Fulltime Freelance

Out of context: Reply #10

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  • exador10

    i did this for about 3/4 of a year, and financially it was just fine (and was in the same boat as you, wife kids mortgage etc...)
    if you have a fairly steady stream of clients or projects, and bill as regularly as you can, it can be quite excellent....you just have to learn to figure out the whole billing situation....some clients can wait as long as 30 to 60 days to process your invoice.....(most are pretty good about it though)
    so you have to learn how to live with that...it's not a steady income...it can be feast and famine, depending on how often the cheques are coming in....
    fortunately my wife was awesome at helping me keep the books straight, and we decided on 30% for taxes and the like.....which worked out just fine (ended up being a bit more than i needed to keep aside, but it was a nice safety margin)

    getting a good accountant is very important as well...one that knows exactly what write-offs you can make etc....

    it's hard work, and you end up working way more than you would for a ft job at someone elses company....BUT....it kinda feels nice knowing that ALL the hardwork you put in is for YOU....

    one of my closest friends from college (both of us were in advertising/design classes) has been doing this for about 15 years, and my guess is that on average he probably makes about 150k a year....some years going to 200k....some years dipping to 100k....
    but he's pretty happy about it...owns his own home (and a nice one at that) has top of the line gear, drives a nice bmw etc etc.....

    i was apprehensive at first as well, since there's a fear about 'not having a fulltime job' etc...
    once i realized how much potential work i had coming in, and how many great connections I'd made over the years and years of working....well....i wasn't that worried any more.....the only thing i worried about really was having enough hours in the day to get all the work done....

    and that's the NEXT big lesson you have to learn....how to say 'no' to some clients if you're too busy.....
    that's a hard one...

    exador1 0Permalink
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    • it's not that harddoesnotexist
    • thanksKnuckleberry
    • lol, it's not that hard saying no to clients. Just say no, and turn on the xboxpinkfloyd
    • if they want discounts then just pull back the deliverables. they'll walk away on their own.doesnotexist
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