The Death of Freelance?
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- woodyBatts0
@Josev. I am consistently asked for favors, barters, etc. What I do now is accept the barter. and ask for a small cash compensation. It says two things. Thank you, and no thank you at the same time. They have always seen the error and come back offering money. It's a good exchange.
@Winnie & Josev It's a hard thing but I don't seek value from clients anymore. I do my job and offer my professional opinion, but I don't get upset anymore. I merely use my money and free time to develop my personal body of work, and seek validation elsewhere.
- I don't get upset.. but when you're thinking 5k and they're thinking $100.winnie_the_shit
- Oh I hear you there!woodyBatts
- Meeklo0
Giving the economy the way it is today, don't you think the title of the thread is misleading?
I mean, companies would rather hire a freelancer per project or per day, as opposed to commit to paying full employee benefits without knowing how things are going to turn out on their business..
I mean, numbers show the freelancers have been only increasing in numbers in the past 5 or 6 years..
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CNN: More businesses using freelancers, experts say
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVI…...................................
Newsweek: The New American Job Are freelance and part-time gigs the future?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/18193…...................................
just a quick search on google will make lots of valid counterpoints to the assumption of the death of freelance, when in fact is more alive than ever, and with a growing number of communication technologies, easier access, shows that its most likely going to keep growing.
so the real question is...
where you being ironic?
- ********0
Not enough time.
Too much time.
Not enough projects.
Too many projects.
Being your own assistant, producer , project manager and receptionist.
The worry.
That nagging feeling in the back of my mind..."What are you doing with your life?"
Thinking things will be different- everytime a get a new client/project i think, "this will be good, this will be awesome, this is going on my showreel" It isnt.
Lack of discipline.
TAX.In sayin all these negative things, I dont think I could go back to permanent. I do love the perks and I think they make up for almost everything. Im just not sure how long I can do this for, it takes a lot of energy out of me and sometimes doesnt leave much for the actual work.
- woodyBatts0
@ meeklo I think e was being ironic, or at least the death of "your" freelance. I actually started freelancing in 2001 after the .com explosion. I couldn't get a job so I went freelance.
When the economy is down, business is a boomin, but it's really based on hustlin.'
The freelancers i know and are successful all have the same traits in common, the main issues they deal with are : turning the cell phone off, paying attention to family, etc.
They already have structures in place to deal with the headache. But then again i am speaking from the F/T freelance frame, rather than you have a FT gig and freelance on the side.
- winnie_the_shit0
@woody
It's not validation I am seeking, but cash moolah. When I say "value" I don't mean personal value.. I mean greenbacks. Because nothing validates my professional opinion more than chinga.
They already don't have to pay for standard overhead costs, like a secretary, fancy boardroom, office space, and office materials..
If it's something they "need", what is it worth to them?
- woodyBatts0
@winnie
I hear ya, I deal with that often myself.
- ********0
I sometimes feel like I'm treading water.
Maybe as freelancers, we still need a plan - and clearly defined goals?
- EdTheDuck1010
I know a few companies that are sick of recruitment agents sending people unfit for the job so they hire freelances until they find one they like and offer them a job.
If you're freelance out of necessity rather than wanting to be your own boss, most will take the regular pay cheque.
- I would say that's the reason for Contract to Hire situations.CyBrain
- rosem0
stay organized and stay busy — if you can do that, it's the best way to live. :)
- rosem0
stay organized and stay busy — if you can do that, it's the best way to live. :)
- realtron0
the stress.
i dont regret going freelance but it has it's down moments. but whatever, i learn more about myself every day than i would if i was writing apps in a cubicle.
it's also made me extremely thankful for friends/family. this is the biggest thing for me right now; making it a priority to get organized, stay focused, and not be busy 24/7 so that i can spend my time with people who matter.
- mynameisdave0
The biggest problem that I I see is with spec work. If a company tries to get a large number of agencies to all do spec work for a bid the agencies are networked and will start a hissy fit (rightfully so) but if a company gets a large number of freelancers to do spec work it's all behind the curtain. No one knows. I typically never know who I'm competing against for a project, but at the firm I used to work for, we would always know the other 1 or 2 agencies we were competing with. I'm still rather new to the game, but it seems like this practice is increasing as of lately.
- good point, I quoted on a large project once for a friend. He had 4 other flash developers quote on it. He let me know where I stood and why I did not get the project. Good learning experienceeryx
- added_valium0
Having a baby made the decision for me. A steady income is what i need without all the above mentioned stress.
- ********0
WhereRI - pretty much summed up my life.
- breadlegz0
Thanks for all this help guys. My reason for asking is that i've been on quite an intensive sales course over the past 3 years.
The course is aimed at established business owners, but there is a ton of knowledge and skills that I want to bring to the freelance community.
This really helps shape the way i'll do that...
- breadlegz0
@woodyBatts - that's an awesome insight about validation. I think this really affects designers. We want validation and approval from the client and the people that see the work. When we don't get it or the work has been compromised it can be pretty frustrating.
Seek your validation elsewhere, friends, family, fun...
- It was a hard lesson learned. I just realized that people egos and shortcomings are as big of a deciding factor in projects as is budget, color, composition.woodyBatts
- AVAVA0
If you are in the UK - I find it's the complete opposite:-
It's more like the freelance Renaissance and the end of the traditional agency outfit.
Now agencies have to be far more dynamic, in that they now need to have purposeful creative teams that can come in execute specific projects for their clients for a controlled and effecient cost. Clients dont want the expensive overheads of traditional agencies - The solution for successful agencies is to control and manage a network of skilled individuals. In-house doesn't work as well in this market.
Although freelancers are normally more expensive it is actually more cost effective - because in the long run, teams are kept refreshed - the work produced is of a far higher and competitive standard - which in today's market is essential - it also tends to get out to market far quicker - overheads are kept lower - and it means everything is more accountable.
My 2 pence worth.
- breadlegz0
@AVAVA - yeah there seems to be a difference in the UK
- eryx0
I find the difficult parts working as a freelancer is time. When I am not working on a project I am trying to find work. There is no time for personal growth, it’s hard to spend time working with new technology when you don’t have a full work load lined up. Because of this confidence is sometime difficult. Balancing personal growth income is sometimes a trick.
In a FT job you to get to spend one on one time with other developers learning different and better ways to do things.
I also find that I take on projects with such a limited budget and timeline that it is not possible do the projects that get noticed. I am sure that I am not the first one to have to make the decision to give the client more than the project was quoted for just so it does not look like a POS.
- kelpie0
t minus 10 days. can't wait.