inspiring tales of freelance liberation
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- former20
Long term game plan is a good point. Human interaction is another.
jevads points are essential too.
Be prepared to contemplate what you want, long term. Freelancing has turned into a rapidly growing business and it takes a lot of time to manage projects, manage clients and keep quality high and plan for ongoing expansion.
Hardest part with growth is finding other talented, hard working people to work with. Reliability and consistency are qualities that are far too rare (unfortunately).
Do what you say and meet deadlines, keep quality high and do whatever it takes to provide what you promise.Networking is key and can help with business and also collaboration and exploration into different avenues, which can be both fun and profitable.
- kerus0
yeah im already realizing i need to draw the line and have 100% downtime set aside.. not just checking mail, watching tv and doing a little work.. i need to completely unfrigginplug for blocks of time
that being said its very easy to kill a day doing a few hours of work, hour of personal stuff, rinse repeat, and blammo its 3am
- monkeyshine0
Try to have a long term game plan. I exhausted myself with the stress of doing the work on my plate while simultaneously hustling for new work. For me, finding the balance is the hardest part.
Most importantly, don't take on more than you can reasonably do...it's hard to say no to the $$ but if you risk meeting a deadline you won't last.
- kerus0
DAY 4 - I'm still alive and fucking SWAMPED
I don't remember the last time i showered, that could be a problem.
- mtgentry0
I second Meeklo's advice. I'm a freelancer and I currently have a little too much free time on my hands. Maybe things are just slowing down because its the end of the year.
- Meeklo0
Ride the wave of work when it comes for as long as you can, because there will be dry times so be prepared (see monday menu)
- Meeklo0
- I actually like Top Ramen so much, i'll have it Saturday too.capn_ron
- you are perfect for freelance then!Meeklo
- LOL @ thisthismanslife
- grumpymonkey0
I've been freelancing from home for the last 8 months or so, I quit my last job on good terms to right away they fed me projects, which sounds strange, but it was a nice transition. Generally I don't work with small clients, because it is usually more of a pain in the ass to deal with, both on the money side and organizationally. Working at home can be lonely, but you have IM and QBN for that.
- mimeartist0
I've got enough work until March... and have been going for all of 5 weeks
- kerus0
"if you work hard and smart, it will work out"
uh oh...... =o haha
- harlequino0
This thread title would make a great comic book.
- Rand0
this year one of our clients took us to lunch and said he had a little holiday gift for us... we opened it up and it was a check for 25,000 dollars. We almost fell on the floor
- !!!! that never happens to anyone i know! how big is their account that they're dropping five-figure gifts?bigtrick
- I think it was a kind of "lifetime appreciation award"Rand
- Bloody hell. Good for you.roundabout
- kerus0
so riddle me this.. how did you guys reel in your first few good completely solo clients when you started off on your own? (in other words not clients you pulled in from a former exployer).....
just cold calls and friends of friends?
this is huge and terrifying hehe- cold emailing worked for me - that and linkdup, got so many jobs from therearthur
- ah yes, good old linkdup :) thankskerus
- this was several years ago, mind you - does anyone use linkdup anymore?arthur
- woops, i thought you meant linkedin..... linkdup is a blast from the past!!kerus
- yeah, this was back in 2000. Really helped though - got lots of work.arthur
- Quill0
In April it will be four years since I walked out of my last salary gig. It was the best thing I ever did for myself and my career. I've grown immesuarably as a professional and the scope of knowlege gained over the past few years can not be compared to how much I had learned being employeed by others.
Not to say that there are no decent salaried positions out there. I'm sure there are tons of great companys to work for. I just couldn't find any of them.
Oh, I almost forgot. Don't drop anyone on their head too hard when you quit. Everyone seems to know everyone in this industry somehow.
- kerus0
hehe my future wife is in nursing school, so i'm going to end up being mr. mom anyways while shes bringin home the bacon :D
- kerus0
good point on the human interaction part.
im definitely a people-person eeeek..- would your future wife be at home or off at work somewhere? Could make a difference.arthur
- Great point. I met my wife at my only full-time job. She was HR :)fyoucher1
- My wife and I share an office all day, so that works well on this end, too.blaw
- my wife is at home with me, she's downstairs and I'm upstairs.arthur
- we tried sharing an office for awhile, but tpo close for comfort, not good for the marriage.arthur
- glad it works for you blaw :) my wife drove me nuts! She likes silence, i like music, etc.arthur
- Yeah, we're both sit 'quietly and work with headphones on' types. We talk at lunch. :)blaw
- nice :)arthur
- I'm definitely going to miss being around Matt all day long. And kissing my dog whenever I want to, too. :(Lifeinvector
- kerus0
i have a few friends making the plunge as well, and some freelance buddies who are egging me on as well. thanks for the pep talk.
probably gonna have to get married before doing this so i can get benefits :O
- fyoucher10
Been freelancing for almost 9 years now, a little over 6 years as a full-time Flash freelancer, only held one full-time position for close to two years. Loved the FT job, made great friends but didn't make very much. Freelance pays great, but if you only work at home like me, then you'll miss the human interaction. That's the only caveat I'd make you aware of. I'm a home-body so I like being home all day. Might not be for you though, you can always work as an in-house freelancer too. Some key tips: Do your best work for every client (big or small), every time, meet every deadline (no matter what), make connections, be professional, never burn bridges, be personable, have fun, do what you love. You'll have no probs being a successful freelancer if you do. But just like Arthur says, it has its stresses, especially when you're first starting out and when you're trying to turn it into something more than just freelance.
Go to this site and sign up for their newsletter, some great articles.
http://www.freelanceswitch.com