How to master the gig economy: 5 essential habits for successful contract careers

Maggie Moonsammy, sales manager at Strider Digital

Successful contractors don’t just wing it, they work hard to maintain their careers, largely by following specific practices that not only keeps work coming in, but ensures their happiness too.

“Many contractors who are new to the game end up going back to permanent roles because they don’t consistently achieve the great results they expect while working as a contractor,” says Maggie Moonsammy, sales manager at Strider Digital. “But often, this isn’t due to a lack of work but rather because their professional habits are working against them.”

Drawing on her experience with digital talent, Moonsammy outlines five habits that very successful contract workers swear by:

1. Have a clear plan

Taking on work haphazardly and over-extending oneself are common habits among contractors starting out. However, if you want to make a career out of contract work, you need to have a plan.

“Successful contractors set out realistic and achievable goals for themselves,” says Moonsammy. “They know what they want to achieve in the long run, how many clients they need to hit a specific financial target, and how many hours a day they need to dedicate to servicing all of their clients or projects adequately.”

Without a plan, things can quickly spiral out of control, with missed deadlines and burnout being the most common outcomes.

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2. Never stop promoting yourself

Even when things are going well and you have a steady flow of work, it’s always a good idea to be proactive about the way you market yourself and your work.

“Getting clients through word of mouth is fantastic, but unfortunately, this doesn’t always last or remain consistent,” says Moonsammy. “This is why it's crucial that you market yourself in other ways, such as through social media or on your own blog or website.”

Building your own brand is a key part of being a successful contractor.

3. Make sure you have a healthy work-life balance

As much as working on a variety of different projects and clients can be a huge positive, it can also quickly become a curse if one’s personal life is not prioritised.

“Contract workers have a tendency to take on too much work,” says Moonsammy. “Sometimes this is for financial reasons and other times because they don’t want to miss out on an exciting project. The problem comes in when contractors sacrifice their personal time to keep up with everything they’ve committed themselves to.”

Working 16-hour days and not taking weekends off is not sustainable and can be hugely damaging to one’s mental and physical health. Therefore, it’s crucial to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

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4. Don’t be afraid to say no

When you’re not permanently employed, the idea of saying no to work can be a very scary concept. Many contractors view saying no as a means of burning a bridge that they might need later if things quiet down on their side.

“This is probably the most important habit you need to take on if you are going to make it as a successful contractor,” says Moonsammy. “Saying yes to every offer could see you working for a lower wage than you deserve, slogging through a project that you hate, or working with a team that’s not a good fit.”

Although saying no may hurt you financially in the short term, it will empower you to be more successful in the long term. Knowing your worth holds huge value and being confident in what you want to achieve will help you build a career that you’re not only proud of, but also love.

5. Never stop learning

“Successful contract workers don’t rest on their laurels because, after all, it’s a competitive world out there. Those who are willing to continuously learn, stay up to date with industry trends and developments, are typically the contractors who walk away with the lion’s share of the work,” says Moonsammy.

The more you know and the more you can offer, the better off you’ll be. For example, if you’re a developer, the more coding languages you know, the more contracts you’ll get. If you’re a UX designer, the more up to date you are with the latest user and design trends, the more likely you’ll be to get the contract over someone else.

“The beauty of contract work is that it truly is a ‘what you put in is what you get out’ scenario. From financial goals to those driven by experience, you can pretty much achieve anything you set out to do, as long as you plan, prioritise, and keep putting in the work,” concludes Moonsammy.