When to Respect Yourself as a Freelancer
As freelancers, it can be easy to comply to each and every client request, compare yourself to other freelancers and how they work, and do enough and the right type of work to impress others around you, whether they be friends, family, or acquaintances. Yet, many of us originally became freelancers to give more professional respect to ourselves, opposed to working for the man. So when does that respect and self-worth kick in?
Let’s today discuss when we need to comply to ‘cultural standards’ of work, and when its ok as a freelancer to say no to the rest of the world and pay some attention to yourself and your own wants. We’ll discuss some of our own ideas here at The Free Creatives, but please chime in with a comment discussing your own lifestyle and in what areas you’d like professional respect or freedom!
When We Wake Up
Many people believe that 5am is the magic number for waking up to get things done, and for waking up consistently. While having a regular schedule is important, who’s to say that 5am is the magic number? Perhaps it’s still 9am like when we had our day job, and perhaps it’s noon. Maybe we want to work out in the morning, with some work ahead of that time and the rest of our day following.
Sure, it’s exhilarating to have a huge dent of your workday done before most of the world has even had their morning cup of coffee, but waking up at 5am isn’t right for everyone. Some minds do indeed work best in the morning, and others work best at night. Sometimes it’s our own preferences that conclude when we should wake up, what time of day we need to work, and when we should work out or run errands. For others, it depends on other responsibilities like our family, part-time jobs, or even business goals. Nevertheless, as freelancers we finally deserve respect concerning our choice of when and how to work.
Your schedule is the number one area where any freelancer deserves respect. If we want to sleep till noon and work late into the afternoon, that’s our prerogative! If we love the rush of waking up early and organizing early in the day, we don’t have a boss anymore to tell us our work day starts at 9am. New freelancers should strive to find their ideal wake-up time, work time, and time for other daily activities, and even experienced freelancers should not conform to any 9-5 if we don’t have to.
Our Working Time
Another note on scheduling and respect is set work time. While we reserve the right to determine when we work, as freelancers we are often interrupted, with our work times not seeming to mean as much to those around us. Sure we can set our own hours, but that shouldn’t mean our friends or family should influence when that is. Even if you’re working out of your living room ‘office,’ let others know what your working hours are, and tell them that interruptions are not tolerated!
Our Rate, and Our Deserved Profits
The economy may be bad, and it may even be a bit more competitive among other web designers in terms of rates right now, but that shouldn’t hurt your business. Charge what you need, and never let a client, the economy, or desperation change that.
A web design firm or another established business otherwise wouldn’t give leeway to their rates just to gain one client. Even as a solo operation, your own finances and ideal business profits deserve respect too. Much too often do others try to find freelancers for ‘cheap work.’ While overall project costs may be cheaper by hiring an individual, they should not be ridiculously cheaper. Know what your worth. Charge what you need, stick to it, and present your rates formally.
The Type of Work We Want to Do
If you don’t enjoy coding that much, then don’t do it! If you don’t like accounting, hire an accountant! When stuck at a day job, we are forced to do tasks we don’t enjoy doing at the risk of losing our jobs. A main benefit to freelancing is focusing on what you love, but too many freelance web designers get caught up in the world of working for their clients, not for themselves.
We need to respect the type of work we love to do, and disregard what we don’t like doing. Because we run our own businesses, this is entirely possible. Sure, at first it may be necessary to do a lot of unwanted tasks, but over time any business can be optimized to fit any preference styles.
Do Others Think You’re Lazy Because You’re a Freelancer?
These are just a few main examples, but what are some other areas of freelancing where we deserve respect from others and deserve to respect ourselves? Have you ever been called ‘lazy,’ or has anyone ever implied that you ‘don’t actually work’ because you don’t go to work?
Because we run our own businesses, what do you think we deserve leniency on every once in awhile? What work standards do we still need to conform to?
Most of America still deems freelancing as a side gig; something you do until you can find a “real” job. Though the way we do business in America is changing, many still don’t consider freelancing as a full-time career. We’re labeled “lazy”, “fantasizers”, “excuse-makers”, etc. We’re rarely taken seriously, until the checks start rolling in.
I’ve had several people (especially family members) who anticipate me scoring a rockstar 9-to-5 job with some big company once I graduate from college. However, my dream is so far from fighting my way up the corporate ladder. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t until I showed a relative a check for a month’s work of design projects that they realized that I had the potential to earn more as a freelancer (doing what I love) than they did slaving behind a cubicle everyday (doing what they hate).
As a young freelancer and entrepreneur, I’ve already begun to see and experience the benefits of creating my own career. I’ve learned to respect myself and admire my ability to create my own job at such a young age in the midst of such a bad economy. In many cases, what I do may not ever look or seem as appealing to those who are seeking the corporate life. And I am ok with that. However, what inspires me most is knowing that I have the ability to creatively adding value and the freedom to do what I love. That is far more rewarding and fulfilling than any cubicle-job with benefits could ever offer.
Thanks so much for the great input Antwon. I couldn’t agree more — freelancing may never truly accepted or valued as a ‘true’ career to some, but it really shouldn’t matter as long as we’re ok with what we’re doing! Hopefully within the upcoming years it will more accepted. After all, the Internet and freelancing on the web are relatively new, and perhaps with time the industry will grow and so will it’s acceptance in this area.