5 Good Reasons to Start a Freelance Business in a Weak Economy

I'm often asked when is the best time to start a freelance business. Most surmise when the economy is strong. In truth, the best time to start a freelance business is when you feel ready. However, starting when the economy is weak offers several advantages.

1. Controlled Growth: As evidenced by the dot-com implosion, speedy growth does not ensure prolonged success. Remember Aesop's tale of the tortoise and the hare? The moral of that story was slow and steady wins the race.

It is unlikely that your freelance career will take off in a down economy. As long as you have done your market research, have a good idea and are financially prepared for long-term, slow growth, this can be the best thing for your career.

In the beginning, this will allow you to properly organize and fine tune your order processing system, return policies, marketing strategies, vendor relationships, etc.

No matter how much you have talked about and visualized how things will be handled, there is always tweaking to be done once you actually start taking on customers. The policies formalized during the start-up phase can save untold time, money and frustration later on.

One of the best pieces of business advice I ever received is to organize as if you are servicing 1,000 clients, instead of 1. After all, the procedures are the same. This way, when orders start to really roll in, you will be ahead of the game.

Important Note: If you are starting in a recessed economy, pay careful attention to sales projections. Make sure you are reaching sales goals, however modest. Otherwise, you may be closed before the economy picks up.

2. Recover from Mistakes: Freelancing is one of the hardest things you will ever do. In the beginning, you are going to make mistakes. It's not a matter of if, but when. Everybody does.

A slow economy allows you time to recover and get your bearings. Instead of moving on without examining how or why an error occurred, you can really delve into a problem, note broken procedures and implement plans to permanently rectify the situation.