I’m not complaining for a minute; this is the life I have chosen for myself and I love it. As in any job, though, there are good days and bad days.
I am often asked for advice by people who are considering going self employed in creative fields and my first line is a reality check. If I had known all this when I started three and a half years ago, I don’t think it would have changed anything, but this is my second attempt to “go it alone” after I learned some hard lessons the first time round, which was about ten years ago.
Dream |
Reality |
Shuffling to your PC in your pyjamas with a cup of coffee at 11am to start work | Getting up at 6am and sometimes working ‘til midnight to meet a deadline. |
Lunching with friends | Skipping meals because you are “in the zone” and don’t want to lose the flow |
Being your own boss and beholden to nobody | Working for a string of “bosses” in succession and often simultaneously |
Never having to fill in another job application | Being on a permanent job hunt to line up the next month of work |
Never having to go through another annual performance review | Trying to stay on top of your game and develop your skills with virtually no guidance |
Holidays when you want them | No paid leave and the laptop comes on holiday with you because it’s impossible to “abandon the baby” |
Extended amounts of time in your own little world | Missing the banter and mutual support of a work environment |
Doing what you love every day | Tax returns, accounts, marketing, pitching and admin at least 30% of the time |
Time to work on your “big idea” | Shelving the “big idea” until things calm down a bit |
Having control over your working environment | Moving to the kitchen because the desk is too cluttered, tripping over the laundry pile and the dog/cat who is doing everything in its power to distract you |
“My office is a coffee shop” | Spending half an hour trying to get access to their unfeasibly slow WiFi, getting the shakes by lunch time (after your 4th espresso), going outside to take a phone call that you don’t want to be overheard |
Practice the guitar in your “lunch break” | Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Stumbleupon in your “lunch break” |
Related articles
- Adventures in Freelance Writing (angloadventure.com)
- The Ins and Outs of Freelancing (aesthetic-online.com)
- Freelancing: It’s not impossible – it’s downright smart (trumpetpage.wordpress.com)