Steve Cochrane likes to make websites.

The Ritual

It’s vital to establish some rituals—automatic but decisive patterns of behavior—at the beginning of the creative process, when you are most at peril of turning back, chickening out, giving up, or going the wrong way.

— Twyla Tharp, “The Creative Habit”

When it’s time to work, I grab my coffee cup, venture out of my apartment, and walk across the street to Peet’s for a small cup of black coffee. When I return to my desk with my favorite beverage in hand, I’m ready to begin.

I’ve hacked my brain, essentially. I love coffee, but I never drink it when I’m not working on something. As a result, my brain associates work with delicious coffee, and I look forward to work.

coffee

From WordPress to Tumblr

I’ve moved my blog from a hosted WordPress installation to Tumblr. For my modest needs, Tumblr is better in every way.

I’ve already moved in and started off with a piece on my recent move to freelance and a couple quotes. My RSS feed, if you’re subscribed to it, conveniently remains at the same address. You should start getting the new Tumblr posts with no action required. (I knew there had to be a good reason for using Feedburner.)

Rather than expound on writing tools or my reasons for switching, I’ll keep this brief: I want to write. I don’t want to administer writing software.

Freelancer

Last month I left behind a well-paying job with some great people to potentially fritter away my life savings and move back in with my parents. I became a full-time freelancer.

I’d considered it for a long time, and it took me a while to get past the fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I didn’t know any freelancers, so I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it. I didn’t know if I’d be able to find enough work to pay the bills. I didn’t know how I would set up a business for myself, and I sure wasn’t looking forward to doing my taxes. I imagine most people never get beyond this point.

I noticed that just about all the people in my field who I respect and who make great things are independent, or were at some point. And it was just something that came up in my thoughts more and more. Certain things that I would hear or read would resonate with me in a way that they usually wouldn’t. One was a really touching interview with Jonathan Coulton that I previously quoted. And another was “Freelance to Agency,” a SxSW presentation where Jeffrey Zeldman, Kristina Halvorson, Whitney Hess, and Roger Black discussed when to go freelance. Here’s a quote from Roger Black:

If you were going to do this anyway, then it’s really good to do it on your own, because a boss is only going to get in your way. […] If you start with a small website that you can completely control, then you have the beginning of a list of links that you can give people and put on your blog, and say “this is what I’m doing.”

This is the thing. This really opened my eyes, along with the rest of the presentation, which is all gold. Thank you, Roger. And it’s completely true: my work on the VidSF website, where I have complete control of the front end, is easily the piece of work I’m most proud of.

The last bit of encouragement that I needed came from spending some time at PariSoMa, a coworking space in the SoMa district of San Francisco. If you’re not familiar with coworking, it’s when independent contractors get out of their lonely home offices or coffee shops and work together in a shared office with other independents. You get out of the apartment, you get the camaraderie that you would have in a more traditional office job, and you get to meet a lot of smart, like-minded people.

For anyone considering freelance, I highly recommend finding a nearby coworking space like PariSoMa, and instead of working on a personal project at your apartment or a coffee shop, just drop by and work there for an afternoon. It takes a lot of the mystery out of freelancing, and I’ve met a few of my current clients there.

Knock on wood and famous last words and all, but I’m not worried about finding work. Everyone who sells something needs a website, and the ones who already have a website want to make it better. Web designers and developers are like accountants and lawyers now; everyone needs us.

Freelancing is as scary as it is exciting. But all of the best things in life are like that.

The problem is, no one owes me anything. No one owes me a microphone or a platform. No one owes me their ears, their eyes, their time. Those things are valuable, each assaulted on a daily basis by an almost inescapable culture clamoring for our attention. They’re not automatic. Not owed. Not entitled. Not easy. You might have a microphone, but that doesn’t mean you have anything to say, or that anyone will listen.

— Joshua Blankenship

Like everything you think you want in life, it’s a double-edged sword. I can honestly say that I prefer this situation, but there are big things I miss about working in a real office with other people. The camaraderie, the fact that you actually have to get up in the morning and go somewhere, the routine… Those are all things I miss. But I don’t miss being told what to do and I sure as hell don’t miss that feeling that I’m working every day contributing to someone else’s business instead of putting everything into my own.

— Scott Hansen (via Daring Fireball)