You decided to start freelancing for one reason or another, whether it be to have a bit more control over the workflow and outcome or the ability to set your own schedule. Regardless of your reason I think all of us hope that freelancing will afford us a chance to get ahead, either financially or in terms of free time and happiness. (Or all three, wow you are good.)
Now you may be one of those lucky people who has it all figured out, scheduling, costs, time management etc. You never run into any hiccups and for the most part things are smooth sailing. Well then this article is probably not going to help you any but perhaps you can share your experience with us so that we may one day be in that position as well. On the other hand if you are like me, getting it figured out but not quite there yet, you probably find yourself putting in overtime quite a bit. Getting completely consumed by a project. Or just realizing that you are almost perfectly happy where you are at but you could be doing just a little better. Then read on…
From what I see a lot of freelancers, self employed, contractors, small businesses, etc look forward to the time we will have to work personal projects. Whether it be an application, income producing site, ebook etc. We look forward to doing projects like this because it will afford us an opportunity to create a nearly passive income. If this is not a goal of yours, you should consider it. Starting such side or personal projects with the goal of creating a additional income can be a great way to pad your bottom line and thus either make you richer in the wallet or richer in time. Having a few extra dollars can certainly alleviate some of the stresses that you might be experiencing doing client work and open you up to new possibilities such as being more selective in the projects you choose to take on. The opportunity to take a bit more of your time and allocate it to yourself. The list goes on.
It’s not all about personal projects and passive income either, simply developing your business can very easily take a back seat to the projects at hand. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to remind myself that this project will one day come to an end and therefore I need to take some time out to market myself now so that I have a new project waiting on the other end. I won’t even begin to talk about what my accounting practices tend to look like when I get involved in an all consuming project, it’s a wonder I stay afloat!
But… those of us refer to ourselves as freelancers or self employed, we know that the opportunity for extra time to do such things can soon become a distant dream. Projects get going, new opportunities arise, schedules get thrown out of whack whatever the reason might be that personal project you once where so excited about can easily be thrown by the wayside. The severe amount of overtime that a lot of us put in to “have the life of a freelancer”, and most importantly the fact that a lot of times freelancing becomes a paycheck to paycheck business just as if you where gainfully employed with someone else. I would venture to say, and perhaps I am alone on this, but I feel that I work quite a bit harder and longer than I have at previous 9 to 5′s. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy the majority of the work, no doubt, but I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I didn’t admit to seeing 5 o’clock roll around and remembering when that meant it was quittin time.
Here is a good example of my recent experiences. The start of this year was a whirlwind for me. Project after project on the schedule. I said to myself, “Ok right here (pointing at calendar) things should slow down and I that is when I will set aside some time to work on a few personal projects. For me personal projects are several things. One they are an escape from burnout, they help me to cool out and enjoy some of what I do every day. They are also a chance for me to test ideas whether they be design ideas or business ideas. Lastly they provide me with a chance to one day generate additional forms of income that may one day allow me to take a bit more time for myself. To me personal projects are important.
Well that time has now come and gone and although I hold on to the hope that “just a few more weeks”, I am not sure that it is realistic.
Why? For one, I don’t care how organized you are, projects are going to fall off schedule just a bit here and there. That little bit starts a trend and before you know it your weeks have shifted. Two, you may not feel like you need the money now because you just finished up a huge project, but you will need the money in a month or two. So when a regular client (one you want to keep) comes to you in need do you say sorry I am taking two weeks off thus giving them the opportunity to find someone else or do you give in and say “Ok I have some time we can look at starting this next week”. More than likely option 2.
It’s one thing to stick to your guns on scheduling but the last thing you want is to set that “good” client free because two months from now when you do need the work you’ll be kicking yourself.
So the question is how do you do it, allow yourself the free time, stay on the path to becoming more free in both time and finance, some of the very reasons you probably struck out on your own in the first place. How do you create the balance that affords you that luxury of “getting ahead”? When is your time to start developing your business and those personal projects? Do you look to build the business to the point in which you become the employer and thus no longer a freelancer?
I would love to hear some thoughts on this, beyond “Sometimes you just have to work a little harder or a little later into the night”. I’ve got that one covered. I am looking more at how any of you have found a balance that works when approaching the development of your own personal projects and the day to day that provides the paycheck. I have been working on this myself so there will be a follow up article, but I am interested to see how others create a balance.