8 Ways to Thrive During a Recession

3 min. read
October 4, 2024

When I got laid off during the Great Recession, I had a whopping 6 months of experience, a pile of credit card debt (thanks, grad school!), and $486 in my checking account.

Let me share 8 things that helped me, a brand-new freelancer, replace my 9-to-5 salary in less than 12 months in a “bad” economy.

8 ways freelancers can thrive during a recession

1. Get out there and make moves.

Take a tiny risk each day:

  • Email a dream client and say you’d love to work with them.
  • Ask a past client, boss, or coworker for an introduction—or three.
  • Message a creator, artist, or other creative professional you admire and tell them what their work has meant to you.

Your fight-or-flight mechanism will try to keep you safe by telling you to play it safe and not “bug” anyone. You can’t afford to listen to it, and if I’ve learned anything over the last 15 years of entrepreneurship, it’s that “safe” is relative. My boss told me I was “indispensable” the same day he laid me off!

So set a daily quota of 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery and do something that twists your guts into a knot because you’re actually using those guts.

2. Double down on marketing.

Uncertainty calls for more imagination in your marketing, not less.

Take a play from James Altucher’s book and write down 10 crazy ideas every Monday. Keep your imagination in good repair, and use selective attention to your advantage.

Opportunities are always there. You just have to notice them. You won’t notice as many if you’re moving too fast or if anxiety has your mind spinning like a merry-go-round. You must create space for ideas and opportunities to find you.

Think of it as a “fake commute.”

3. Copy the people getting the results you want.

I know, I know, this is SO obvious.

But how often do you read strategically to get new marketing ideas? How often do you cruise your local internet and notice—there’s that word again—the clever strategies and tactics other solopreneurs are using?

The internet is populated with amazingly generous freelancers and consultants sharing exactly what’s working for them right now.

Find them. Copy them. Thank them. Befriend them.

4. Keep in touch with past clients.

Austin Saylor wrote an excellent Twitter thread sharing his process for this.

He’d tell you that if you were to copy his process (reference #3) then you’re likely to get similar results.

5. Track every lead and follow up at least 5 times.

I can easily attribute $100k+ in freelance work to following up AT LEAST 5 times.

What trips many freelancers, consultants, and other solopreneurs up is not knowing what to say. Like, how do you follow up with past clients and silent prospects without annoying them?

You just have to get creative. If you don’t have your own email templates, you’re welcome to mine.

6. Mind your mindset.

You’re going to have bad days.

After 13 years & making $1m+, I’ve learned the importance of bouncing back quickly and not taking myself out of the game.

  • Use true importance to rank moves.
  • Make minimum viable progress.
  • Get your thoughts on paper.
  • Focus on controllables.
  • Pick next moves.

Change mindset, and make minimum viable progress. Some days, that’s all you can do.Change mindset, and make minimum viable progress. Some days, that’s all you can do, and on those days, I borrow a play from Farnam Street founder Shane Parrish’s playbook:

"Instead of always trying to be your best, ask yourself how to avoid being at your worst.”

For example, when you lose a client, give yourself 5 minutes to be disappointed, but don’t let yourself brood or catastrophize. Instead, run your Lemonade Protocol.

7. Cut spending.

Take inventory of everything you’re spending money on:

  • Cancel subscriptions you haven’t used in 2 months.
  • Sell stuff you no longer want or need.
  • Simplify across the board.

Trimming the fat serves two purposes: 1) reduces your monthly income needs, and 2) reduces distractions.

8. Surround yourself with optimistic people.

Some freelancers will thrive in a recession. Some will step up, not scrape by.

This quote from Zig Ziglar’s “See You at the Top” is apropos:

“It’s your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.”

Which attitude do you expose yourself to most often? Optimism is infectious. Pessimism is too.

Mind the company you keep.

One last thought before we close

If you’re already thriving, celebrate that. I’ve coached a number of freelancers and consultants who knew that their peers were struggling. Meanwhile, they had more business than they could handle! This is the business version of survivor’s guilt, and it can cripple your thinking and progress just like anxiety that stems from not having enough work.

You may be doing really well and need a safe space for talking about that and planning for what’s to come.

Reach out to me at hello at freelancecake(dot)com.


When you’re ready, here are ways I can help you:

  1. Free Money. A pricing and money mindset guide for freelance creatives. If you’re unsure about your freelance pricing, this is the book for you.
  2. Morning Marketing Habit. This course will help you build an “always be marketing” practice, become less dependent on referrals, and proactively build the business you want with the clients you want. My own morning marketing habit has enabled me to consistently make  6 figures as a freelancer.
  3. Custom Business Roadmap. Gain clarity, confidence, and momentum in your freelance or consulting business.
  4. Business Redesign. Raise your effective hourly rate, delegate with confidence, and free up 40 hours a month.
  5. Clarity Session. It’s hard to read the label when you’re inside the bottle. I've done well over 100 of these 1:1 sessions with founders, solopreneurs, and freelancers who wanted guidance, a second opinion, or help creating a plan.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info

Austin L Church portrait photo.

About the Author,
Austin L. Church

Austin L. Church is a writer, brand consultant, and freelance coach. He started freelancing in 2009 after finishing his M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to mobile apps (Bright Newt), a tech startup (Closeup.fm), a children's book (Grabbling), and a branding studio (Balernum). Austin loves teaching freelancers and consultants how to stack up specific advantages for more income, free time, and fun. He and his wife live with their three children in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Subscribe

The only weekly freelancing email you don't want to miss...