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Stop freelancing and going full-time, need advice please!
- I've been freelancing for over a year now (online marketing and copywriting), at the beginning I was unemployed and an opportunity came out to work as a freelance, which was good because it meant flexibility and time to spend with my 2 year old daughter (she's 3 days at the nursery and 2 days at home with me).
Since I've started I won another client but have been struggling financially since the first client started to give half the work I used to have last year.
Due to the financial issues, me and my husband decided for me to search for a full-time job (my husband has a full-time job at the moment). I went to a job interview this week and they offered me the job. Now I have mixed feelings and I'm just not sure what to do. At the beginning of this week I also win a new freelance client, that is a marketing agency. I'm working in their agency marketing as a try out but have the possibility to work for their clients in the future if they like my work.
So it seems I have all this happening at the same time which doesn't help me decide. I'm happy because it is a good full-time opportunity and the salary is good. We would both have stability and stop the financial issues. But that also means giving up all 3 clients I have at the moment and the opportunity and flexibility to be with my daughter (she would have to start 5 days at the nursery). I love the freedom of working as a freelance but don't really like the instability of it.
When I started freelancing it was supposed to be something temporary until I find a full-time job, but I ended working as a freelance for so long I kinda start relating and enjoying it.Going to a full-time job again also scares me a lot, with having to be there 9-5 and will all the office politics and stuff like that.
I've also thought about not giving up my 3 freelance clients on the first month starting on this job so I can give it a try, but I'm not sure I can work full-time in a company whilst continuing to freelance?
Well, thank you very much for reading, as you can see I'm really confused but I guess I'm not the first freelancer to be in this kind of dilemma. Anyone can give me some good advice?
- Contact in PM
Opus
Messages count : 87Likes count : 3Registration : 4 February 2008Tricky decision. I have to do my share of juggling school runs around work so I can appreciate some of the dilemma. When the needs of family and business collide you can end up pulled one way and the other. How do the nursery costs stack up? Will you be earning more doing the full time job or will you be coming out about the same as you would for working 3 days after you've paid the childcare fees? If you do go for the employment route, ask about childcare vouchers (or see if your husband's employer offers them).
If you were to stick with freelancing and decline the job I think you'd need to throw yourself in more deeply. Three clients sounds like a big risk with a lot of peaks and troughs - lose one through no fault of your own and a third of your work is gone. Perhaps get out networking to widen the client base and look for similar collaborations with other marketing agencies. You can never rely on the promise of more work in the pipeline - even if the intentions are genuine, the work may not materialise as they hope it will.
Whichever route you go, good luck!Opus Creative Design Ltd - Contact in PM
smashy2014
Messages count : 5Likes count : 0Registration : 16 May 2014Thank you for your reply Opus!
The childcare costs will be much higher since my daughter is now going 5 days per week instead of 3. She will also be entitled to free 15hours per week in January next year. But even so, I'll make more money from this full-time job than from freelancing (£400 difference in favour of the full-time job). If I'm able to keep at least 2 of my freelance clients which I have monthly steady work, I'll make even more money. And money is a big issue at the moment for me and my husband.
Well, what I'm planning to do is starting the full-time job whilst keeping all of my freelance clients, at least for the first month. I want to see if I enjoy working full-time and also if I like the company, the people and the way they work. I don't want to leave all my freelance clients now, put all eggs in one basket and then risk losing everything.
The thing for me is that I've only had 3 days per week to work so I didn't have the time to throw myself more deeply or to dedicate to marketing/networking. And now I'm struggling a lot with going to work full-time since I have been working as a freelance for so long and I love the freedom/flexibility that it gives me, I relate much more to that rather than being stuck in an office with politics and etc.
Do you think it's a good idea to test the waters first at this job before leaving my freelance clients? - Contact in PM
EmmaJ
Messages count : 1Likes count : 0Registration : 6 June 2014Hi
Being a mother myself I can fully sympathise with your dilemma.
I myself have had that trouble of finding a way to earn money and yet still be able to pick my boys up from school.
I would recommend if at all possible trying to keep your freelance work going as long as possible until you have decided the job is right for you.
I fully sympathise as I know what a tear it can be working more and spending less time with your children.
Best of luck... - Contact in PM
Opus
Messages count : 87Likes count : 3Registration : 4 February 2008Sounds like a good plan. Keep the freelance clients going for the time being. You might find you can manage a couple alongside your job anyway and the other option (if you can't do the freelance work alongside your job) is to outsource some of that work and just manage it outside your employed hours. Get others to do the work but oversee it, taking a percentage for doing so.Opus Creative Design Ltd