working for yourself/ freelancing/ working for the man

M

mms

sometimes
can ppl with experience of these three things please let me know of their experiences of doing these things good and bad and the circumstances under which they decided to shift from one to another etc?
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
i've been going back and forth between the 2 for about... 9 years now. i like both, but freelance is much better for me.

office pros: structure and routine which can be comforting; dependable paycheck; that feeling when you get off - ahhhh freedom!; lots of ladies flirting with you (depends on place obv.); smoke weed with the boss (again, depends); cleaning crew to take care of your mess.

office cons: coworkers you want to stab but can't; having to deal with the boss (there's always a few complete morons in upper management no matter how "cool" the company is); having to wake up every morning; boredom - test of endurance; hard to eat healthy when you go out every day for lunch and all there are are crap chain restaurants; can't decide to fuck off for the day and get everything done at night if you feel like it.

freelance pros: too long to list...

freelance cons: when it rains it pours, when it's dry there's nothing. stupid clients. etc,...
 
L

Lichen

Well-known member
Zhao touches on all the biggies there.

I'm freelance. Freedom etc. wonderful. Could never go back to a proper job again - did once due to sense of financial uncertainty, failed miserably, got the sack.


I hear him re: not getting that Way-hay it's Friday sensation. I miss that. Level of earnings is not a problem for me (right now) but cashflow is: when you work for a business someone arranges all that stuff. A large overdraft facility helps.

My ideal would be some kind of collective: 4/5 freelance writers (that's what I do) working in the same place.
 
M

Martin Dust

Techno Zen Master
Working for yourself - focus and discipline needed
Working freelance - getting paid
Working for the man - not worth selling your soul for, it hardly ever works out.
 
B

bassnation

the abyss
Martin Dust said:
Working for yourself - focus and discipline needed
Working freelance - getting paid
Working for the man - not worth selling your soul for, it hardly ever works out.
Click to expand...

yeah, agreed on the discipline, esp. if working from home. also cabin fever can be an issue in that situation. i've been freelancing for over ten years, also contracting sometimes too - this differs from freelancing in that you normally work most of the time at a clients office but you get paid more and can be laid off with a minutes notice.

i prefer to freelance because i keep strange hours and like to work into the night, when my brain is at its sharpest. also i love the freedom, but you need to build up some cash as a buffer for lean times, something i'm not very good, lol.

i am actually moving away from freelancing to set up a business and hire people now as the volume of work is too much for me to deal with by myself so have been building a network of skilled people to subcontract to.
 
M

Martin Dust

Techno Zen Master
The buffer is important, dry is well dry but boy when it rains - never enough hours. You really can't win. What do you do Bassnation? We do graphic/motion/sound...
 
Leo

Leo

Well-known member
i'm self-employed (sounds better than freelance, for some reason) in pr/advertising, work from home. agree with all of the above, one BIG issue in the states is health insurance. costs a mint if you, as an individual, go directly to one of the big providers and try to buy a policy. i joined a freelancers union in nyc to get on their hmo, which is kind of crap coverage but better than the alternatives of spending $600-800 per month (much more if you have a family to cover) or having nothing.

the hours are long but love the freedom. and if you have a few solid client contacts and you are good/fast/reliable, you'll get referrals. biggest issue i've heard is freelancers who flake out, miss deadlines, etc. if clients can depend on you, they will keep coming back to you with work. no need to schmooze 'em, just do the work.
 
B

bassnation

the abyss
Martin Dust said:
The buffer is important, dry is well dry but boy when it rains - never enough hours. You really can't win. What do you do Bassnation? We do graphic/motion/sound...
Click to expand...

i'm a systems architect specialising in community portals and social networking stuff. at the moment doing a lot of work for an interactive ad agency / film production company which is really interesting work. previously its been a shit load of boring (but pays well) corporate stuff behind a firewall.

yeah, i'm with you on the hours - plus having to balance that with family commitments is a nightmare, but i kind of get a buzz out of being pressured. i feel like i'm tipping into workaholism sometimes but while i'm still enjoying it.....
 
M

Martin Dust

Techno Zen Master
bassnation said:
i'm a systems architect specialising in community portals and social networking stuff. at the moment doing a lot of work for an interactive ad agency / film production company which is really interesting work. previously its been a shit load of boring (but pays well) corporate stuff behind a firewall.

yeah, i'm with you on the hours - plus having to balance that with family commitments is a nightmare, but i kind of get a buzz out of being pressured. i feel like i'm tipping into workaholism sometimes but while i'm still enjoying it.....
Click to expand...

Useful to know, we've just pitched for a couple of portals :) We like the pressure but with creative stuff you can't just make it happen.
 
M

Martin Dust

Techno Zen Master
Leo said:
i'm self-employed (sounds better than freelance, for some reason) in pr/advertising, work from home. agree with all of the above, one BIG issue in the states is health insurance. costs a mint if you, as an individual, go directly to one of the big providers and try to buy a policy. i joined a freelancers union in nyc to get on their hmo, which is kind of crap coverage but better than the alternatives of spending $600-800 per month (much more if you have a family to cover) or having nothing.

the hours are long but love the freedom. and if you have a few solid client contacts and you are good/fast/reliable, you'll get referrals. biggest issue i've heard is freelancers who flake out, miss deadlines, etc. if clients can depend on you, they will keep coming back to you with work. no need to schmooze 'em, just do the work.
Click to expand...

We don't have that problem but office insurance is a bit of a bastard over here, man, if you don't fit into one of their little boxes you are going to pay large...
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
got a site for your motion stuff Martin?

sometimes I'm one of these robots sitting in a cafe with headphones on staring into the laptop... anyone else do this?
 
B

borderpolice

Well-known member
zhao said:
sometimes I'm one of these robots sitting in a cafe with headphones on staring into the laptop... anyone else do this?
Click to expand...

Yeah, i do this almost every day. I don't have internet at home by choice, and there's lots of nice cafes round my way. It's a good way to work, although i can only do this for menial stuff like correspondence. If i need to concentrate, and most of my work requires that, i need to be on my own.

The other day, a friend of mine and myself mixed and mastered a tune in a cafe: two blokes, headphones, laptop for 6 hours. must've looked weird.
 
Grievous Angel

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
Cool thread.

been freelance 5 or 6 years. Its been good for me financially and family wise. Tax side is great.

But it takes 3 years for the paranoia to dissipate. I still worry a bit after a couple of weeks without a job - then again I took 6 months off last year just to be with my family and went straight back in.

Marc, Martin does top notch stuff, Marc seems pretty hot too. I have a heap of portal experience too, pitching for a couple more just now...
 
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