The State of Freelancing: 2010
Repost from Freelance Switch The State of Freelancing: 2010: “
Last month, I started a Freelance Switch Forum discussion on jobs. The context for this discussion is the high unemployment in the United States and many other countries.
In the U.S., there has been a lot of talk about putting people back to work. In early December, President Obama held a Jobs and Economic Growth Forum at the White House and in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Americans have also been encouraged to host their own forums.
In light of the feedback to my November 2009 Freelance Switch article, ‘Finding Jobs vs. Finding a Job,’ I don’t think the solution lies entirely in creating employment. Many Freelance Switch readers report that they’ve been able to earn a good living without a job. More than a few say that they’re doing much better as freelancers than they were as employees.
Which leads me to this, the State of Freelancing: 2010 Edition. What follows is a brief look at where we are, and what we can expect to deal with in the months ahead.
1. Trend #1: There are freelancers-for-now. And there are those who are in it for the long haul.
You probably know someone who’s been laid off, and now she’s trying her hand at freelancing until the job market improves.
This isn’t new. When the U.S. went through a deep recession in the early 1990s, I belonged to an association for communication professionals. Unemployed people would come to our monthly meetings and tell us, sotto voce, that they were consulting. Which would lead more than a few members to ask, ‘Okay, what kind of a job are you looking for?’
The consultants’ reaction to the j-word question was predictable. They’d be all over the meeting room, pumping anyone and everyone for job leads. Which made some of us wonder what would happen to their consulting clients once they got a job. (Does the expression ‘hung out to dry’ come to mind?)
Although most of the freelancers-for-now may be a competitive headache for now, they’ll be back in the employment world soon enough.
2. Trend #2: What if they decide that they like freelancing?
You may think that from what I said about the previous trend, that the temporary freelancers are muddying our lovely swimming pool. However, some of them find that they enjoy the life we live. You know, hustling for gigs, pouring their workaday souls into what they do and constantly finding ways to make it better, wowing the clients, and hey, who needs a job anyway?
They’ll quickly learn about what I’m going to describe below.
3. Trend #3: The freelancers who survive are those who are good at what they do, and are excellent at business. Especially when it comes to saying no.
If you’ve been freelancing for more than five minutes, you’ll know that there are all sorts of offers to work for free, or almost-free in return for exposure, referrals, publicity, or future assignments at your full rate.
For example, you might find yourself like the record store, restaurant, or hairdresser shown in the popular YouTube video in which customers ask for substantial discounts off the quoted price.
Or you may be asked to give your work to organizations that can well afford to pay for it. Happened to me this past summer. I was asked to share some of my photos with a local organization. I told the person making the request that I’d be happy to work out a licensing agreement. Her reply: The organization had no money for such a thing.
I guess I was supposed to take pity on this organization and share my work, but I didn’t. Something just didn’t seem right. After all, this outfit has a well paid staff and a nice office in downtown Tucson. I later found out that its annual budget is more than $1.5 million.
As you can see from the above, the ability to say no is one of the most valuable things you can develop. You can say it nicely the way Washington, D.C. photographer John Harrington does with his prospective clients. Or you can be nasty like Harlan Ellison is in this YouTube video, where he describes how he refuses to have an on-camera interview reproduced on a DVD.
4. Trend #4: You’re not alone anymore, so learn to work with others. And manage them.
One of the best things about the Internet is that you can form virtual teams to work on projects. They’re being formed right here on FreelanceSwitch. Or they’re sprouting up from social networking venues like Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, and MySpace.
I run a lot of my Web design projects through virtual teams. The transition from being a one-woman band to a symphony conductor is interesting, to say the least. For the first time in my career, I’ve had to develop management skills. Back in my employment days, management was the thing that I avoided like the plague. I just didn’t want to be a boss.
Now I’m finding out that being a boss isn’t necessary. Instead, I have to be a coach. For example, in addition to being paid promptly, subcontractors need just as much praise as employees. If not more. I’m also learning that a subcontractor who was perfect for my 2008 projects might not be who I need for this year’s work. The ability to spot a sub with talent–which includes the ability to get the job done–is a must.
5. Trend #5: Being good doesn’t go hand in hand with being a prima donna. One of the big employer complaints about creative people is the attitude that some of us have. This is also a common complaint among graphic design clients. Although you have professional expertise that deserves to be respected, that doesn’t rank you above your clients. After all, they’re paying you. You don’t have to be a pushover, but you do need to be nice.
So, there you have it. Five trends to be aware of in the New Year. Make it a good one!
“
(Via FreelanceSwitch.)