Farewell to Freelancing, from Authentic Boredom

Welcome to Business Briefs. This is where I’ll scour the web looking for discussions on running a design company, freelancing, or similar. There’s a lot of advice scattered around on blogs and websites. I intend on gathering all into one, tidy spot on BoDo - Business Briefs. Enjoy.

Cameron Moll gave freelancing 18 months to see if it worked for him.

In his post Farewell to freelancing, he gives the six lessons he learned.

1. You’re a business. Act like one.
2. Don’t wait for great ideas to auto-execute.
3. Secure office space within 6-12 months.
4. You’re not a bank. Remind clients of that.
5. Smooth out revenue flow with residual income.
6. There’s more to life than business.

I agree with all points made, except for the bit about office space. One of the reasons I started freelancing was to be able to work without wasting time on the foof, the travel, the hassle of lunches (and at times dinners) out, etc. The two times I did venture into an office situation were a disaster. One was a shared office, the other a full blown, dedicated office with staff. If you are trying to decide which way to go, before you make the decision, understand that there are several points to take into consideration. Finances, work habits, personalities and preferred lifestyle play a big part in making the final choice.

From Cameron on the same subject, check out Full-time freelancing: 10 things learned in 180 days and Full-time freelancing: 10 more things in 360 days.

If you are blogging about the business of design, go ahead and contact me.

Until the next
Business Briefs,
cat