Leaping into the Freelance World
So, the first Bank holiday is over, I don’t count New Year’s Day because I’m usually still asleep!
It got me thinking though, that this is the first time in…forever when I hadn’t noticed that it was a holiday!
Sounds a bit rubbish but it actually isn’t, it’s one of the perks of being freelance.
I took the leap into self-employment/freelancing as an antidote to all the rubbish that last year tossed in my direction, the last couple of years to be precise!
Not one for taking a kicking lying down, I ran at it headlong and here I am, I lived to tell the tale!
It’s my tale anyway, so here is a sort of, evaluation of ‘employed’ V ‘self-employed’ from a BubbleStickCreative point of view with some bits added that I’ve gleaned from other evacuees from the employed world.
Employed
Having someone more experienced to support you
Paid every month, sick pay, holiday pay, someone else sorts the taxman out.
An interview—hopefully get the job.
Supportive colleagues and management
CPD on offer regularly in most places. Paid while you train. Courses paid for by employer.
Contract with a salary.
Do the job you are paid to do for your contracted hours.
Freelance
Being your own boss
Never knowing when you'll get paid.
Marketing yourself
Marketing your skills
Networking
Sourcing and finding the time for CPD
Putting a price on your skills/negotiating/being ghosted.
working 24/7 or 0
A busy desk
is a busy mind…
Leaping into working freelance.
So, these are the factors I considered when taking the leap.
I read lots and lots and lots about other people’s experiences, so it isn’t all one-sided.
There is also the major factor of where you are financially to take into consideration.
In the internet world there is a career change Mistress/Guru that I have listened to and she gets it spot on, she gets just about everything spot on to be honest.
Priority- What is the bottom line (money I mean!) that you can SURVIVE on?
Not what you WANT but what you NEED to keep you and yours treading water not sinking.
Can you generate multiple income streams to meet this bottom line?
This is one of the best questions I ever asked myself as I always thought in terms of swapping ‘like for like’ in terms of jobs and income.
If you’re thinking of leaving a ‘secure’ full-time career, can you reduce your hours and build what you want to do to close the gap?
So, having considered the thoughts of the Career Change Mistress, and made my lists, I then came up with the points in my super impressive chart (ok, it’s a list but copy and paste wouldn’t work)!.
The following is the mental discussion I had with myself.
I probably said a few of the things out loud as well but we won’t discuss that here!
Interview, get the job stay for the long haul, it’s security, right?
Yes, this is a possibility but is it what you really want or what will really happen in the ever-changing world we’re living in?
The interview thing I used to dread. It doesn’t really give you an opportunity to show yourself at your best.
It does give you the opportunity to show how well or badly you can act, how well or not you can sweat and gibber meaningless babble.
OK, you get through the pointless charade that is the interview process, you’re safe, you can just get your head down and get on with your job… OR NOT.
So many workplaces are so tightly micromanaged that you are left wondering why they ever wasted the interview time at all!
Constant scrutiny, meetings, reviews, and all manner of mismanaging a workforce.
Not really just one interview is it? it’s constant interviews, having to sell and re sell yourself.
Freelancing is also having to sell and resell yourself but at least as soon as you do a great job, you do it less and less because CLIENTS TRUST YOU.
If you do the work well, they come back, they don’t ask you to lay your soul on the alter all over again.
You need financial security.
After going through all of the above. There is always the spectre of redundancy, zero hours contracts, staffing re-structures, it really isn’t as secure as most of us would like.
Taking the leap into self-employment is scary from a financial point of view but how secure are anyone's employed positions now?
I worked and trained in a profession I never thought was risky. I made life plans around my whole career and its prospects. I'd made sure my family would be secure and a decent pension with benefits would be accruing, if I was lucky enough to live to retirement age.
But things change, workplace dynamics can change, and these can have a massive effect on you and on your family and that much sought-after security.
Do the job you are paid to do for your contracted hours.
Or... Could you just do me a little favour? Won't take a minute. Etc...
How many times do you hear this?
I know it isn’t happening everywhere, but it does happen A LOT.
You keep doing these ‘little favours’ because you love your job and its just a few minutes here and there, and the boss will be impressed at your dedication and remember you when it comes to promotion.
But how long is it until these added favours turn into a mountain of unpaid responsibilities?
Until your face doesn’t fit the promotion ladder?
Till a younger, brighter, cheaper spark joins the staff?
CPD.
Brilliant! Who doesn't want to constantly up-skill?
Ah you don't get to choose what CPD, it's not really your area but the boss got a Groupon so you're all in, after hours.
Isn't this a rehash of last year’s fad?
So, is it actually CPD or corporate box ticking and back-scratching?
I know what I need to make me work better and to provide the best service for my clients, so I get the training I need.
I update it when I need it and keep on top of my game.
Social network.
One of the sticking points for a lot of people considering the leap is your social network and whether you’ll feel isolated.
Well for me the short answer is NO, I don’t. I know where my friends are, and they know where I am.
We reach out when we want to and when we have the time!
I have some amazing virtual friends; some I’ve never met face to face, and I’ve known them a good few years.
This what happens in life anyway, we don’t have time when we are ‘at’ work to socialise.
So a lot of the time it’s tech aided conversations, the pandemic has made so many of us realise that!
Home at 5.30, that’s what it says on the contract.
But then there are still a few emails to answer, that report really needs to be done by the end of the week.
It's going to end up being late because the kids were up with tummy ache and the mother-in-law had popped round unexpectedly (see the connection there?).
Now you can't sleep, you’re going to look a mess tomorrow and there’s a meeting with head office.
You’re going to get that look again when you walk in the staffroom.
You work really hard, but Karen is the boss’s niece and likes your desk by the window.
*
I work long hours, I rarely ‘switch off’, but these are productive hours for myself and my clients.
Freelancing can be a lot of ‘feast or famine’.
it’s not easy, especially at the start.
For me there was a lot of waving my hands around trying to grab the golden tickets (I was always a bit of a Crystal Maze fan).
The amount of background stuff you have to do is mind-blowing.
The skills you pick up without even noticing are equally mind-blowing!
My LinkedIn badge had me laughing hysterically at how much I have learned without realising it!
I think, for me, the biggest draw to freelancing is being in control of my destiny, not Karen or Kevin.
The kids might keep you up at night, but nobody is on your back if you need a catch-up nap at lunchtime.
If I don’t ‘make it’ it’s most likely down to me and something I did or didn’t do.
I have to be dedicated but, I choose when I work and where I work, and Karen will not be getting my desk by the window.
My leap into Freelancing.
I’ll say it again, I think I said it further up but hey what’s wrong with a repeat? This is my opinion, formed from my experiences, and the experiences of other freelancers.
You have to do your own homework and make sure it’s right for you.
If you have ANY questions just send me a message and I’ll get back to you.