Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I want to talk a little about love (as it relates to this blog, at least). I love being an independent web designer. I love being my own boss. On rare occasions I’ll find myself wondering if I would love going back to a traditional job. I think it’s worth considering from time to time. There are definite advantages to being a “wage slave”. Up to this point I’ve always sided with freelance work after I way the pros and cons. Truth be told, I suspect I always will, but always is a profound word. I think it’s worth checking in every once in a while, so here’s the rationale that (so far) always leads me back to loving freelance web design.

Daily Tasks: Generalization vs. Specialization

If you’re a freelancer, than you are in charge of every aspect of your business. You find new clients, read contracts, approve expenses, train users, report expenses, run to the bank, buy new printer cartridges, answer the phone, and (when there’s time) develop web sites. It doesn’t matter what you like doing or where your true skill lies. You’re the one wearing all the hats.

Contrast that with a web site developer who punches a time card. With a few exceptions, you probably spend the bulk of your time working on web sites. Granted they may not be the most inspiring web sites, but that is how you fill your days.

Environment: Personalized vs. Focused

Environment is an area where working as an independent really shines. Like to listen to music while you work? No headphones required. Just fill the whole room with your favorite tunes. Prefer to wear sweat pants every day? Go ahead. Set the temperature to whatever you like, eat food at your desk, leave the TV on in the background, and enjoy your status as master of all you survey.

Sometimes total freedom isn’t the most productive work environment, though. At home, I frequently have to pause in my work while a cat hunkers down in front of my monitor for a thorough paw cleaning. Occasionally I’ll also feel the overwhelming urge to load the dishwasher in the middle of a project since it is just a short walk to the kitchen. I just want to get it out of the way. Obviously there are still distractions in a commercial office, but in my experience they tended to be shorter and fewer.

Schedule: Flexible vs. Predictable

I do some of my best work in the late evening. Since I set my own schedule, I can start on a project after dinner and work until the wee hours of the morning. (Did I mention that I don’t need an alarm clock?) I remember when I was working in a cubicle. I often rushed around during lunch, trying to complete errands that had to be done during regular business hours. These days I can get an oil change or run by the post office whenever it occurs to me. I also don’t have any set number of vacation or sick days.

Of course in that cubicle, I also knew what my schedule was going to be like for weeks and even months out. I knew that I would be working 8 hours day, Monday through Friday. When I left the office, I left all my work there. My evenings and weekends were (with very few exceptions) completely free for whatever recreation caught my fancy.

Responsibility: Control vs. Coverage

One of my favorite things about freelance design is the complete control. Ultimately I have to answer to my clients for what I produce, but in almost every case I have discretion over how I produce it. I can decide what new technologies I want to pursue. I can choose the clients with whom I want to work. Most clients are turning to me for professional advise, and I can offer suggestions that lead them towards a web site that I feel correctly addresses their needs. (Instead of what my IT manager may accurately or inaccurately feel addresses their needs.)

The downside to this control is exposure. If one of my suggestions fails, then as an independent developer, I am ultimately responsible. In an office environment, the blame is usually spread around amongst a handful of people. At least one and probably several people had to sign off on what you did. In many cases, someone else might have even been involved in the implementation. Obviously, if you screw up big enough, you could be fired. But short of that catastrophic level of mistake, you’re still going be collecting your paycheck.

Financial Rewards: Proportional vs. Secure

At least up to the limits of my physical ability to produce, the more clients I get as a freelancer, the more money I make. I get a reward commensurate with what I produce. Perhaps more importantly, when I develop new skills and techniques that allow me to create sites more efficiently, that means each hour I work becomes more profitable.

Now with a traditional job my ability to put extra money in my pocket by working particularly smart or particularly hard is limited to a modest annual raise and possibly an even more modest bonus. The trade off is that I’m buffered against the occasional dry spell where there isn’t any work for me to do for a few weeks. I’ll still get paid out of the company overhead. Unlike the independent developer, I don’t have to worry how I’m going to feed my family.

Conclusion

It’s right there in the word: freelancing. It’s about being free. For me it’s definitely the better option of the two.

filed under: Running a Business