With the coming recession, I get a lot of questions about whether it will be increasingly difficult for freelancers to get new clients and, more importantly, projects that pay appropriately.
Over the past eight months, the following industries have proved extremely lucrative for freelancers. I categorize them into Spheres.
The Extreme Sphere
The industries in the extreme sphere are those that are currently crashing or booming. Why would a crashing industry be a good industry to find clients in?
If you’re a freelancer, you’re less expensive and easier to handle for a struggling entrepreneur or business than an employee would be. Additionally, if you provide marketing services or can help them secure a presence online, they need you.
A recent global study by McKinsey & Company demonstrated that online marketing drastically out-pulled traditional offline marketing in results. 62% of participants rated online marketing as very or extremely important to their company.
Struggling industries must invest in direct profit-producing services like marketing and online tools to survive.
Industry #1. Real Estate
Currently Crashing. Real Estate companies need to change their approach and develop additional streams of income outside of strictly selling houses. Innovative freelancers can ghost-write information products for them, gain tons of traffic by participating in social media conversations regarding the crashing housing market and how home sellers and buyers can survive, etc.
Industry #2. Pharmaceuticals
Consistently Booming. Very large budgets. But you must be highly experienced to compete. A particular niche of this industry that is also booming is drugs and medical tools targeting Baby Boomers.
Industry #3. Spirituality & Natural Medicine
Currently Booming. Eben Pagan, a leading authority on business trends, named two industries to look out for in 2008-2010. He named Spirituality and the next industry below.
Industry #4. Women-Specific Campaigns
Currently Booming. Women have been identified as the primary decision makers when it comes to major and minor purchases. Niches are developing around women, including female entrepreneurs and business owners, female readers and books targeting women, mothers (primarily “mommy bloggers” in the blogosphere), and more.
One of my clients recently cashed in on the women’s niche by creating a series of “confession” websites where wives, mothers, and career women could post anonymous confessions about their day, how they’re feeling, and what they think of their child, boss, or significant other at the moment.
Industry #5: Green & Eco-Conscious Campaigns
Currently Booming. You’ve seen the commercials and billboards. Global warming and “going green” is everywhere you turn. Major companies like UPS have launched massive “green” campaigns and tons of alternative eco-conscious companies are springing up in virtually every niche, including: clothing, building materials, housing, automotive, health foods, waste management, etc.
Industry #6: Baby-Boomer Campaigns
Currently Booming. Now that we have the largest Baby Boomer population in history, companies want to target this exceedingly large audience. This includes:
+ Retirement Communities
+ Retirement Plans & Financial Consulting
+ Insurance
+ Medical Tools & Drugs Specifically for Baby Boomers
The Luxury Sphere
This sphere includes those typically boutique firms that differentiate themselves by appealing to an elite or wealthy audience. Because they can charge a premium for their services, they often spend a large pretty penny on marketing, nice websites, effective copy, and sassy or classy advertising.
Industry #7: Luxury Services
+ Limousine Companies
+ Luxury Car Rental
+ Yacht Rental
+ Concierge Services
Industry #8: Lifestyle Companies
+ Elite Dating Services
+ Wealth or Beauty-Based Matchmaking Services (I know, perhaps morally questionable, but they fulfill a definite need that their target audience desires)
+ Lifestyle Adventure Companies (Expensive adventure travel like safaris and singles adventures)
+ Image Consultants & High-End Stylists
Industry #9: Elective Procedures
+ Plastic Surgeons
+ Hair Removal
+ Body Sculpting
+ Dermatology
The Venture Sphere
If you really want to target companies with enormous budgets and no current resources, go after companies that have just secured financing.
Industry #10: Companies Recently Financed
You can typically find a Venture Capital firm’s partial portfolio online. Also search online news (set up a Google Alert for “financing”) for press releases announcing that a company has been newly funded.
Industry #11: Venture Capitalist Firms
Partner with a Venture Capitalist or a VC Firm to service all companies in their portfolio. They will have the peace of mind that someone they know and trust is dialed into each of their companies, increasing the likelihood that their overall investment across their entire portfolio will outperform the typical odds.
To create such a partnership, you’ll have to prove your worth. I suggest having solid client results and examples of your work and perhaps working for a significantly reduced fee on a pre-determined number of companies. Identify ahead of time what elements the VC will judge you on to determine if they will partner with you so you know exactly what you have to do to secure the partnership.
The Local Sphere
You don’t have to stick to your local area, but companies in the Local Sphere are those that service their own local area. These are the people who service YOU, such as your dentist.
Industries #12-20
+ Lawyers (consider large firms that need to target multiple niches, i.e. different case-types)
+ Therapists & Psychologists
+ Carpet Cleaners (One brilliant marketer, Joe Polish, has built a multi-million dollar marketing empire helping carpet cleaners market themselves)
+ Massage Therapists (a great industry to start in. Not a lot of money in it, but tons of professionals in need of a way to differentiate themselves)
+ Landscaping Firms & Landscape Design
+ Restaurants, Clubs and Bars
+ Retail Boutiques
+ Doctors & Dentists
+ Weight Loss Clinics
Whatever service you offer, unless extremely specialized, should be applicable to several, if not all, of these industries. And, save for a few exceptions in the Local Sphere, these industries are proven to have meaty budgets. Best of all, they are very open to, and in many cases prefer, freelancers.
In June 2004, Jaime Mintun was homeless and broke and out of options. She flipped her luck around by moving her focus from starting her own business to helping other people’s businesses grow. In less than 30 days, she had a $10k/mo income. Now she coaches over 100 freelancers to provide their marketing and web development skills to offline businesses. You can read her blog at www.WarWagonBlog.com.
