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cgozon
Community Member

Do other freelancers experience slowing down of work load, paused/ended contracts by year end?

Hi,

 

I am just curious...

 

I have been using Upwork way back oDesk era. I just observed that most of my clients usually end or pause a contract nearing the end of the year. The work starts to slow down in October then paused or completely ended mid Novemeber until December.

 

Does/did anyone here experience this? I just want to understand this trend. Also, I have a client who outsources some of this deliverables to freelancers and when I asked if there are still more work ahead, he said the same thing... that some clients are suddenly ending contracts halfway through and even at a point of not paying.

 

Any theory on this kind of trend?

 

Thanks!

4 REPLIES 4
feed_my_eyes
Community Member

It depends on where you're getting your clients from. Most of my Upwork clients are Americans, so I call this slowing trend "Thanksgiving" and "Christmas". A lot of companies do their year-end whatever in December as well, so that keeps some of my clients too busy to start new projects. There's never been any noticeable drop for me in October, though - it's always one of my busiest months.

Thanks, Christine. They are from mixed locations though but majority is in the US. I see that the holidays are of a great deal to Americans, then. Smiley Happy

 

October, they start to slow down. Like the number of hours for work is cut in half. But yeah, Novemeber and December is really the down time. I thought there is more of an economical/business standpoint on the reason than just the holidays. Obviously, there's a cultural difference between my clients and I. Haha 

 

While we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas is a huge deal here but it's usually the busiest time.

 

At least I get this one perspective from you. Thanks!

chefperryp
Community Member

Cherie,

 

Thank you SO much for posting this question!

 

I've spent the last two weeks trying not to freak out, lol! Started with Upwork in May 2019, and the results have been far better than I could have expected... lots of work, great pay, great employer's etc. It was like I'd finally found my dream job. 

 

Then, about mid-November, I noticed that responses to my bids were starting to slow down, as were repeat job requests (80% of my work has been repeat customers.) 

 

Since then (especially the last two weeks), it's like I'm invisible. 40+ applications without any responses, and all of my previous contracts have the same reply, "We'll have plenty of work in the new year!"

 

Ugh.

 

This being my first year, I'm taking a bit of a beating from this (it's a lousy time for decreased income, lol) but if it's a predictable pattern, I can plan accordingly for next year.

 

Again, thanks for the post, live and learn!

 

~Chef Perry 


Perry P wrote:

 

This being my first year, I'm taking a bit of a beating from this (it's a lousy time for decreased income, lol) but if it's a predictable pattern, I can plan accordingly for next year.


It's just one of the reasons why freelancers need to charge at least twice as much as people who have steady jobs in the same field.

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