over the past month or so, i have been heavily preoccupied with the idea of freelancing.

many questions come to mind:

• why do i want to freelance?
• would i have the resources to make freelancing work for me (financial and mental)?
• am i prepared to endure the challenges that will most likely come up from such a pursuit?

background

i have been getting depressed over the past several months while working 9-6 as a web programmer for a web publishing company.  my state of being reminds me of a website out of the depths of my brain called depressedprogrammer.  i encountered it somehow long ago, and the title intrigued and amused me.  at the time, no way did i think that applied to me.  but now..

being involved in web development was a dream as far back as the nineties when i discovered what are known as UNIX shells, and HTML.  i remember making my very first personal website at angelfire, while i taught myself how to make use of UNIX accounts in order to set up a few web pages for student organizations and learn UNIX.

not long after, i found myself teaching two classes on the university campus one weekend morning on UNIX, and HTML.  it was an amazing experience.

from then on, i have been involved in various facets of the IT/web industry from designer to systems administrator to now programmer.

systems administration got boring after awhile.  but in programming, i feel as though i am solving problems, or exercising my brain, while also ‘writing’ and ‘translating’ in a sense.  i love writing, and i love foreign languages, so i get many worlds in one place.

as far as i know or believe, it is not the actual job of web programming that has been depressing me. the other employees and management are amiable and nice.  the commute isn’t so bad, i have a pension plan and health insurance (although could be way better), and there isn’t any micro-management.  i get paid decently, although i wouldn’t mind more (but who wouldn’t?).

seeing the light

something else has been bothering me.  i didn’t realize what was really the matter for a little while.  then it hit me a few months ago:

i do not enjoy working for someone else where s/he decides when my work hours are, and where i can not choose to regularly work from home.  i want to be free.

i wanted to be ‘my own boss’, and have my own schedule.

so i knew what i had to do:

i want to become a freelancer, a contracting back-end web developer.

but wait, what is this thing called ‘freelancing’?

from a comprehensive guide to starting your freelance career,

“Today freelancing typically refers to writers, designers, programmers and so on. Freelancers are people who offer their services to employers without a long term commitment to them. They often charge by the hour, day or job and are essentially one person businesses.”

what am i envisioning?

my ideal job scenario:

• work a variety of jobs so that i do not get bored
• variety so that i don’t neglect my different facets, interests
• work from home, cafe, or anywhere with internet access*
• not have to worry about commute and traffic*
• get paid enough to live off of while i begin
• have good health insurance through the SO or on my own
• have my own hours, whether it be coding from 9pm-1am or 6am - 10am!

*note #6 in top ten reasons you should become a freelancer:

“Number 6:
Because commuting to a freelancer means moving from your bedroom to your study”

i would preferably work part-time, 20-30 hours a week contracting out my web development skills and being able to work from home.  surely once i start getting projects, i can earn at least $30k - 40k before taxes.

the rest of my time i would like to (ideally) work on other projects for myself: cultivating making products for a little crochet store on the side, and as a paid blogger for one or more interesting sites.

what about ‘getting your feet wet’ first before doing anything too crazy?

it doesn’t work well very well for me to work full-time for a company, and then work contracting for others during the off-hours.  first, a problem is i end up being distracted and spending most of my time doing that other thing i’m only supposed to be moonlighting in, instead of actually working.

second, in doing some research, it seems as though most gigs that i can do are serious ones, that require weeks or months to finish.  if i do that, i will barely have any time to sleep, eat, much less bond with the SO, or connect with family and friends.  the SO would not be too keen on that.

as i read in a freelanceswitch article, on the side or all the way?,

“Whoops there goes your free time
Oh you wanted a full-time job, freelance work AND time to have a life? Well more often than not that is a hard act to achieve. Freelancing on the side naturally sucks up your evenings, weekends and when I used to do it, my early, early mornings! If you think free time is overrated then this probably isn’t a big deal.”

my ‘free time’ is definitely not overrated.  i appreciate it immensely!

but what about money?

the main concern i have of course is,

how can i ensure that i will still have income to live off of on?

i do not have much in the way of savings, and i indeed have debt as you may know from previous posts.  i live with the SO (we are in a committed relationship), and he has much more net worth with his house and other assets.  but i don’t feel right asking him to support me and take on his mortgage and other bills alone.  we have roommates for now, but we don’t want to have roommates forever!

i calculated that i require at least $1700 monthly for payments:

• rent, utilities, groceries — 1000
• school loans payment — 308
• other loans payment — 342
• fuel — 50

obviously, my life would have to become quite frugal for awhile.

one possibility is for me to ask the SO to support both of us for a few months while i figure things out, set things up.  i wouldn’t feel right asking him to fork over money for debt that is truly mine, so i would have to find funds for that.

then i would only require about $650/month.

after quick calculations, my expense needs can be fulfilled by charging at least $35/hour.  this is certainly do-able then.  after doing a bit of research, it seems as though fellow web programmers who freelance charge anywhere from $25-55/hour.  one site even suggested (through a certain formula), that i should charge $60 an hour!  which i know is way too high for me to charge.  but i know the author is taking into account things like health insurance, taxes, paid holiday and sickness, pension.  freelancers are pretty much on their own there.  ideally i would like to charge $50, but i suspect that due to the recession, outsourcing and competition, $35/hour sounds more affordable/doable for customers.

i found some more helpful tips in nine factors to consider when determining your price.

i’m imagining that i could find a gig that i am excited about within a month.  i would not just go on vacation after quitting my day job — i would immediately get to work advertising, inquiring, searching for opportunities.

next action steps

the steps i would take if pursuing freelancing for sure:

1. finish up current big project at work
2. give 2 week notice
3. buy my own health insurance plan — or propose to get married with SO!
4. start advertising, mass e-mailing friends and family, social networking sites, researching, putting together my ‘portfolio’, resume, and professional site.  make use of various sites online such as freelance switch, guru, etc.
5. receive inquiries, take a job, do work

the last time that i finally knew i had to quit my job due to dissatisfaction, i vowed that i would never again wait too long to quit if i were to become unhappy in a future job/situation.  it appears as if i am in that situation now.

this reminds me of steve job’s stanford commencement speech where he advised his audience of graduating college seniors,

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

my intuition is telling me to get out there on my own.

held back

i am not too afraid of job changes, and i know that i will be motivated and spurred on by the need for income to find and do work.  but i feel held back, most likely due to the expected fear of the unknown, or change, of lack of job security.  i know what i want to do, and how to go about it, but i’m having trouble building conviction.  it could be too, that i am waiting until the current big project i am working on is complete, before i make up my mind.  undoubtedly, i am procrastinating committing to a decision.

self-promotion!

if you would like to hire me for future web development work, please leave me a comment below or e-mail me at fwp [at] financialwellnessproject [dot] org.  initial consultations are free!

what would you do in my situation?

how would you handle the finances given the lack of existing assets to fall back on?

have you or your SO been through a similar situation, and if so, how have you handled it?  what is your story?

what other questions should i be asking myself?