featured website, and they tend to go to bigger web agencies not self employed programmers. Design work and branding is where the money is at now. People often want a brand, logo and packaging etc done professionally, then they use that to self build their website. They also want apps built, because there isn’t an easy self build solution for that.

Thank you so much for all your replies, it's very appreciated - it helps me gain focus on what to do next. I totally agree that working for free is generally a bad idea, that said a couple of small free projects I did for friends did lead to paid website builds. So you definitely need to gauge your client on that one.

I think pre-corona work happened through word of mouth and legacy clients, so I didn't really put any effort into Linkedin etc. I have been concentrating on Instagram and my web portfolio but I will head back to Linkedin too. I'd say my big weakness is sales, I love talking creativity and ideas but promoting my skills directly to others is terrifying.

@Ariannah your point about a prepackaged branding deal is a very good one. I think unknowingly I've been doing this for years but it makes sense to spell it out to new customers. Make it simple and clear as I can imagine a lot of people don't know where to start. I must admit I avoid giving a generic price until I've heard the brief but I could definitely offer a consultation. Generally once the customer is through the door they do use me, so I must be doing something right tiny trumpet.

I may look at app development too - my coding in that area is rusty to say the least but it's not like I don't have time on my hands.

Thanks again everyone x