The Hidden Costs of Going Freelance

snydeq writes: IT pros lend firsthand advice on the challenges of going solo in Bob Violino's report on the hidden costs of going freelance in IT. 'The life of an independent IT contractor sounds attractive enough: the freedom to choose clients, the freedom to set your schedule, and the freedom to set your pay rate while banging out code on the beach. But all of this freedom comes at a cost. Sure, heady times for some skill sets may make IT freelancing a seller's market, but striking out on your own comes with hurdles. The more you're aware of the challenges and what you need to do to address them, the better your chance of success as an IT freelancer.'

Comments

The painful truth about freelancing

[Anonymous Coward]

When I read some blogger bragging about the great joys of freelancing, I want to beat them over the head. Sure, you can make a living, for a while... and if you have the right skillset you might even make good money... for while! but skillsets change over time and although you can reskill, you'll never be as good at tomorrow's tech as what you are with today's.

What counts most in business is connections. Freelancers by definition don't have connections. When work dries up, no one has has their back.

These freelancing is greeeeeeat bloggers are like some guy bragging he picks up lots of babes. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't. So some harsh truths:

> the freedom to choose clients,

Truth: You will beg for work, take anything thrown your way, and be thankful for it.

> the freedom to set your schedule,

Yeah. Lots of time to do what you want "between jobs"

> and the freedom to set your pay rate while banging out code on the beach

Truth: Payrates are pretty low. You are competing with guys in third-world countries. Some of them write sucky code, sure, but others are very good, and they can live very comfortably on what for you is a meager wage.

Freelancing can mean varied work and even good pay... for a while! but there are many advantages of working for the man: job security, safety in numbers. and being able to fallback to a career in management which has good pay and doesn't demand you're up to date with the latest tech.

So next time someone brags about being a freelancer, wonder why if business is so good he is able to waste time blogging, and while you ponder this question, give him a wedgie.

Mostly FUD: Film at 11

[CaptainOfSpray]

Yes, those things listed in TFA are important but they are not that difficult to handle. The worst thing about TFA is that it mostly does not offer the obvious solutions.
1. Getting to work remotely is straightforward. Don't ask for it till you have done an onsite contract first. Prove that you deliver. Then you can be trusted.
2. NDA. Yes, insist on the "standard exceptions" or walk away. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
3. Yes, you have to educate people you work with. Also true when an employee.
4. Riding out storms. It's not hard to build up reserve money in your business - simply park some of the profit. I always had 6 months worth. You have to park quite a lot anyway, so that you have it ready when tax payment day comes.
5. Keeping up to date. Yes, that's tricky - but you do NOT need to chase the Flavour-of-the-Month like employees do. I only needed to change direction once in 20 years - plenty of earning opportunities always there
6. Reconcile agile and fixed-bid? That's ridiculous FUD. No freelancer is so stupid they do fixed-bid with open-ended requirements, surely? Leastways they only do it once. Every freelancer I have ever worked with was on time and materials.
7. Communications gaps. This is not a threat, this is an opportunity! This is where the freelancer can shine, by doing the internal communicating that the customer is themselves is incapable of. I have done this on every project, and got kudos for being helpful.
8. Time management. Ho hum. Everybody, freelancer or employee, has to manage their time.

Time needed for handling getting requirements and doing proposals? You call that non-billable? No, Dorothy, you roll that into your daily rate.