Good times, bad times. Every so often on a global or national scale we experience what is described as a recession and having technically narrowly escaped one in the UK (with 0% growth in the last quarter), it would be wise to consider survival techniques if things do eventually go south. During a recession the economy shrinks, industrial and commercial output is reduced. The actual definition of recession is a reduction in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for two successive quarters and therefore, depending upon the nature of work and sector, you may see a reduction in the amount of work arriving on your doorstep. Businesses particularly susceptible to changes in GDP such as retail, tourism, leisure and hospitality will find these times more challenging and are likely to reduce costs where possible. This may include cutting budgets for advertising including web, video and print and a pausing or cancelling the development of new products and services.
Survival Techniques
There are several ways a freelance designer, video producer or photographer can improve their chances of weathering the storm.
Portfolio and Branding
When several clients cancelled projects in the week leading up to the first of several lockdowns during the 2020 – 2021 pandemic, I immediately took stock of my branding and portfolio to identify areas that needed improvement. The idea was to put the business in the best position possible coming out of the lockdown. During this process I undertook the following:
- Redesigned my logo to refresh and improve the design
- Identified portfolio items online that would benefit from improvement in terms of visual and written content
- Checked and improved the titles, tags, excerpts and other Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) data for all content to ensure that my business and project examples are optimised for organic search.
Time consumption: Moderate
Value to business: Increase professional appeal of the business
Personal Projects
Personal projects should be a feature of every day activity for creatives. Exploring a subject of choice should be fun, engaging and lead to the production of content for a portfolio, social media and client discussion. These projects help to expand skills and experience outside of the day-to-day business and may lead to new sources of business. Personal projects can include:
- A photographic collection using a different media format eg 3D, portraiture, macro, technical
- Writing a book on a subject of interest featuring creative visual content
- Writing, producing and publishing a song with artwork or music video
- Engage and collaborate with other designers on a project relevant to your professional interests eg Facebook Spaces
Time consumption: High
Value to business: New skills and additional content for portfolio
Updating Skills
There are a range of online tutorials designed to help improve creative and business skills. LinkedIn Learning (formerly lynda.com) is a rich source of detailed tutorials with project files available for download. There are free samples but the majority of the library is accessed with a subscription fee. Courses are generally high quality and worth the investment.
There are also a vast number of YouTube tutorials available for free (though the amount of begging for likes and ‘smashing subscribe buttons’ somewhat distracts from the whole experience) and it’s easy to keep up with the latest changes and improvements to Adobe software as content creators demonstrate new features.
Understanding the latest trends and design techniques is useful when assessing which skills to develop. Websites like Dribbble and Behance make useful reference points.
Time Consumption: Varies
Value to business: Improved competitive edge
Promotional Activities
A freelancer should constantly be identifying opportunities for income as part of their every day activity. However, there are times where the process requires more focus and nothing focuses the mind like the potential effects of a looming recession. Here are a few ideas for improving the chances of finding new clients or repeat business:
- Detailed search for local, regional and national companies and organisations that may be interested in your services on Google Maps or Bing Maps. Follow these leads with an email or phone call.
- Consider using Google Ads to target specific audiences such as businesses searching for a photographer, graphic designer, video producer or similar creative role.
- Make a promotional video for your business. See the Simcoemedia promotional video as an example.
- Ensure your business card and CV are up to date and available at all times. (There have been numerous occasions I ended up using pen and paper because I did not have my business cards with me!)
Time Consumption: Medium
Value to business: Increase chances of new business
