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Are online freelance services recession proof?

  • Cristian Level X3
    • 12

    Write the reason you're deleting this FAQ

    Are online freelance services recession proof?

    Do you think online services are recession proof, would your services that you offer as a freelancer survive a 2008 type market crash?

    Are online freelance services recession proof?

    Sometimes I wonder about this stuff and the answer I find myself concluding scares me.
    Back in 2008 I wasn't really a freelance, just a kid in high-school, but I already had a couple of blogs and I was selling plenty site-wide backlinks on webmaster forums.

    I remember not making the same amount because the overall backlink market had become a little cheaper overnight, but overall things weren't that different, I was still able to find clients that wanted to pay for links.

    Now, I have no idea how affected were people in programming or design, but since everyone was affected in some way or the other I bet they also felt a downfall in earnings and clients.

    So how can we make sure we are recession proof here on SEOclerks?
    Do you actually think things can get bad for us freelancers? Will we lose clients and money in a 2008 type recession?

    #Freelanceing #Recession #Online #Marketing #Crash Freelance
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    Lynne

    Lynne

    I don't think anything is recession proof at all. However when there is a recession lots of people lose their jobs and struggle to find another job. I believe that even in a recession there is growth in a way because when someone is faced with the choice of having to make a plan, as in make money for themselves somehow... or let themselves and their families starve, I believe most people will get seriously creative.

    When that happens it means more people are working for themselves, and more people need services, especially online services.

    I think it is now becoming easier than ever to work for yourself online and to outsource the tasks you are not qualified or able to do, or perhaps you just don't have the time to get to those things.

    So nobody is safe, but I do think that with every challenge also comes opportunity if you have the right attitude.
    10 years ago

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    idealmike

    idealmike

    Yeah that's it! In fact, the freelancer market has exploded recently hasn't it. It's like when the .com boom happened. And people are still buying and earning from .com's today as well as other TLDs and websites. The Internet is always evolving, trends come and go, some remain for a while, some last forever. There is always going to be demand for the Internet itself that's for sure! Whatever the Internet is for you! Whatever you use it for. But it's like that now with freelancing, with more and more people doing it and more people getting online and wanting those thing doing that they don't or can't do themselves like SEO or SMO of some kind. Are online freelance services recession proof?
    10 years ago

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    Cristian

    Cristian

    Yes, so if that is the case, if freelancers are more numerous than ever, it makes sense that in case of a recession, only some of them will continue to earn and survive in this business.

    As you said, at the moment there is room from everybody, not so sure this will be the case after a market crash.
    10 years ago

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    MusicMoguls

    MusicMoguls

    First of all i want to say that this is a GREAT discussion! I personally do not think that anyone is recession proof in fact now that we are facing the fiscal cliff especially here in the united states of America we are not safe. Our best bet is to make sure that we provide the grade A #1 service that we can provide here on the seoclerks website, That way when we get hit hard by a failing economy the ones who have a little cash to spend still will come to you rather than look for someone else. The scams are higher when people are broke some people will do anything to feed their families. So if we can start to build a rapport with most of our clients they will trust us no matter what happens in the world. The answer is yes we will all be affected if 2008 happens again. We have to prepare for it now and save every dime we can.
    10 years ago

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    idealmike

    idealmike

    Definitely not. Anything can happen literally over night and have an effect on your sales. No matter really what you're selling. Although some sellers of some types of services are probably more prone to feeling the effects of a crash. But it all really depends on what it is. I remember 7+ years ago when I was selling link lists for Sick Submitter program. I was smashing it and my phone was beeping every 5 minutes of the day to say I'd received a new payment. Then the Google updates happened, a lot of people got whacked or found it harder to get their site ranked with the same links and then a lot of people stopped using Sick Submitter and my sales suffered terribly. Eventually they stopped the program and the site closed due to nobody using it anymore and them not making any money from it at all.

    The same thing can happen in any niche or industry at any time. Nothing you have or sell is guaranteed. Anything can happen and everything you're doing or selling can dry up over night. That's why you can't take nothing for granted when it comes to this sort of stuff.

    However some niches are evergreen and will always be in demand. SEO and marketing for starter as well as things like graphic design, article/content writing etc. Because people will always need SEO and marketing services as well as content and graphic design.

    The thing is with freelancing is that there are always so many different things you can do and provide as a service. So for this reason it's best to learn how to do multiple different things and provide them as a service just in case one or two of those things aren't in demand anymore.
    10 years ago

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    EliteWriter

    EliteWriter

    I have never experienced a decline in orders even when things were not that good, so to a certain extent I think that freelance services are still bound to remain in demand. There are going to be a number of people that get hit more, and if they have less disposable income they are going to be less inclined to order services, or maybe try to look for cheaper options or if possible DIY. So it ultimately depends a bit on who your clients are and how their personal situation is. All in all I think that freelancing is quite safe when compared to being employed though.
    10 years ago

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    RaduV

    RaduV

    Cristian i am pretty sure that everybody was affected by the recession. I also believe those who were affected the most was those which stayed with the same services and didn't evolve nor adapted to the new market which is more pretentious and more demanding. You can still see a lot of guys doing the same services that we were doing few years ago.

    For example take forum posting, you can still see people doing spammy posts hoping that an admin or moderator will overlook their post and the link will be left in the comment.
    10 years ago

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    Cristian

    Cristian

    Yes that is true, but we are not in a recession at the moment. There are plenty of buyers out there that are willing to pay for such spammy service, because they know some of those posts will stick and they'll end up with ROI,
    10 years ago

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    RaduV

    RaduV

    Indeed they might stick, however the quality of the service is debatable. Anyhow, that was just an example but there are many more. And yes, we are not at the recession at the moment and yet the rates are not so high as they used to be.
    In my opinion, the buyer should be more strict with whom he's hiring to promote their websites because it can do more harm than good.
    10 years ago

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    Everett

    Everett

    I would say no they are not, and yes they are. Here's why:
    • Hiring a freelancer is cheaper than hiring a part time or full time employee
    • You don't need to pay the freelancer for training, because most of the time the freelancer already knows how to do what they were hired for

    If a recession is present in an economy, most people want to find the cheapest worker, and or services available. This could mean more money in the freelancer's pocket. If a company is struggling to keep an employee, but finds a freelancer that can complete the needed work in a faction of the time, and the cost is much lower they will most likely fire an employee and contact the freelancer. It has happened in the past, and it continues to happen now.

    i would say there is a benefit of being a freelancer in the recession if you have skills that companies need, and or require.
    10 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    I have seen in 2007 that it gets affected the first. Some of the online ways of making money go down immediately. And one can see that there is literally nothing recession proof if you ask me. You can see that some of the time we are going to lose the money in the recession. And it may not be that easy. So I think having multiple sources of revenues would be lot better option. I guess not all people can pull it off properly.
    9 years ago

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    Barida

    Barida

    One thing we need to get at this point is that most of the things we do online are as a result of what is happening offline. So, as a freelancer, it is better to be ready to experience such hard times for many sites would close down as a result of the recession.
    9 years ago

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