What's it like being a self employed web designer?
I find it difficult to comprehend that just over two months ago I was enduring sleepless nights trying to decide whether the time had come to cut my ties and take the plunge into the unknown as a self-employed person.
Ten weeks on and my life truly has changed beyond recognition - sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. So, what can I tell you about being a freelancer? What’s it really like?
Most challenging aspect of freelancing is... squeezing it all in!
I somewhat naively jumped into the world of freelancing looking forward to the extra time I would have on my hands. Prior to going self employed I worked all day with the 9 till 5 and came home and worked some more on various personal and freelance projects. It was tiring and I saw freelancing as a way of easing up this hectic work schedule.
Now after ten weeks of freelancing, I can honestly say I have not given myself one minute of extra free time - it all gets consumed somehow. I’ve found that every week at least half of my time gets spent on non-paying work - like emails, proposals, finances, etc - which only leaves about two or three days for paid work. That really isn’t a lot!
Most enjoyable aspect of freelancing is... managing my own time.
As a self employed person I have a huge responsibility to ensure every piece of work I undertake is completed on time. Yet how I chose to manage that time is entirely up to me. If I want to leave my desk and nip to the shops, I can. If I make that up by working through till midnight, who cares? If as a consequence I then don’t wake up until 10am, it doesn’t matter.
For the most part I’ve been trying to stick to a fairly normal 9 till 5 routine (or 8 till 9), mainly so my life doesn’t become out of sync with my girlfriend’s, but the freedom to chose when and how much I work is an extremely liberating feeling. I love it!
Least enjoyable aspect of freelancing is... being lonely.
Generally I’m happy with my own company and don’t easily get fed up with myself or lonely. But being on your own all day Monday to Friday can test the ability to maintain sanity. Sometimes taking your mind off work and having a good natter with someone actually allows you to focus more clearly when you do return to your work. Now I’m self employed it’s just me and the dog… who isn’t very chatty.
Nastiest shock of freelancing is... going on holiday.
I love my holidays. Always have done and always will do. Of course, when you get paid holiday entitlement it’s great to be able to fly off somewhere sunny and get paid by your employer whilst you’re drinking Sangrias by the pool.
As a self employed person holidays suddenly become three-fold more expensive. Not only do you have to pay for your holiday, you have to cut your income for the period you’re away, as well as stop generating any new work. It’s important to take a break, but a two week holiday now becomes more of a stress-causer than a stress-reliever.
Most pleasant surprise of freelancing is... you!
I really mean this - I have been shown such fantastic support ever since I announced my self employment. At the time I made the decision I had gone through a pretty intense period of soul-searching and contemplation - and it would be a lie to say I was certain I was making the right move. But after I took the plunge the support I have received from you guys has really encouraged me.
From emails of support to referred work and offers of interviews, I have been blown away by the support that the community has shown me. For that I am genuinely very grateful. A special mention must go to David, Brian and Sean who particularly have reached out to help me. And Sean, I haven’t forgotten ;)
What are your highs and lows of working for yourself?
As always I would love to hear what you think. What do you find the most or least enjoyable aspects of being self employed? Can you empathise with any of my points above?
Maybe you are thinking of taking the plunge? What appeals to you or scares you the most?
8 responses
inspirationbit responded on with…
I can definitely empathise with you on all of your points above, except that I don’t really feel that lonely thanks to Skype, Twitter and of course, having my family around.
I went on vacation for 11 days, and afterward was greeted with a pile of work that I’m still catching up with. The fact that with freelancing I still don’t get much free time as I hoped I would after quitting my day job (and having to freelance after work) particularly struck the chord. I’m planning on writing a post about my experience/thoughts in going solo, so stay tuned on that @ iBit ;)
P.S. Can’t believe this is my 2nd comment on your blog today, and both were for two different posts. I hope you won’t be posting twice a day on a regular basis, Aaron, otherwise I’ll go bankrupt :)
Aaron responded on with…
Vivien - Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and I look forward to reading more about your experience soon. Ha ha, I know two posts in two days is unheard of! If I can settle in to a pattern of one a week I’d be very happy.
Mark responded on with…
Aaron,
Interesting read - I know that feeling of soul searching and unsure if quitting the comfortable, regular salary was the right decision. I still feel it was though, even with the current financial crisis in the world.
Mark.
Aaron responded on with…
Hi Mark - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Funny you should mention the financial crisis - I have just published a new post on the topic sharing my views.
Grafx responded on with…
i think the biggest fear is that i wont get any jobs!!! looks forlorn
Colin Hall responded on with…
I have 10 years now as a full time, self employed web designer, so I guess that the honeymoon is well and truly over. It’s been very tough to be honest. We work in a small city, which holds its own problems (i.e. lots of competition and too few high quality projects). Sadly the industry is always filled with start-ups who virtually give away their designing skills in return for a start on the ladder. I would estimate that a web design freelancer, working from home, will last for 1-2 years until the lure of sub-contracted work starts looking attractive. The main problem that I’ve found being an individual is that your skills are judged on your designs, but budgets are so low that you cannot employ all of your skills for each project.
Don’t get me wrong though, I would never stop ;-)
Orville A. responded on with…
Aaron thanks for this article it helps alot. I have been in print design for over 6 years and decided to transition and begin learning web design this year. I was originally searching for anwers to potential earnings as a self employed web designer. I have a long long way to go since I have started learning DreamWeaver. I know for sure that I do want to do this professionally for a living, but as many of us after 2-3 years of learning I must also make that decision. Should I be sefl employed vs working for a company. Either way I plan to train and maybe get a 2 or 4 year degree in this field. Thank you all for your posts that are helping to train my thoughts from here on out about making that final decision in near future.
Aaron do you have any suggestions for a new comer like myself? Thanks!
P.S. Love the website!
sam responded on with…
I agree with you on a lot of things, execpt I do find time to get out there and do things. I’ve been in Brazil for the past 4 months. You see vacation as stoping working, I see it as going into another setting for a period of time. There are only two careers that I know of that can sucessfully pull this off. Sailors and Internet Junkies. Traveling is easy in our career, you shouldn’t look at it as a stress inducer. Thats all I really wanted to say. I agree with a lot of about what you said. It’s just traveling is a wonderful thing, and someone in your position if managed right can be traveling for some time.
Hell, if I planned it right I could spend every 2 weeks in a different foreign country for a year. (Great idea, added to bucket list). Think how much wisdom and adventure you can obtain in the process like that.
All you need is four things: A solid rate, good time management, internet connection and a computer of sorts. You don’t even need that great of a connection. I can SSH/remote connect into one of my server for a faster connection : ) .
Just some food for though. Peace.
-Sam
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