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any freelancers out there?
sugar212
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in Working Moms
I am sorry, I am not sure if this should go in SAHM board or this board (its kind of in between). I have been trying so hard to convince my husband that it would make more financial sense for me to stay at home once the DD2 is born and freelance. I have a degree in graphic design and have 6+ years experience, so I know what I am doing. We live in a city of about 60k people, plus surrounding towns a bit smaller, but there are a lot of great networking groups/events that I could go to. Right now DH works either 2 or 3 days during the week (M-F) plus every other weekend (12 hour days, so he is FT). DD1 is in daycare only 3 days a week, but when we add DD2 to daycare once she is old enough about 1/2 my paycheck will go to daycare. with DHs schedule, I feel that I could easily have time to freelance and go to the networking groups I need to go to and not have to put our children in daycare and to be where we are at currently for my pay, (after subtracting daycare costs), I really wouldn't need to be making a lot. I understand that freelancing isn't guaranteed money and some months may be hard while other months could be great, but this is something I really want to do. sorry, this isn't really a question, more of a WWYD/vent.
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Re: any freelancers out there?
I do some freelancing on the side but also have a steady paycheck from a PT job, so I juggle both. I have been doing the freelancing thing since 2011 and here is my 2 cents:
(1) I have found it to be very inconsistent. Jan/Feb I only had about 10 hours of work each month and then last month I had two projects presented to me at the same time, both of which needed a quick turnaround. So there was a lot of juggling to get about 45 hours of work into one week, and now I have just one thing on the horizon.
(2) I originally was going to freelance 100% on my own but found that the marketing and networking actually takes a lot of (unpaid) time, so if you are doing that you will find that upfront you may be paying for daycare and making zero money. Therefore, what the PP suggested about having at least 6 months savings is a good idea. I have hooked up with a woman who has an established business, with several freelancers "working" for her, and she calls me with projects. There is one client I have routine work for and the other projects come up as she finds them. But since she has other people she can go to, I feel like I always have to say yes when she presents me with something, or she may go to another freelancer the next time,.
(3) When you are doing work for clients, THEY set your schedule - you really do not. So while you may think that you can control your own schedule more as a freelancer, if the client can only meet in the evening, you will have to meet in the evening. If they drag their feet getting you the information you need, but still have a deadline, you will have to figure out how to make it work or risk not getting paid. There are times my clients will call me one afternoon and say they need something by the next morning and I really can't say no unless I can justify that it is an unreasonable request.
(4) Don't forget to incorporate as an LLC or whatever structure is best for you, and to carry business insurance. Also, when developing your rates don't forget to factor in the fact that you have employer taxes and administrative (unpaid) time to cover.
I did some freelance work when DS was born and I was working PT at my previous job. I personally wouldn't just do freelance unless we didn't need any income from me for our household. It was so inconsistent for me that I could in no way count on that money, it was more just "extra" money for our family. It would also depend on the clients. I would be more willing to do it if I had a few steady clients that used me throughout the year. I hate the marketing side of things and would hate to fee like I always had to "hustle" to find more work.
A lot of this has to do with my personality, though. If you love to go network and market yourself and you feel as though there is a lot of work out there, then it might be good for you.
DH did freelancing for a time and juggled that with staying home with the kids. The inconsistency of the projects were the biggest challenge b/c we needed care for the kids when he did work. The ebbs and flows of it were too much and it was not fair to our awesome sitter who needed more consistent work. He is taking a break from the freelancing other than very small, short projects he can do nights/weekends. Our sitter HAD to find something more consistent and we parted ways hoping to meet up again.
This all started when he was laid off from his job (big pharma) but had the skills to do his job in a consultant setting. We didn't have to make the big decision to move from working full time to the free lance thing since that decision was made for us via the layoff but we decided to give the freelance thing a chance and i think we learned alot from it.
i swear there were paragraphs here!
I freelance and take care of my LO. I shoot to bill about 20 hours/week, so LO does go to a 2's program 3 mornings a week. Then I work during naps, evenings and weekends.
It is VERY stressful and I often daydream of a traditional job, even with DC.
Like PPs said, as a freelancer you are at the mercy of your clients. My workload fluctuates a lot, and I always feel that I have to take on projects because I never know what will come down the road. My income also fluctuates a lot, which is stressful for our family, because my freelancing is not "extra", it's needed. After expenses, taxes and retirement savings, I only net about 50% of what I gross.
I had worked in my field for several years, and freelanced on the side for many, too, before jumping ship to self-employment. I had 2 regular clients with annual contracts that would provide my bare-min income when I did make the move. I never would have otherwise.
If pressed, I wouldn't change my set-up, but I wish it were easier to manage. I think it's very important that your DH be on board so that you don't have strife when all the negative things happen at once, like heavy workloads and late payments.