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Yup. Everything he says is true. I've been self employed for 10 years and it never gets easier. I'd even say it gets harder every year. And I don't have a famil

Yup. Everything he says is true. I've been self employed for 10 years and it never gets easier. I'd even say it gets harder every year. And I don't have a family or a mortgage to deal with, I can't even fathom trying to support a family as a freelancer. Oh and try applying for a job after only ever being self-employed. That one is fun

ryanwaggoner 16y ago
What? What kind of freelance do you do? I've been doing this for just over three years and it's gotten easier every year. I can't imagine going back to a job, though I get offers every week (literally). Just curious why my experience is polar opposite yours :-/
- rwhitman 16y ago
  Honestly 3 years in, everything was fantastic for me too. I'm a web developer / project lead. Its hard to explain why things have been negative for me lately, there are a number of compound factors over time. I got too comfortable relying on certain clients. Credit cards are pure evil. Basically any prolonged reliance on debt can snowball. At some point you jack up your rate and its hard to knock it down when you start competing on price. But the biggest pitfall - its very easy to splurge on business overhead when you are doing well. Nice office, bookkeepers, outsourcing basic tasks, top notch CPA, lawyers, furniture, fancy computers, memberships, travel expenses etc. This stuff puts you into awful debt when the work volume shrinks. Basically when you are feeling happy and comfortable, save money like crazy and don't splurge on anything. It doesn't last.
  - mgkimsal 16y ago
    Aha - it seems you've been able to find your issues, and those have far less to do with freelancing specifically as they do with life/money management overall. I know plenty of people with regular f/t jobs that have gotten in debt to dangerous levels, faced layoffs, crises, etc. Freelancing seems to have little to do with it. As for going back to a f/t job, freelancing for X years might be problematic for some employers, but certainly not all. I get approached on a fairly regular basis, and while I never say never, I've not had a serious offer that's been even remotely compelling, either from a responsibility or financial angle. Gentle plug: these sorts of topics will be explored in more detail at http://indieconf.com http://indieconf.com

ryanwaggoner 16y ago

What? What kind of freelance do you do? I've been doing this for just over three years and it's gotten easier every year. I can't imagine going back to a job, though I get offers every week (literally). Just curious why my experience is polar opposite yours :-/

rwhitman 16y ago
Honestly 3 years in, everything was fantastic for me too. I'm a web developer / project lead. Its hard to explain why things have been negative for me lately, there are a number of compound factors over time. I got too comfortable relying on certain clients. Credit cards are pure evil. Basically any prolonged reliance on debt can snowball. At some point you jack up your rate and its hard to knock it down when you start competing on price. But the biggest pitfall - its very easy to splurge on business overhead when you are doing well. Nice office, bookkeepers, outsourcing basic tasks, top notch CPA, lawyers, furniture, fancy computers, memberships, travel expenses etc. This stuff puts you into awful debt when the work volume shrinks. Basically when you are feeling happy and comfortable, save money like crazy and don't splurge on anything. It doesn't last.
- mgkimsal 16y ago
  Aha - it seems you've been able to find your issues, and those have far less to do with freelancing specifically as they do with life/money management overall. I know plenty of people with regular f/t jobs that have gotten in debt to dangerous levels, faced layoffs, crises, etc. Freelancing seems to have little to do with it. As for going back to a f/t job, freelancing for X years might be problematic for some employers, but certainly not all. I get approached on a fairly regular basis, and while I never say never, I've not had a serious offer that's been even remotely compelling, either from a responsibility or financial angle. Gentle plug: these sorts of topics will be explored in more detail at http://indieconf.com http://indieconf.com