4 ms·

Good to hear you found your way. I'm getting burned out on freelance.

by freelancezombie 10y ago

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
manmal 10y ago
What is it that burns you out most? (fellow freelancer here)
- reflexive 10y ago
  The thing that burns me out about freelance is the client just views you as a cost center. Always want more work in less time. I start to fantasize about the "camaraderie" of being on a team. Maybe there needs to be a Freelancer's Local Union.
  - jdswain 10y ago
    Try joining a meetup or two, they are really good for meeting people in similar situations to yourself and having conversations about work.
  - samsonradu 10y ago
    I second this. Every time I drive by a big corporate building and I see groups of employees joking while having a smoke or coffee, it makes me envious. I joke about it saying that I m something like Batman who always works alone. Lately I ve been doing short trips to the client's offices, about 2000km away (on my expense) just to get the teamwork feeling.
    - manmal 10y ago
      Loneliness is the killer. I recently found out that I had this belief that the others don't need me around, and so they don't ask me for my company. That was actually self-victimization, because I should be the one to reach out when I want company. Doing much better now with that out of the way. This goes for every aspect of life, for me.
  - manmal 10y ago
    Try to find a partner and do your freelancer thing as a team. I incorporated with a fellow student of my university, and as a result we became fast friends. We are basically two freelancers under one brand, and share everything. This really helps!
  - garrickvanburen 10y ago
    I found reframing myself as a vendor (and small business owner) rather than a freelancer changed everything.
    - reflexive 10y ago
      This is especially valuable if you can develop a specialized skill to sell as a "product" over and over... I suppose I've found that a "can/will do anything" attitude is much better suited to employment/cofounding than consulting.
  - icc97 10y ago
    It's gone quiet of late but The Remote Together Slack group [1] is a great place to chat if you're working on your own. [1]: https://remotetogether.slack.com
    - freelancezombie 10y ago
      Thanks, will check it out!
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 10y ago
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  - rb808 10y ago
    You need to learn to say no more often & get also get some new clients.
    - wodencafe 10y ago
      This is very true, not sure why you were voted down. Don't be afraid to say "no" to the client, especially if you have given them an honest estimate and they are pushing you to revise the estimate downward.
  - csallen 10y ago
    I had the exact opposite experience freelancing. I was lucky enough to land some really smart and well-funded clients, while also filling a crucial position that made my value obvious and impossible not to appreciate. How do you land those roles reliably? I have no idea. Some combination of luck and networking, I'd say, as my best positions were always inbound requests. (Generally: Hey Courtland, we saw that you built cool thing X. Could you build the same for us?) It really helps to be in the financial position to say no to anything that doesn't meet your standards.
- freelancezombie 10y ago
  Thanks for asking. For me, the issue is not the quality of clients and work. I tend to keep my prices high which seems to filter many junk jobs. I'm also lucky in a sense that many jobs find me and not the other way around. I suppose what burns me out is the instability in income. I try to mix it up as much as possible with fixed cost and hourly jobs but most good thing eventually come to an end. Some days I'm lucky and good projects find me and we come to a mutual agreement quickly but occasionally I have a time gap in my daily schedule that needs to be filled. I'm not a developer or I'd work on a side project to fill my time. I typically spend any extra time on making a new, more thorough portfolio but then I'm reminded that the clock isn't running and I can't bill myself. Is anyone in the same shoes or have some advice?

Good to hear you found your way. I'm getting burned out on freelance.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

manmal 10y ago

What is it that burns you out most? (fellow freelancer here)

reflexive 10y ago
The thing that burns me out about freelance is the client just views you as a cost center. Always want more work in less time. I start to fantasize about the "camaraderie" of being on a team. Maybe there needs to be a Freelancer's Local Union.
- jdswain 10y ago
  Try joining a meetup or two, they are really good for meeting people in similar situations to yourself and having conversations about work.
- samsonradu 10y ago
  I second this. Every time I drive by a big corporate building and I see groups of employees joking while having a smoke or coffee, it makes me envious. I joke about it saying that I m something like Batman who always works alone. Lately I ve been doing short trips to the client's offices, about 2000km away (on my expense) just to get the teamwork feeling.
  - manmal 10y ago
    Loneliness is the killer. I recently found out that I had this belief that the others don't need me around, and so they don't ask me for my company. That was actually self-victimization, because I should be the one to reach out when I want company. Doing much better now with that out of the way. This goes for every aspect of life, for me.
- manmal 10y ago
  Try to find a partner and do your freelancer thing as a team. I incorporated with a fellow student of my university, and as a result we became fast friends. We are basically two freelancers under one brand, and share everything. This really helps!
- garrickvanburen 10y ago
  I found reframing myself as a vendor (and small business owner) rather than a freelancer changed everything.
  - reflexive 10y ago
    This is especially valuable if you can develop a specialized skill to sell as a "product" over and over... I suppose I've found that a "can/will do anything" attitude is much better suited to employment/cofounding than consulting.
- icc97 10y ago
  It's gone quiet of late but The Remote Together Slack group [1] is a great place to chat if you're working on your own. [1]: https://remotetogether.slack.com
  - freelancezombie 10y ago
    Thanks, will check it out!
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- rb808 10y ago
  You need to learn to say no more often & get also get some new clients.
  - wodencafe 10y ago
    This is very true, not sure why you were voted down. Don't be afraid to say "no" to the client, especially if you have given them an honest estimate and they are pushing you to revise the estimate downward.
- csallen 10y ago
  I had the exact opposite experience freelancing. I was lucky enough to land some really smart and well-funded clients, while also filling a crucial position that made my value obvious and impossible not to appreciate. How do you land those roles reliably? I have no idea. Some combination of luck and networking, I'd say, as my best positions were always inbound requests. (Generally: Hey Courtland, we saw that you built cool thing X. Could you build the same for us?) It really helps to be in the financial position to say no to anything that doesn't meet your standards.
freelancezombie 10y ago
Thanks for asking. For me, the issue is not the quality of clients and work. I tend to keep my prices high which seems to filter many junk jobs. I'm also lucky in a sense that many jobs find me and not the other way around. I suppose what burns me out is the instability in income. I try to mix it up as much as possible with fixed cost and hourly jobs but most good thing eventually come to an end. Some days I'm lucky and good projects find me and we come to a mutual agreement quickly but occasionally I have a time gap in my daily schedule that needs to be filled. I'm not a developer or I'd work on a side project to fill my time. I typically spend any extra time on making a new, more thorough portfolio but then I'm reminded that the clock isn't running and I can't bill myself. Is anyone in the same shoes or have some advice?