Related Posts
Hey! Any Google folks know if it’s possible to negotiate fully remote if a contract role is hybrid? Personally, I don’t want to relocate and go to the office on a contract role given the current economy. Plus, I’m assuming contractors are the first to go in layoffs. I just think it’s a fair trade off if I’d be allowed to work fully remote. I’m also trying to have flexibility to manage my Airbnb business in a different country. Same time zone as the home office if I’d travel weeks at a time.
Lol shots fired
So tell me, how did you land your dream job?
Community Builder
Anyone here who left fed job and regretted it?
More Posts
TCS vs Infosys for job security?
Chief
How would you define "strategy” in one sentence?
How do you wind down after a rough day?
AFS - if I do my self input on my FY22 goals and submit to manager for a review this week since my project ended, what do I do in May when I have a different project? Will the same fy22 form get submitted with me adding more self input to it or do I make a different copy of that original form and reconcile somehow?Accenture
Any family lawyers here?
Additional Posts in Advertising
Any advice on nailing the perfect headline?
New to Fishbowl?
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Sounds like now
Ha. I mean, should I look for a new job or take the jump into freelancing full time?
Freelancing is the best. I was laid off too and forced to make the jump and its been an adjustment but overall great. Theres light at the end of the tunnel my friend.
Definitely collect your severance and then I’d say just see whats out there. Its nice that everything is remote. Got to meet some great people and work on projects I wouldn’t have gotten to before.
The money is better, but there are certain pros and cons to it all like everything. Like going project to project without really owning the work. No benefits. The way agencies pay you vary wildly between agencies - some will pay you weekly, some will pay you upon completion, others Net 30 / 30 days after you send them an invoice. But its nice to have end dates too.
I miss the flexibility and stability of being full time, so I want to eventually get back to that, but enjoying freelancing thoroughly.
Also...if you know youre going to get laid off...and have a prescription, see if you can secure a refill and get stocked up ASAP. We had an issue where they price jumped incredibly.
Start actively looking for freelance work now, rather than when you’re broke as you’d end up taking projects with crappy rates.
Freelance did offer the flexibility but now that everyone is working from home, the line is sometimes blurred and your 20 hours a week can start to feel like you’re on-call full time.
One tip is that don’t feel guilty about charging a rate that might feel twice as much as you’d earn as a perm. Keep in mind that 30-40% of that will go into tax, social security, and health insurance. And you’d also want to contribute some of your savings into a retirement fund (start with a Roth IRA).
The day you start thinking about freelancing, is the day you start collecting receipts for tax write-offs. Have a home office? That’s a tax write-off. Purchased some notebooks? Also a write-off. I would definitely recommend QB Self Employed app to help organize your expenses. It’s only $1 a month and pretty straightforward. People might tell you to get an LLC but you can still claim business tax deductions being self-employed.
Thank you!!
All these posts making freelance seem so glamorous. I’ve worked 1 week in the last 5 months. It’s a grind if you’re starting from scratch. Just know what you’re getting yourself into. Good luck!
Oooof. Same. Its a constant hustle. And its exhausting. I spent the last month doing the same, a third of my rate, but it was weeks long, so I hit rent, family of three and one on the way, and now I have nothing, just looking to boom the next one.
A writer I was just working with had 2 other small jobs going at the same time as ours.
You’ll find out when you’re out of a job...? If you want to freelance I’d say best thing to do is start saving up money. 3-6 month’s worth of living expenses is about what I’d reco to have until you get some work/clients going and in case of dry spells...(also if you want to travel or work on side projects without worrying). Then try it out and see if it’s right for you. And you’ll know once you decide if you’re up for the hustle and insecurity/freedom of FL life. Btw, nothing wrong with FT and stability of knowing you got a paycheck coming every month.
Thanks! Unfortunately I only have a month to determine whether I should take a new FT job or freelance full time.
When you know you’re about to be broke if you don’t hustle...that’s when you freelance. Freelancing is not the same as building a new business, consultancy, agency, etc. It’s just you selling your time. That’s what we do already as employees. Find an agency or corporate that needs your time.
Now business, that’s another conversation. That takes an actual plan.
Everyone’s selling their time - the difference between freelancing and running a proper business is that one involves selling something other than your own time, such as products and staff time. I’m not referring to this in the literal sense of being billable.
What is a solopreneur? You’re an entrepreneur and you started a business that hires people to help you deliver client solutions. This is different from the freelancing work OP is looking for.
OP - you need to do this freelance thing properly and choose your path deliberately. Someone with 20 years work experience can go freelance and fetch a $200k+ annual income. But younger people will struggle to keep that flow consistent year on year without starting something that looks more like a proper business.
Above everything else, please invest for the future. Contribute to a 401k and put some money in the markets. We need safety nets.
As someone who just went from a FT job of 5 years to freelancing/contract work, I will say it’s def an adjustment.
I second having an emergency fund that can support you for 3 or more months. If you want to get contracts with agencies or other companies, go through a recruiter! There are SO many recruitment firms out there and the pay isn’t horrible - some even offer insurance to their contractors like my firm does.
If you want to independently gather clients through networking or cold calls, etc. that are consistently part time hours, I would say start on Dribbble, Behance, another portfolio-type website that typically has PT roles. You have to pay for PRO membership to get the good shit in Dribbble but I’ve seen some cool job postings and work.
You can do it though (nothing like your livelihood and way of life being on the line to motivate the f out of you)! It will be hard and a struggle but if you put in the work and hrs you can come out on the other side with a successful business.
Get ready to go under UI (unemployment insurance).
here’s the freelancer bowl:
https://joinfishbowl.com/bowl_vb8bh3jsqt
Start preparing now (line up clients, budget appropriately, determine your price)
Is UI the same as regular unemployment?