Most of the time when I talk with friends who have lost their jobs, they reveal they were laid off because of downsizing or restructuring. One friend kept saying to me, “I was so loyal to the company! I can’t believe they did this to me.”
However, when someone gets laid off, it’s not personal. The business needs to look out for the success of the business. It’s just about survival. If the company isn’t doing everything in its power to thrive, then everyone will be out of a job.
Layoffs remind us of one important fact: Your job is never 100% secure. Some things will always be outside of your control, even when you work hard year after year and deliver consistent value.
Work Bidding Sites Aren’t the Answer to Freelance Job Security, Either
There’s another story I hear quite often; the one that involves a full-time employee who wants to become a freelancer, but is worried about (or even afraid of) cold pitching clients. I completely understand this block. Most people are wary of pitching…until they actually do it and realize how easy it is.
One person told me she was going to build her business using job bidding sites. I advised against it (for the reasons I discuss here) but it’s her career and it’s up to her whether she explores that path.
Within a few months, I received another email from her. She told me I’d been right—the job board life was frustrating. She was always waiting for jobs to be uploaded, slashing her rates, and competing against dozens of people for every single client. And she was constantly stressed and her income was precarious.
These two options—working on-staff or getting work through job boards—often seem more secure. They feel safer.
Take Control of How You Earn Your Money
The truth lies in a different path: Take control of how you earn your money and you’ll find real job security.
I’m definitely not against full-time employment! I’ve traveled that road, and many on-staff jobs are completely satisfying. It’s just that no job is ever truly secure. Even while you choose to work as an employee, keep prospecting. You’ll ensure have freedom, regardless of what life throws your way. With the skills you have, you know you can always find clients—and income—if your job falls through. That’s true security.
With prospecting, you choose how and when to pitch, which clients to take on, how many clients to work with, and when to upsell them for more work.
You don’t have to count on one company for financial security. You also don’t have to compete with untold numbers of freelancers trying to woo a single potential client. You’re in control.
Put a Pitching System in Place
Prospecting is easy when you have a solid, working system in place! Once you master the system (which we teach in Freelance Success Framework), you just build the habit. Rinse, repeat, earn.
You always have a choice. Will you choose a false security…or a real one?
Your turn! What are your tactics for building freelance job security?
Last Updated on July 1, 2023.
