There is no question this has been a tough year for us all. The pandemic. The riots. The unrest. The economic uncertainty. The losses. There have been so many pressures and demands with little relief in sight.
These trials have been enough to see one in four businesses close their doors. According to Fortune Magazine, more than 100,000 businesses have closed permanently due to Covid. More will follow.
The future is uncertain at best.
While we are all happy to turn the calendar on 2020, there is no guarantee 2021 will be better, at least initially.
So what do we do?
There is no ready answer to that question. No magic solution to failing economic times. No magic potion to rid the planet of this pandemic (though the vaccines will help). Recovery will take time and perseverance, dedication and creativity. But we can do it. We can survive.
Here are a few steps we can take to make things better:
Plan. The only way out of this is to make a strategic plan for bringing business back. It’s not going to be easy. When Covid hit, I lost all of my major contracts. They were put on hold, postponed, or cancelled. Wishing didn’t bring them back. But planning helped bridge the gap. I had to let my 2020 plan go since it had fallen apart and disappeared. There was nothing to do but create a new plan for finding new work and keeping my business going.
Marketing. You may not be able to make it with your existing clients. This is the time to expand your reach and find new clients and opportunities. Figure out what type of work you want and target your marketing to those types of jobs.
Find other revenue streams. No matter what kind of writer you are, there are always other ways to use your writing skills to make a living. Broaden your scope and see if there are opportunities that might keep your freelance business afloat while you are recovering.
Be creative. It might take some vision to find new ways to make money these days. Think outside of your normal types of project. Are there any other skills you can add to your offering? Is there any other way to use your writing skills that would be challenging and rewarding for you?
Have hope. This will end. Life will get back to some semblance of normal. Don’t give up. Keep trying and the work will come back again.
Write. When in doubt, write. Write your frustrations, your wishes, your dreams, your hopes. Keep writing and it will get better.
I wish all of you the best in 2021. May you find rewarding work and find only the right words for your writing.