If rumours are to be believed, we are well and truly living in the gig economy. For those who are more traditional, this is sometimes referred to as freelancing. In some ways, it comes as no surprise. You are your own boss. It also means that you can live wherever you desire. This is why the term “nomad” has become so commonly used and as the title of today’s post might have given away, we are now going to look at how to freelance in big cities. Let’s take a look at some of the top tips to help you along your way.
Tip #1 – Get out of your own four walls
Remember we spoke about the elusive freedom that freelancers have? Well, remember that there are limits with this point. For the first couple of weeks, working from your own bed sounds the dream. After all, it’s what you’ve always wanted on those cold, tiring mornings while you’ve been stuck in the 9-5 rat race, right?
After a while, you’ll soon find a desire to escape through. Let’s not forget that you are now working by yourself, and this can be lonely. It means that you should try and work in public wherever possible. In London, somewhere like Covent Garden cafes are perfect – they bring in all sorts of people and just make the freelancing role a little less lonely.
Tip #2 – Find likeminded individuals
Similarly to above, you don’t have to do this alone. As well as getting out to local cafes, try and find community groups where other freelancers hang out. Some cities will run regular meetups for these professionals, where you can share advice about obtaining new clients, or just adapting to this form of work. Again, this social help should not be understated.
Tip #3 – The big city isn’t going to work for you
Here’s the scene; you’ve moved to a city like London, so you think that the clients will automatically flood in. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work like this. On the contrary, you will have just as much difficulty obtaining new clients this way as you would if you resided in a small village.
Of course, all this changes if you become proactive. You still need to send the letters, emails and portfolios to prospective companies and individuals, all in the name of trying to secure new business. The city won’t do all of the work for you, but it will be an advantage if you put the hours in.
Tip #4 – Don’t just focus locally
Following on from the above, just because you now live in a big city doesn’t mean to say that you should only target this area. Instead, take advantage of the infrastructure. You’ll have international airports nearby which can fly all over the world, while the same can be said for domestic travel systems.
Like a lot of the advice we have honed in on, you don’t have to stay in a London bubble or your city of choice, you can use your city links to indirect advantages and ultimately become more successful.
