

Why You Shouldn’t Freelance - icey
http://freelancefolder.com/12-reasons-you-shouldnt-freelance/

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jacquesm
> 1 To sleep in all day and leave work early

No, that doesn't work - all the time - but occasionally, you get to work
really really hard and then you can slacken off for a bit, take it easy. If
you are the kind of person that is 100% productive all the time this may not
be a benefit to you, but I'm not all that regular and I definitely have my
productive and less productive phases.

So the fact that I don't _have_ to get up at a set hour and report to a boss
really helps. In fact, if I know I have to get up early that usually spoils my
rest completely because I can't sleep.

2> freelancing will make you rich

It probably won't make you rich, but it will definitely make you more money
than what you'd make doing the same job for a boss. After all the taxes are
paid and you've been doing it for two to three years you can expect roughly
double the amount left after paying taxes and so on compared to what you'd
make working a 'regular' job.

And if you use whatever time you have left over to work on a pet project or
two then you might even be able to do better.

>3 you hate working with people

That's a tricky one. If you _really_ hate working with people you have a
problem regardless. If you just hate working with certain people, the kick-
down lick-up type and the ones that have floated to the top through a lack of
substance then as a freelancer you have more control over the situation than
as an employee.

After all, you don't have to work with everybody, you can choose with which
companies you do business. Four or five good customers that pay on time and
that you can work with is really all you need. More is better. But you'll
never be forced to sit opposite from 'joe', your jerk co-worker that always
tries to find a way to get under your skin when the boss isn't looking.

>4 to spend the day with your kids

I don't understand what the writer is trying to get at here. Maybe the ability
to mix a healthy amount of private life with business life is hard to come by,
but in general it is doable.

You don't need to be super grouchy, and to train everybody around you to walk
like ghosts, conversely your family will have to support you when you are in
need of some time to work on stuff that needs doing. After all, a regular job
takes you out of the house 40 hours per week + commute.

Also, there are plenty of freelance jobs where you will be out of the house.
And if you're even moderately successful a simple office with a phone line and
internet connection doesn't have to cost the world.

I've had two occasions in the past where a large customer suggested I have an
office in their building, at their cost, or seriously discounted.

>5 you can charge whatever you want.

No, that's obviously not true, you can't charge whatever you want.

But on the other hand it's not the union determining what you can make either.
If a job is high pressure, short time to deadline and you're the linchpin,
then you can pretty much write your own ticket, within reason. If it's a job
that anybody could be plugged in to then it's obviously a different matter.
Finding out where there is room is part of the skills you will (need to)
develop.

>6 freelancing is an easy job

Freelancing is definitely _not_ the hardest job out there. The hardest jobs
are selected for people that have little to no education and that have very
few options in life. Go work in a harbour, a slaughterhouse or a cleaning
company for a couple of months.

Freelancing is a walk in the park by comparison.

It's not as easy as most office jobs, but then again, you can't be fired any
more, you have a lot of control that you'd never have as a wage earner. You
also don't have any of the (relative) security that comes with that.

If you need to track down 'late payments' you're doing something very wrong,
late payments should be extremely rare if you have a good relationship with
your customers.

You can even avoid late payments completely by being completely up front about
your financial situation, setting a decent price and demanding half up front
and half on delivery, or some scheme like that.

>7 to keep up with the household chores

Clean stuff up right after you use it and that problem goes away easily
enough. It's not like 'household chores' are going to take you the whole day,
20 minutes per day is for a single person more than enough to keep their life
in order, if you're with a family of four then it may be a bit more work, but
then there are also more hands to help.

>8 work will just come to you

Not initially, no. But after a while, and if you're good that will start to
happen. And at some point you may even have to raise your price just to slow
down the influx of new work.

That's how you convert a reputation in to $.

>9 no boss

That's a tough one, self motivation is - for some people - really really hard.
If you are not looking at the company where you are working with a continuous
eye to how you could and would do better and what you would do if you were
more free then freelancing is probably not for you.

10> you'll save lots of money

Actually, you will save lots of money. They're called 'deductibles', and when
you play your cards right you will find that you will probably pay less taxes
as a freelancer compared to being a wage earner, at the same income level.

>11 you'll have more free time

If you are smart about it, and you keep accurate hours and you get good at
budgeting jobs then you will eventually have more free time. But the first 2
to 3 years, which is how long it will take you to establish a reputation you
will actually be working a lot harder than before.

This is fine, as long as you like your work.

>12 your family will respect you more

If you work either as a wage earner or as a freelancer in order to earn other
peoples' respect then you're on the wrong road, regardless of which of the two
you choose.

You work because it gives _you_ satisfaction, food on the table and the level
of security that suits you best.

If you feel undervalued as a wage earner then you can boost that satisfaction
level - and your self confidence - by 'going solo'. It is also a good
introduction in managing money, handling taxes, legal affairs and a whole pile
of other useful skills.

Think of it as a very good preparation to running a larger business.

~~~
jdminhbg
Re (7), I've found that freelancing has actually been really good for keeping
up with housework. I can't work 8 hrs straight through in a day no matter the
location or job, but when I'm at home, I can spend one of my little breaks
taking 5 minutes to clean up the kitchen. Little incremental chores like that
keep you from developing an intimidatingly large backlog.

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dirtbox
I've freelanced for the last 10 years and I feel a lot of the points made
there are scraping the barrel somewhat. You learn how to best deal with most
of it in less than a year.

Strictly budgeting yourself should be on there, as it's very much a case of
feast and famine when you're starting out.

However, the single most difficult thing about freelancing to this day, for me
at least, is staying motivated. My best tip to avoid creative blocks is to
choose your clients wisely to allow your focus to shift around as diverse an
array of briefs within your field as you can manage so you remain fresh and
full of good ideas.

Oh boy, did I ever learn that the hard way.

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subwindow
It's good to point out the negatives to freelancing. I just started
freelancing last month after being laid off, and there are definitely
positives and negatives. While I do have a much more relaxed schedule and I do
make more money, it sucks not having much work/life separation.

For instance, last week I had a few friends over for some beers and I had to
work the whole time because the client had an important demo the night before.
Because of the rate I was getting, I had to choose between $X/hr and hanging
out with my friends. Sadly, the $X/hr won.

It is also hard to convince my Fiancee that I need to carve out 8 hours a day
to do work. Yes, I'm at home all the time. Yes, I physically _can_ go visit
her mother today. However, I need time to work, and if I'm running errands all
day there isn't time to ever get work done. It's hard to strike this balance
and to stay hard line on "When my office door is closed, pretend I'm downtown
and at work."

Overall, though, I prefer freelancing. After awhile I'm sure the lack of
structure, instability and lack of benefits will cause me to jump to another
full-time gig. Until then, I'm happy doing what I'm doing.

~~~
jacquesm
If you can and this continues to be a problem find a small office nearby. Just
a single room with a door that you can lock would be enough.

Clarity helps a lot too, setting a simple rule that will not be broken (Monday
through Friday, from 8:30 am to 17:30 pm I'm at work, and not available,
sorry), goes a long way to forestalling such push-and-pull situations.

Being unclear can be a source of great frustration, to both parties.

edit: one thing you could do that might help to greasing the wheels a bit is
to make sure you lunch together on workdays.

~~~
bmj
Agreed. I don't freelance, but I work remotely a few days a week, generally
from home. Where my wife homeschools our sons. We have ground rules, though,
that help both of us manage:

1\. I walk to the cafe from 9:00-12:00-ish while she does the bulk of the work
with the kids. The local cafe is quiet, so it's not a problem for me to work
there, and get a lot done in that time. 2\. If I can't be distracted once I'm
back home, I simply close the door to our office. 3\. If my wife is working
with the kids, I stay out of that area of the house. 4\. On days that I spend
some time with the kids, it's understood that I'll need to "make up" that time
in the evening after the kids are asleep.

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robryan
I find freelancing perfect around uni, sure most of the downfalls are valid
but what other job could I do that got me more experience in the field while
being able to navigate around changing uni commitments.

Also depending on how demanding your clients are you can afford to have a slow
week where you don't get much done if you don't really need the money, then
ramp it up again when things aren't so busy in your life.

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etherael
I loved freelancing when I had a ton of work on, because it basically meant I
could code and get paid better for it than I otherwise would.

I hated freelancing when I didn't have a ton of work on, because it meant I
had to do stuff that felt "dirty" to begin with, and then boring later on,
like marketing, sales etc.

I'm now moving to a completely different country (with a far lower cost of
living and tax rate) so I have more time to work on my own projects without
worrying about needing to do the whole sales and marketing song and dance. I'm
still not entirely sure if I want to focus on being an employee or being a
freelancer over there though, Even after almost ten years going it solo, the
sales part still scares me.

