How Freelancers Can Maximize the Holiday Season

by Rico on November 12th, 2007

As a freelancer, I’ve noticed that the number of available jobs rises significantly just before the holiday season. This momentum sustains itself up until it’s near Christmas (or its cultural equivalent), then disappears as people go on their holiday vacation.

The reasons behind this trend are obvious. As the demand for consumer or goods or products increase, clients and companies see that as a chance to attract more transactions for their offerings. The need for marketing collaterals and operations rises. As the actual holidays pass, as people stay away from the office to enjoy the time off, there’s virtually no chance to get any projects.

Maximizing the Holiday Boom

Even if a company has their own in-house staff, their workload may be so great that they’ll find themselves outsourcing some of the work to freelancers and contract workers. Taking full advantage of this yearly boom requires three things: the right contacts, the ability to prove that you’re capable of what their asking, and a great portfolio of holiday-themed projects.

With the entire year spent marketing your skills and accomplishing projects, you should have been able to build a significant client list come October or November. In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with calling up these people, and asking them if you could be of help during the holiday season.

The great holiday portfolio and salesmanship needed to win those holiday contracts go hand-in-hand. No matter how much silver is on your tongue, it’s still actual examples that seal the deal. If you have nothing to offer, take the time to create works that will appeal to potential clients.

Surviving the Post-Holiday Bust

A reason why you should maximize the holiday boom is to give yourself some financial breathing room as the holidays pass. This is especially important if you make a living from freelancing exclusively. As the number of projects drops to literally zero during the holiday vacation, you’ll be glad you saved some money over the entire year, or made an effort to win and accomplish projects on the eve of the holiday season.

At the very least, with no projects or empty pockets to worry about, you’ll get to enjoy the holidays even more. If you do a particularly great job achieving your holiday-related projects, it’s also quite possible that clients will want you around for next year; you may earn yourself a stability-providing retainership.

In short, the holidays could really be a season to be jolly for freelancers, so long as a the patience and willingness to market more actively are there.

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