A Player on the Field of CSE

So you want to be a freelancer, now what?

Despite the glamorous reputation, freelance design is no walk in the park. It takes an incredible work ethic, significant entrepreneurial prowess, and a little bit of insanity to pull it off effectively. This article will discuss how to effectively make a living as a freelancer (designer or otherwise). Since we are in fact a design blog, I’ll scatter in some well-designed freelancer sites along the way for inspiration.

David Jonsson

It Takes One to Know One

Before launching into my thoughts on being a freelancer, I should tell you that I am in fact a freelance designer. I’ve made my living for the past six years solely as a freelancer and plan on continuing to do so for years to come. This by no means makes me any sort of guru on the subject, but it does mean that I’ve experienced many of the joys and disasters that come with the territory. Therefore, today I’ll be speaking not as a supreme authority, but merely as someone who is eager to share what I’ve learned along the way.

Robert Ablan

Reality Check

If you’re thinking about getting into freelancing, let me burst your bubble a bit. When I talk to people about what I do, I often get the feeling that they imagine that I have the easiest job on Earth. Surely I must sleep in, sit in my boxers all day, work whenever I want, go on three hour lunches, take 15 sick days a month and still somehow manage to rake in exorbitant amounts of money. Unfortunately, all of these things couldn’t be further from the truth.

The key consideration that these assumptions leave out? Clients. You might work for yourself in a sense, but in reality, you work for your clients, which can be like having several competing bosses instead of just one. Being a freelancer means initiating and answering endless calls and emails, managing several projects simultaneously, and working all night to meet impossible deadlines that didn’t exist that morning. Most freelancers I know, strike that, all of the freelancers I know long ago gave up notions of working normal hours (forget 9-5, Monday through Friday).

Deciding what you want to do for a living is the biggest vocational decision you can make, the second is deciding how you’ll do it. Becoming a freelancer is a serious lifestyle decision that should not be made lightly. Think about all the perks of a “real job” such as a steady pay check, health insurance benefits, tax breaks, and paid vacations and kiss them goodbye. Suddenly you’ll be paying nearly double the taxes you used to, health insurance will cost a fortune, your paychecks will be uncertain from one month to the next, your yearly income will fluctuate immensely, and your vacations will be spent income-free.

Still want to be a freelancer? Excellent. Despite all the scary stuff above, I still think it’s one of the best jobs ever. Let’s dive into how to go about becoming a freelancer.

Rejected Robot

Getting Started: Tread Carefully

My best advice: go slow. Don’t go quitting your day job just yet (unless you don’t have one, then by all means jump in with both feet). Before telling your boss you can’t stand the site of his face, you need to get a feel for how much work you’ll be able to drum up on your own. To accomplish this, start a few side projects that you work on after hours. It’ll be stressful to search for extra work while working a full-time job but it’ll provide you with a much-needed glimpse into the freelancing lifestyle. The question then becomes, “Where Do I Get Freelance Work?” We’ll address that next.

Where to Find Work

Mega job sites like Monster and Hot Jobs are great places to begin, but I’ve had a pretty poor experience with them overall. Definitely give them a shot, but don’t put too much stock into them as a consistent source of income. Here are a few more sources that I’ve had some personal success with or know to yield good results. Remember, don’t think in either/or terms. Use these tools in conjunction with each other to ensure success. Read More