A small pink piggy bank on a white table with a white background. The contrast of bright pink on white is very cool, which is what makes this image look so great. — Image via Ann H

It's every freelancer's worst nightmare. Standing on the precipice of a large project, ready to rock, when out of nowhere, the start date gets pushed back.

Suddenly, you've got a gaping hole in your schedule and your revenue.

You can't take on anything new until you've had word on the commitment you've already made, but no one can give you a definite answer.

It can be enough to derail a whole financial quarter, and (to control freaks like me) it is agonising.

This recently happened to me with an entire month's worth of work.

I took my strife to the freelance community, and as it turns out, I wasn't the only one who'd been stung by project start date delays in 2021. It turned out to be one of the most rage-inducing topics to enter the chat.

Here are some of the ways we decided to mitigate the damage…

1) Get that 50% deposit upfront

The merits of a 50% deposit are lauded in the freelance community, and when you’re dealing with a chonky project, it becomes suuuper essential.

I mean — who would book out big blocks of time for a client based purely on their word? For the client, delays are rarely a big deal. For you, it could mean missing the month’s rent payment.

Deposits also help fill the gaping void in your business bank account! If you start tracking your revenue quarter-on-quarter rather than month-on-month, it shouldn’t make too much of an impact. Hopefully 🤞

2) Fill the time with a journalism commission

The great thing about journalism (aside from the fact you get to write about kick-ass shit) is that you can whip up a pitch, score it, and start writing in a matter of days.

The money isn’t always amazing, but you’re snagging a great byline, extra publicity, and getting to write about cool things. And it’s important to write what you love.

3) Add a kickoff clause to your contract

When it comes to big projects, things rarely move smoothly. You can try adding a ‘kickoff clause’ to your contract wherein you stipulate how long you’ll hold the time slot. If the project doesn’t kick off by the deadline, you’re free to fill the time with other work, and the client has to wait until your next available date.

I’ve never used this in practice, but it may be worth trying. If you already do this, find me on Twitter and let me know!

4) Become a relentless pest

This is my tactic of choice. I hate being in the dark and loathe feeling rushed or unprepared. If you’ve told me you want something by a certain date, I will badger you until I a) have that brief or b) have an update on when we’re good to start.

I’m not known for my patience. Maybe it’s unprofessional of me, but there ya go! 🤷🏼‍♀️

5) Use the time to chill the F out

This one is a hard solution to go through with. It’s what I chose to do in December when all my work fell through. Because, to be honest, I hadn’t had a break in 9 months, and I was dead at my desk.

I used the time to work on my own stuff, get my ducks in a row for the coming year, and have a chill old time. Even though it goes against the grain. Sometimes a lull is a good chance to take a breather. If you can afford to, that is.

How do you recover from project start date pushback?
Shout me out on Twitter and let me know!

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