How do you balance the time and effort put into your freelance proposals, as time could be wasted if you don't win?

Being a freelancer just means that you are a “solo” worker. It doesn’t mean anything else (despite all the buzzwords you may find today in media).

So, bottom line: you need just 1 full-time project to make your living as a freelancer.

I’d address these possible scenarios:

• You have no projects at all
• You are struggling to full fill your working day with projects.
• You have full-time projects

You have no projects at all

A no brainer situation. You have to spend all of your days searching for leads and job opportunities. This means: from Sunday to Saturday, no rest.

You are struggling to full fill your working day with projects

Here’s the hardest part. You must prioritize your current ongoing projects.

It’s a well-known fact that it’s cheaper (in effort) to make a buck from an existing client rather from a new one.

In this scenario is where all most freelancers hit a blocking wall, they simply get exhausted and frustrated and just fail and give up.

The balance here is this way:

• All the time you need to deliver the project’s goals and keep your client happy.
• Search for new leads and project opportunities. Again, from Sunday to Saturday. No rest.

You have full-time projects

Finally, you made it! you can rest now (but not too much).

Even having full-time projects, it’s suggested to keep searching for new leads and job opportunities, just in case one of your ongoing projects vanishes just like that.

You never know when a project ends, so you better be prepared.

Wrapping Up

It’s more likely to lose proposals rather than winning them, so don’t consider “proposing” as a “waste of time”.

Enjoy and carefully appreciate all of your wins.

Here you have some blogs I’ve written about my freelancing experiences.

How to be a successful freelancer in any career

How to manage failure as a freelancer

How to build a positive reputation as a freelancer

#5 Important Soft Skills Freelancers Need To Develop

Feel free to ask me in the comments sections if you need further information.

Regards,

Daniel