by guest writer Trish Lambert
Back in the old days—about ten years ago, give or take a few—the idea of “going freelance” was attractive to many of us. Working for oneself was (and still is) a big dream of many people, especially in the corporate world. Ah, for the ability to ditch the suit, strike out alone, and still make the same money!
Just the word itself — freelancing — containing notions like autonomy, liberation, and self-determination, was enough to start the daydream projector. Freelancing was for people who wanted to make an income without the hassles of running a business. It was a vocation between art and commerce, where one could retain creativity and not “sell out.” Freelancers worked at home, were answerable to no one but themselves, and only needed to put on shoes if they were going to meet with a client.
Very romantic stuff.
But this leaves a few things out. The reality of freelancing has other aspects that aren’t quite so romantic, and that significantly limits one’s ability to grow revenues.
• Freelancing, by definition, is one person. By extension, freelancing income is time-limited, since one person can only do so much in a day.
• A freelancer is a writer or an artist. This means that a freelancer is limited to a single role or set of skills in the eyes of the buying market.
• A freelancer is self-employed, without a long-term commitment to one employer. So he or she is still employed, still pulls a paycheck (in the form of accounts receivable), and still receives a tax form at the end of the year (a 1099 instead of a W-2).
• In short, a freelancer owns a job, not a company. They are still as chained to the clock, if not more so, as they would be in someone else’s employ. All they’ve done is taken out the middle man.
Where is the growth potential there? Limited in time and scope, still tied to the clock and now with multiple people to please and answer to, what does freelancing offer a person? The only thing I can think of is freedom in exchange for money. Time in exchange for a hard income limit. Whoopee.
Back in the days before the internet flattened the world, anyone who wanted to work solo, stay in shorts and t-shirts, and have the elbow room to make their own schedules had to remain a freelancer—a sole proprietor with a solid income ceiling that would be impossible to break through without changing their business and life models.
These limitations contributed to what I think of as a freelancer’s mindset, a self-limiting viewpoint that keeps many service providers myopically stuck.
Today, one person in shorts, sweatpants, or nothing (but let’s not go there) sitting in front of a computer can now have the same business structure and presence in the market as a company with employees, offices, and high overhead. Setting up and operating a company requires far less time and money than it once did, and the business and tax benefits of owning a company with its own legal and perceived identity are huge.
Freelancing is dead…or at least is should be. We can achieve a work-life balance while pulling down annual revenues in six figures, maybe more. And we can do it as full-on business owners in our own minds and in the world, not as freelancers. Why limit ourselves unnecessarily?
Trish Lambert is founder and president of 4R Marketing LLC and leads Success in Sweatpants, a coaching practice that works with business owners who want to wholly or partially operate virtual companies.
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Trish — Thanks again for guest posting. I love the concept here. I believe the reason many folks still freelance is because so many folks are looking for part time work, rather than the full time commitment of running a business.
What do you all think? Do you think of yourselves freelancers or business owners?
Trish, this was such a great post. And it’s funny that this topic came up because for the past two weeks when I was forehead deep in projects, running on too little sleep and TOO MUCH caffeine, I began to panic upon realizing that there is just so much one body can accomplish in billable hours.
Because I do consider myself a business, I am looking into some other ways of leveraging my skills and (hopefully) increasing my income potential and financial security. The great thing about freelancing is that it isn’t one dimensional - there are lot of ways to work it.
Kimberly Ben’s last blog post..Do Your Clients Really Know About Your Freelance Writing Skills?
Amen, bravo, and here, here.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..I Link You!
I’m a freelancer. But I’m also a business owner - sole proprietorship, baby!
Being the owner of a scalable business is for the birds! I did it for three years and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. The only reason to own a scalable business is if you want to be a manager and delegator instead of doing what you love. I’m a great writer. I’m a crappy manager. Why should I put all my time into learning to be a great manager instead of doing what I love and finding better and better paying gigs that take less time to complete?
The benefits of being a corporation instead of a sole prop don’t even begin until you have employees. Many people don’t want to deal with that madness. If you’re the only one in the corporation, you’re still liable for what you do, so there’s no point to incorporate until you’ve already begun to scale. Unless you’re a fan of double taxes, then by all means incorporate immediately.
Plus, if you’re looking at freelancing as time for money, you’re not doing it right. Look toward value-based pricing and clients that don’t pressure or hound you – and set good boundaries – and you’re no more at anyone’s beck and call as you are when you are a business owner.
Let’s not forget, if you think clients call you all the time, wait till you have subcontractors or employees. They call ALL the time.
Loved the article! It made me think about why I do what I do (and how I choose to do it.)
jennydecki’s last blog post..Politics: No More Republicrats!
Nice post!
I keep hearing about those six-figure incomes that people pull in from home. Can someone guide in me in that direction, pretty please?
Karen Putz’s last blog post..In a Funk? Grab Some Friends
Hi Trish, at one time, I would have found myself agreeing with you. But I’m not convinced that all freelancers should become business owners.
Many do what they do because they love to write, or they love to take photographs and it would be mad to give up what they love to do, in order to run a business, if that wasn’t what they wanted. Yes, they could make more money, but more money isn’t always necessary to support the lifestyle you want to lead.
But, I do think freelancers could get more done, if they outsourced the non-technical work, including marketing. And they could make more money if they subcontracted some of their own work to others, or added additional services provided by others.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..A Kick Ass Way To Get Your Novel Published
I suppose I’m a freelancer - but I don’t think of myself as that. I’m someone with multiple jobs - I teach English 9 hours a week, I write scripts, worksheets and ebooks for a social media site on Professional Organizing, I write fiction and I sell an email workshop about procrastination.
The latter two are the important ones and the first two allow me to eat. I think about getting other writing jobs but they would take away from the time I have to write and develop more workshops.
The desire to eat and to be out of debt at times, however, is hugely powerful and tempts me to give up the fiction or the workshops, but then I remember what it is I *love* to do and eat some more rice or pasta…
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome’s last blog post..Trapped in the Day-to-Day: Urban Panther Interview Part 1
I prefer the small business model, but I was never “really” a freelancer. I just write and publish. The web makes it easy, but the pay isn’t quite solo income worthy yet.
John Hewitt’s last blog post..PD30 Day 9: How to Write in Meter If You Have Two Left Feet
As a freelance writer and business owner I realize the difference. If a business is setup right, owners can work less and profit from passive income, which makes more sense from a money standpoint. But on the other hand, it’s much easier to run a freelance business. Yeah, you’ll put in more hours, but you’ll also avoid a few headaches.
Valencia’s last blog post..3 Benefits of a Corporation or Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)
What great and thoughtful responses! I am thrilled that my thesis resonated with you, and made you think about how you approach your business–whether you call yourself a freelancer or not, it’s the mindset that still prevails among many one-person businesses that I have declare war on.
To clarify, I am NOT talking about running a scalable business. I am still a one-person business and intend to stay that way, but I do not market myself as a freelancer. I have a small team of highly reliable and top quality subcontractors who I trust to interact directly with my clients (and they do not call all the time, thank heavens!! Laugh!). I call on them when the need arises, and we have a great working relationship.
I will admit that there are certain industries where a “freelancer” still has some shine attached to the label–these are in the entertainment (music, video, photography, etc.) category, where being a freelancer is still a badge of honor, and someone who is good at what they do can get up to $500/hour and beyond. The industries that my marketing company serves, however, think of “freelancer” as cheap, bottom of the rung labor, so my antipathy for the term should be self evident.
Finally, I AM one of those 6-figure one-person shops, and still growing! And I’m here to tell ya–it CAN be done!
Thanks again for your responses!!
Trish Lambert
Trish Lambert’s last blog post..A Tweat from Twitter
Trish — Thanks again for sharing this thought-provoking post with us. I market myself as a business sometimes and other times as an individual (”freelancer” if you will). In some circumstances, it gets my invoices paid faster to be like, “Dude, I’m an independent contractor, so setting me up on direct deposit would rock.” Otherwise, companies seeing me as a business would let my invoices sit around for 30 days. Not that I’m desperate for money, but I’m all about not having to chase my paychecks, and seeing me as a person helps them see things my way.
Kimberly — I hear what you’re saying. Sometimes I am very grateful for my insomnia, because even though I do subcontract quite a bit, there is still a lot of work I choose to do myself. Some days, I wish I could clone myself… Careful not to over-caffeinate.
Writer Dad — I think that’s the first time anyone has said Amen at my blog. Congratulations. Here’s your bright shiny trophy. Hehe.
Jennydecki (because I really think that’s your name) — I’ve already told you I agree with what you said, but I thought I’d try to come up with something new to say here. Let’s see… There are many many people who are not cut out to be managers. I had to work very very hard to learn to wear that hat, even in the limited capacity I wear it now. I can totally see how running a business wouldn’t be for everyone, if for that aspect of it alone.
Karen — I have yet to find an easy way to a six figure income (despite all the ebooks out there that claim it’s so simple even a child could do it). At least, not as a freelance writer. I finally did it last year, but that income also included consulting, flying out to train people, giving a few presentations, etc. I think if I wrote some ebooks, created a huge marketing campaign, started an affiliate program, etc., I could probably make an easier income doing that, but that’s not really my cup of tea. Maybe I’ll eventually change my mind. I will tell you, the big bucks are in corporate writing. And along with corporate writing comes corporate headache. You might want to settle for five figures and save yourself some stress (and taxes).
Cath — I’m with you on the ‘not all freelancers should be business owners’ concept. I have seen several personal friends go this route and end up back as a single-men operations. Many folks want a flexible schedule, part time freelance work, and very little upkeep. Most folks I know who ask me about freelancing (because they want to do it) are turned off just by the marketing and administrative aspects the average freelancer must do to get anyplace good — let alone the responsibilities that come with running a business.
Alex — Being happy is important, yes. At the beginning of the year, I cut back my client list considerably. I hired a sort-of partner for my law firm blogging business and we began subcontracting folks out. I kept two regular (daily) part time assignments and am much happier now than I was last year. Of course, I had to get very ill and become unable to work for over a month to get to this point, because I’m a workaholic. I don’t recommend that route. Smart of you to be happy with what you have and willing to eat pasta. Chinese spaghetti is good.
John — If you went freelance, would you do it as a technical writer? Not being familiar with the technical writing field, I’m a little surprised to learn that the market isn’t well-paying enough for you to make the switch. Kind of sad.
Valencia — I agree — avoiding headaches is good. I also think a single person can earn passive income without being a business, which probably brings up a whole other discussion.
Keep the comments coming, folks. I’m having fun learning what your views are.
Hi Amy and Trish! Well, I’m late to the party but have enjoyed catching up and reading the diverse viewpoints. Trish and I have had long conversations about this in the past and I too tend to bristle when called a freelancer. I own a business, it is a solo business but a business no less. I have however noticed an almost imperceptible shift in the mindset of clients which I attribute to the impact of social media. Many clients seek out “freelancers” as they want the anti-establishment, non-traditional, distributed work force experience. They want one man (or woman) shows that are up close and personal. For these people “business” and “company” are synonymous with impersonal and stodgy. I am still a business but I do find myself emphasizing the “I” a lot more than in the past.
Karen — I think one of the best things about being out on our own, whether we consider ourselves to be running a business or freelancing, is that we can present things in the best light possible for our clients (or potential clients).
Technically speaking, anyone who freelances enough to have to pay taxes is a sole proprietor unless they incorporate or form another business entity. I had never really given much thought to how we all use that sole proprietor title differently until this post. Interesting to see how we all do things differently, and how we all have more options than we think (maybe).
Please do comment and discuss.
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