Cash flow problems

When you look at a lot of the problems that freelancers talk about, whether it’s economic uncertainty, not being able to put enough money into savings, saving for retirement, being paid a fair rate, or difficulty finding work, I think it’s all tied to a single problem:

Cash flow. Either not enough or it’s unpredictable.

And I’ve been challenging my assumption that the only way to create consistent cash flow for a freelancer at scale would be to build something resembling a marketplace.

Now, there are of course long term solutions to the problem of cash flow that don’t require a marketplace. One of them being selling something like design templates online. Or maybe selling a course teaching design. These would contribute to cash flow, but it doesn’t get at the heart that freelancers are struggling with finding enough money today.

Service providers

At the end of the day, freelancers are service providers. And the main way to make money as a service provider is to, well, provide a service. Duh! This implies there are people who are willing and ready to buy the service they offer.

How do you build an interaction between service providers and the people they service in such a way where there are always people willing and ready to buy what you sell? That’s ultimately the question I’m trying to answer when trying to create consistent income for freelancers.

If the solution isn’t found in being able to join projects immediately, I’m not sure what other possibilities there are…