Overworking is just something that comes naturally to me I guess. Working 12 hours only to get home and work an additional 5 hours. And if anything’s for sure, I’m not the only one. I lost count of just how many people in advertising keep these grueling work schedules and still pretend to be fresh the whole week. It’s just not possible but people’s specific situations, shows that to a certain extent, we are forced to slave away to the wee hours of the night to get the extra cash we need to make ends meet.Think about it: how many people do you know who freelance on the side doing x or y activity, often sacrificing leisure and rest time in exchange for an extra buck? It gets you thinking if all of this is really worth it in the end. Doing shit jobs to later be forced into becoming a shylock or loan shark so people will pay up. Not fun. So let me get this straight, long work hours so your company sees you committed + long home work hours to make ends meet + loan sharking days upon end = success + peace of mind. Hardly.
If anything I’ve noticed that a person just can’t live off freelancing. The pay is a major hassle and you can’t help but feel almost dirty knowing how much you had to whore yourself, just to get those extra few hundred bucks. But alas, this is a reality. I live it, maybe you live it, but in the end… is it really worth it? This is a question we often ask ourselves… and it just begs to rephrase the question to a series of questions: Is it really worth it to do something we say we love when it is so harmful? Are we too afraid to see if we can make it elsewhere in another industry? Is success the way to happiness or happiness the road to a different type of success? Definitely food for thought. All the best.
5 comments:
My goodness. This is the infamous Question With No Answer. Is it worth it? Like all things, it all depends on what you’re looking for. The model and work ethic you present is one that I lived for nearly eight years… while trying to raise a family at the same time. So imagine, after pulling 12 straight hours at the office, sit in rush hour traffic for another two hours, come home and deal with the kids (homework, food, bath, etc.), take out the trash, put everyone to bed, then sit at the “home office” for another four to five hours doing freelance, repeat the next day. And as you mention, then you have to bust your ass for a few months trying to get that freelance check in your account!!!
After a few years I came to my senses. The hassle, the lost hours of sleep, the suffering quality of my work, the constant fear of being “found out” at the office, the crappy freelance clients who know you’re moonlighting and therefore think they can take advantage of you… It just wasn’t worth the extra cash. I did the numbers, and they didn’t add up. I knew I was never going to get that much ahead financially or professionally. Also, as the saying goes, “El que mucho abarca, poco aprieta”. You can’t be all things to all people, so the quality of your work goes down the drain. In my case, instead of doing one thing right, I did a lot of things half-assed. And this bothered me, so I stopped… and it didn’t make a single difference. So, to answer the Question With No Answer, you (as did I and many other out there) have everything to lose and nothing to gain by adhering to the model you present. I mean, is it really worth staying up until 3:30am, tired, just to spend four months chasing a $200 invoice?
Hey! Another idea for a blog: Freelance work sucks. Wanna take my example? I did a logo for a guy A YEAR ago. After months of playing cat and mouse, he dissapeared. With my check up his ass.
Thank you very much. I'll be here all week!
So I'm just starting to serioulsy get into freelancing on the side...and your scaring me. Here's something that has worked for me. This may sound very Nazi like but get half your money up front and half upon delivery...and when I say upon delivery I literally mean get the rest of your money when you hand over the disc or files or whatever. No money = no work. Now I've had a few clients try to squirm out of this but if you stand your ground they always pay because they want your work...and they already paid for half. If they won't pay half upfront say no thank you and let some other poor sucker designer take the job, because if they won't pay half up front, what makes you think you'll get anything in the end?
50% genius is 100% right. After my recent happenings, if anyone else wants my services, they will get the wonderful pleasure of signing or accepting via email the terms and conditions of my services. I'm actually writing a detailed contract where services will be established that was as well as revisions and other subtleties of the trade. after the 3rd revision, anything major shall get a juicy fee. It might sound Nazi to some (especially clients), but I have no interest in keeping my billing process as is. Changes need to be made and trust me that I'll be happier to do any 3 shitty changes you might think of.
Joker...do you have a copy of that contract we can all use??? ;)
Post a Comment