Freelance Myths
There are tons of do’s and dont’s you may read about when freelancing, or considering going freelance. There were lots of things I read that I feel did not apply to myself, and some that were just plain myths.
I am going to debunk some of these myths and give my own perspective on such. Feel free to add your own myths!
You need to have a few months of savings before you leave your job to go freelance
Nope. I had less than no money when I decided to leave my full-time job. I was juggling way too much work at the time and I needed to make a decision. I decided it was worth the risk. I took a chance, rented a studio space, and the work came flooding in! It also helps that I maintained a good relationship with the studio I left, so I continue to do work with them, which in my opinion, could not be a better situation. Within 3 months of going freelance, I was debt-free.
While having savings is always a good idea as a “just in case”, I didn’t let it make or break my decision, or I wouldn’t be freelancing today!
You need an accountant
Yes, at tax time. But for personal day to day business, I use a service called Freeagent which I use for all of my time-tracking, invoicing, estimating, tracking expenses, tracking income, yearly profit/loss, etc. I brought my print-out of my yearly profit/loss to the bank with me when I was applying for my business visa, and the woman was so impressed at how well down all of my expenses were broken down. I told her I couldn’t really take credit for it… it was Freeagent! Saves my butt daily. I check it like I check my email. Its quite fun to watch the green bars go up when you log in a payment.
You need a business bank account
Nope. Not yet, not necessarily. It helps if you can keep things separate. But you can easily get a separate visa for your business, to keep your personal expenses separate from your business expenses. See what’s right for you. But for the love of all that is holy, if you are a Canadian, get yourself a GST number, and start charging GST on your services!
You’ll be living the life!
Yes, in some ways. But at the same time, if you have the kind of personality that works well with being a freelancer, you’re also probably likely to be the type of person that doesn’t have an off switch. I’m still trying to find mine. I struggle to finish the day, and usually still feel like I should be working in the evenings and weekends.
Freelancing is lonely
Sometimes, but not necessarily! I rent studio space downtown with entrepreneurs in other types of design/media, and it’s a great way to meet new people. If you have a laptop, its always nice to go to a cafe with wireless internet. I also make an effort to connect with and meet up with other freelancers, or even people I have met online who do similar work. Gone are the days where it is creepy to contact someone you don’t know. Today it’s perfectly acceptable to have online friends that you may never meet in person. Twitter is obviously one of the best examples of this. When I have needed help or advice, there are always people on Twitter willing to lend a hand, offer advice, or even just wish you a nice day! Get involved online. Make friends, join social networks, get involved in conversations online. You just never know who you’ll meet.
Anyone can freelance
No way. In my personal opinion, not everyone is cut out for freelance. You need to be extremely hard-working and motivated, and always willing to learn and adapt to new things. You will be doing the creative and admin/business side of things. Serious multi-tasking is often necessary. Not to mention, people skills! You can’t be a freelancer if you live in a bubble. I used to hate phone communication. Now I realize its a necessary part of doing business, and some clients are just more comfortable giving you a call than an email.
I also think it is extremely difficult to freelance (full-time) if you do not have a solid understanding of designing for the web. In my own experience, it seems that there is quite a bit of web design/development work out there, whereas print work tends to be smaller in nature- logo and stationery, etc. I may be making my own myth here, but I think those considering freelancing full-time need a solid understanding of the web.
Have I missed anything? I am sure there are tons more. Please feel free to add your comments below if you think you have one that I may have missed!
Prescott Perez-Fox
21 August 09
You’re missing the biggest fattest myth of all: The Money!
Most people think freelancers are raking it in and making more money than ever. That’s often not true! A survey from FreelanceSwitch.com concluded that many (~53% of) freelancers make less money then they did at their previous full-time role. Some of those also work fewer hours, but the point remains — freelancing is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and anyone who thinks it is is in for a rude awakening. This goes back to that old standby called “Billable Hours.” Most employees are used to getting a paycheck for turning up, and the hours of the day are not distinct. But when you freelance, you only get paid for a portion of your work day. I rarely exceed 20-25 Billable Hours per week, which is sometimes troubling.
There’s also a myth about freelancing as contracting. Many freelancers (myself included) will work on-site at agencies for some period from one day to several months at a time. This contracting work often brings in good money, and allows us to work on our own projects on the side, without committing too severely to a day job. But the myth states simply that “contracting is a great way to get a full-time job.” Not always. While there are always cases of folks who testify that “I just started working freelance, and eventually they hired me,” there are people who know all too well that when a contract or project is complete, companies will drop their [expensive] freelance labour as fast as possible. Most companies look at freelancers as an immediate, specific solution to a labour problem, not a general-purpose talent pool for recruiting.
Resume Writing Service
1 September 10
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