how do you say...
- Started
- Last post
- 22 Responses
- barbtastic
as a full-time freelancer, i am hired to help out large companies on location when they are short-handed... usually starts out as a 2-3 week assignment that turns into a few months.
sometimes it gets to the point where i don't even ask if they need me anymore, i just keep showing up as long as i have open projects.
thing is, other clients start calling about my availability, and in order to give them an accurate answer and to make sure i'm keeping a full work schedule, i have to ask these on-location people "what's the plan?" for the coming weeks/months
no one has 5 minutes, so i usually send an email to the supervisors of my projects and politely let them know that i need to plan my schedule and ask if will they be needing me in the coming weeks/months, if not, i will schedule other work.
if i don't say anything at all, they start to take for granted that i'm "on call" for them and only them, i keep showing up... but in the same moment will come back from some scary budget meeting and tell me they won't be needing me after that day, with no notice.
i feel like i'm being fair, but some of my clients seem to misunderstand this as me being "sick" of working there or trying to "get out".
does this happen to other freelancers who work on-location, or am i effing this up somehow?
- dskz0
dont ask questions, just keep working. they dont need to know what else you are doing.
If they are the priority, just keep their tasks above the other clients tasks.
- blaw0
Maybe be a bit less humble and explain that you are in demand. Reiterate how much you enjoy the opportunity to work with them, but as a design professional you need to be very attentive to project scheduling.
- good luck with that LOLdskz
- blaw, i agree with you, and that is exactly what i tell them [except for the demand part]barbtastic
- "I don't if you know this...but, I'm kind of a big deal."JackRyan
- You fellows are missing the point. I'm not saying be an ass, I'm saying that Barb obviously has options. They need to....blaw
- ...know that.blaw
- i am humble by nature, but i can admit i am in high demand [to myself]...barbtastic
- but i like to prove that thru my work, not by telling therm i'm the awesome saucebarbtastic
- univers0
I would try to establish a document that lists the scope of the project you are doing, and you give a proposed start date and finish date. You then can control your schedule and the clients that are expecting you in an unrealistic matter start to get used to a process in how you work. Does this make any sense in your work situation?
- it would make sense in a perfect world... it's one project on top of another herebarbtastic
- robotron3k0
sounds like you need to raise your rates, that will get their attention.
- hahahaMeeklo
- I am serious as a heart attack.robotron3k
- i took it seriously, toobarbtastic
- barbtastic0
all of my clients are a priority, that is the problem.
i can't let these people think they own me, i AM a freelancer and not their employee.
- maximillion_0
i like what univers said, plus you should keep a handful of clients happy just incase some go pop in the night. do they have other freelancers that can replace you (and i mean the whole package you offer not just the role)? if not your in a strong negotiating position if another job comes along whilst working in the "unknown" period
- yeah i do have the power to negotiate... but i also like to mix it up a bit and not take any client for grantedbarbtastic
- robotron3k0
I think you need to be that direct with them. And make sure and grab your crotch when you want to punctuate what you're saying...
- barbtastic0
robotron3k
sounds like you need to raise your rates, that will get their attention.
------------
that was acutally part of the discussion, they feel they are paying a lot for me to "not want to be here"i never once said i didn't want to be here, but i guess my inquiry into their plans came across as me wanting to leave.
the funny thing is, they pay me less than any other client, but i LIKE it here, hahaha
i get so frustrated by people who decide they know how i feel, then walk around resenting me for it for a few weeks until they decide to confront me.
it's frustrating when people have their mind all made up and it couldn't be further from the truth.
- sounds like your resented because of your freedom. IMO eventually you will have to let them go.robotron3k
- omg i think you have a point there...barbtastic
- maximillion_0
I also have your kind of problem but i often find that when the client initially says i want you on day x for x 4 weeks, it usually is x+1 or 2 weeks and generally balances out. Some times im shit busy but generally its just a full schedule.
clients need you as mush as you need them, they just need to be reminded sometimes
- barbtastic0
i'm not complaining about these people at all, just trying to figure out if there is something i can be doing better.
i feel like it's pretty cut and dry, but somehow there is always someone that turns it into drama.
- the drama queen is essential to any effective officemaximillion_
- AndyRoss0
I hear where you're coming from barbtastic, because I'm going through some of the same things myself.
I worked for awhile for companies that would pay me an hourly rate. I had to work on site with them looking over my shoulder, and there was someone a few desks away who could ask me to drop everything, and work on something else. They could also, at the end of the day, say they didn't need me tomorrow. Then I would be out of work. I would call this sort of work "temping" rather than freelancing, and I'll explain why.
Now, most of the work I do I'm giving estimates to companies on specific, defined projects. I work off site. I work until the project is done, and I usually I have a good idea when that will be, so I can plan other things around it. I invoice them. I think of this as "freelancing" more as I understand the term.
I haven't completely eliminated "temping" from my diet, but I'm trying to. It's been hard to move from "temping" to "freelancing."
I have never managed to go from "temping" to "freelancing" with the same client! Once someone thinks of you as a "temp," at their beck and call, they never really see you as more.
It's far easier to get new work, with new clients, than it is to get old clients to think of you in a more sophisticated way!
So, I use every sample and name to reinforce my resume and portfolio. And I use any down time I get to generate new "freelance" clients.
An old friend of mine taught me it was easier to move up by getting a better job with a new company, than to try to move up within your current company. And is that ever the truth!
- ALL TRUE... i like the mix of temping and freelancing, actually, but freelancing full-time would be idealbarbtastic
- dskz0
baby, it will be fine. Just keep them in there little ecosystem and do your thing. They dont own you (yet $$$)
- barbtastic0
i'm a drama-free kinda girl, the LAST place i want to face it is at work.
- good luck barb. hope you get things sorted out. good question btw. very usefull for freelancers.kona
- not a huge prob, would just like to avoid the same misunderstanding in the futurebarbtastic
- CALLES0
can i have your number? aren't you coming to spring break in miami?
- is my invite lost in the mail?barbtastic
- probably... sent it a week ago =(CALLES
- sintaxera0
I agree w/ AndyRoss. Seems more like temping than freelancing, which is perfectly fine, but you’re still in the predicament not knowing what to tell potential new clients about your availability.
Having you on call may work out great for their business, but you’re a freelancer, and in order to keep YOUR business going smoothly, you need to be able to know your schedule. If things go south at their office, the freelancers will most likely be the first to go, and where does that leave you? You can’t be expected to just keep showing up without any idea of how long you’re going to stay there. You don’t necessarily need an exact date, but a ball park idea of how long they’re planning on keeping you around will let you be able to talk with new clients.
If you explain to them that it's something you do for all of your clients if the project extends beyond what was originally planned, they may be less likely to think of you as “just wanting out” if it’s seen as SOP.
- this is what i tried to explain to them, but you know how ppl are once they made up their minds about you...barbtastic
- barbtastic0
SOP?
- standard operating procedure. nerd-speak.sintaxera
- suit-speak, i guess.sintaxera
- thx :Dbarbtastic
- barbtastic0
well, if anything, thanks for the solidarity, kids.
pretty much what sintaxera, AndyRoss, and maximillion_ have said is how i handle things, but am feeling more and more pressure lately... as if they i owe them something outside of the work they hired me to do. i am always grateful for the work, professional, and happy to help in a bind, but i feel like they need to be kept aware of the boundaries hiring a freelancer presents.
i pay my own health insurance, yo!
- blaw0
Did you ever consider doing a retainer-style contract? I have a couple of companies I work with that is set up as an agreed upon number (or range) of hours per month. It's nice to have that business to count on, without interfering with other work/business development.
- That sounds like a good idea. Kind of like lawyers do things for their steady clients.AndyRoss
- barbtastic0
sounds like a good plan, but you know how things go in some of these bigger places... so many anonymous decision-makers, even the ppl i work for don't always know when things will change on a dime.
the "contract" they have here basically states that either party can terminate the stay at any time with no notice or reason, which is fine with me, but why i try to keep an open dialogue of what their future needs might be.
this is a large company and a small city, this place creates a lot of work for me and my friends, so i don't want to be burning any bridges and have ppl stop calling me because they think i would not come back.
- That's a real problem. OTOH, if you've done a lot of work for the biggest outfit in town, that will help you get other work!!AndyRoss
- Llyod0
"I have other projects that may be more lucrative blah blah blah...shit or get off the pot"