There are lots of great things about being freelance. You get to wear your pyjamas to work whenever you want and if you need a creative break you can head out for a walk, run, ride or whatever helps you relax. You can, to some degree, pick and choose who you work for and what work you do – I have a strict “no assholes” policy. And, assuming you work from home, can chip away at the housework rather than have to do it all in eat evenings or weekend – pushing the vacuum cleaner around a room for five minutes is a great way to recharge the brain.
One of the toughest things to figure out, particularly when you start freelancing, is the value of your time, expertise and experience. Those factors are major determinants of what you can justifiably charge your clients. But you also need to understand another part of your rate setting equation: costs.
It’s been a while since I spent some time posting here. The main thing reason is that Totally Freelance has always been a passion project for me, never a money maker. Truth told, as I don’t run any ads here at the moment, it costs me time and money to write here. The main reason I’ve not been writing here often is that my freelancing life been really busy. And while that’s good, I had a reminder why it’s important to always be hustling for more work.