On January 2nd, 2019 I lost my job of 5 and a half years. On February 2nd, 2019 I started my first contract job as a self-employed contractor/freelancer. Time to take the last year into the review and find out what I learned along the way.
First I will apologize for being quiet. I have been juggling 2 clients since the new year and a lot of my channels including my blog have been left to one side (but never forgotten). So here is my first blog post of 2020.
1. Setting rates
Now I am not saying that this is the easiest part of freelancing but I always thought if I charged too much I wouldn’t get the job, and it seems to be something that comes up with freelancers often. Thanks in no part to sites like Fiverr.
Many moons ago when I was a panda cub I was desperate for work and would take very poorly paid jobs (On one occasion they refused to pay for nearly 6 months) I then found myself trying to figure this out again. There are plenty of resources out there to help but these are things I considered for my day rates:
1. Travel. How much is it daily to travel daily for an hour?
2. Software. How much is software subscription per day?
3. Insurance. What is the daily rate for that?
4. Mortgage and other boring grown-up things. What is the minimum I need per month to live comfortably? What if I become sick? How much is that much needed holiday?
5. Personal profit. I mean why work without some playing money? I’m saving for a pony here
6. Savings. How much can I put aside for a rainy day? How much should be saved back into the business?
7. Taxman. How much of my hard-earned cash should I be saving for him each month?
8. Negotiating leverage. Naturally, clients what a good rate so what is my absolute minimum day rate?
All this is very boring and way too much math for my poor little brain. But I ended up with 2-day rates. One for daily travel and one remote working. Remote working slightly less to encourage clients to let me do my thing at home. Now it’s been a year it’s time for a review.
2. Connections
I am very much an introvert. I prefer to sit at home and watch re-runs of Secret Life of the Zoo and Brooklyn Nine-Nine than be in a room full of strangers. However, knowing various people is very important. 2 of my 3 jobs so far have I got via recommendation of people I worked before while the 3rd job I got myself via People Per Hour.
Word of mouth is defiantly important for me since 98% of my work is under NDA and unable to share full or part of the work I did.
3. Flexibility
My last job as very regimented. You had to be in your seat by a certain time or inform your manager that you won’t be in or late by a certain time. You must do 8 hours a day, you can’t work from home, etc. So I became very strict in my times and hours and it took me a while to relax and begin to determine my own work ethic and hours.
Which is awesome.
I found out I was pregnant last year so flexibility is a must right now. Especially with regular appointments not to mention ‘morning’ sickness (More like 24/7 sickness) Being self-employed means I can still work and work in my appointments and work around bad days and still meet the deadlines. Downside no sick pay. But that's a different story.
OK, some clients require you be contactable in certain hours, which is fine as everyone has different requirements so it’s important that I am also flexible to the client's needs (Within reason) A 2-way street.
4. Stand my ground
Holy s%!t some people are rude. This sort of overlaps with negotiating. I have come across some very rude people demanding I justify my rates or just plain well tell me i’m s%!t . There is no need to justify your rates, you don’t question a Starbucks barrister why they charge £4 for a coffee you just pay it. Don’t want to pay it then walk away silently.
If someone walks away it’s actually a good thing I have learned. They were never meant to be your client there is always someone who will see your worth.
Say no when you need to say no
Be honest and open don’t just say what they expect you to say
Never work for free (Surprising how often this comes up in the creative field)
I was very nervous at negotiating but as I get to experience the easier it is getting and the more confident I am the more confident the client is in your ability to do the job. There is always going to be push back and always prepared to stand my ground. Never get underpaid.
5. Exploring styles
Since going self-employed and setting my own hours I am more flexible to explore other creative areas. Last year I did more exploration into character animation in 2D and 3D and came up with some designs and ideas of my own rather than just being told what to do. I also explored a bit more photography as well as start a course on Unity programming.
It is very liberating to design something of my own.
Though it can stressful at times I have really enjoyed being my own boss this past year. I think I have learned more doing this then I did while I was a permanent employee. I hope to remain self-employed for a few years to come.
Now back to lounging on the couch watching Star Trek: Picard
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