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.
