So, you want to be a freelancer?

If you’ve found this month’s blog via the Fingerpost Consulting newsletter, you probably already know me and know that I’ve now worked as a freelancer within market access for nearly 3 years. For anyone else, you can find out more about me on the ‘about us’ bit of the website. In a nutshell, I spent 8 years working in a permanent position for various international market access/healthcare consultancies, before I gave in to the temptation of freelancing.

Although I’ve only freelanced for 3 years, in that time I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of freelancing. It’s not what I expected and, as more and more people seem to be making this lifestyle choice, I thought I’d share a few insights into what it really involves…

Perception: I can choose when to work.
Reality: Quite often that means a choice between starting at 7am and finishing at 9pm, or working a normal working day and finishing it off over the weekend. But that’s what success looks like and when it’s quieter I take the time back again. The difference is that you have the choice of whether you accept the work, and you’re being paid for every hour which is much more motivating!

Perception: I can work on the projects that I want to work on.
Reality: Yes, in theory, you can choose which projects to work on. As long as you’re busy enough to be picky! In quieter times I haven’t had the confidence to turn work away and have accepted projects which I can do but may not be particularly inspired by. Typically, as soon as I’ve been fully committed to the project, I’ve received a request for a really interesting, exciting project that I have to turn away because I don’t have any time left!

Perception: I can walk away from
a project.
Reality: Not if you want to work with this client again… letting someone down
half-way through a project is the biggest freelancing crime. It gives us all a bad name and puts even more pressure on the next freelancer that has to pick up the pieces. Of course, there are some situations when your hands are tied, but these need to be managed carefully. I’ve had situations where the project evolved and I didn’t have the required expertise, essential data weren’t sent in time before the deadline (despite my requests), and a situation where the project manager disappeared leaving my questions unanswered to the point that I couldn’t continue with the project. These situations were stressful to manage and left me wondering if I would still be paid for the time spent on the project.

Perception: I’ll be paid more.
Reality: Only if you have consistent work. Freelancers are the first to go if a company needs to make cut backs. There are also a number of overheads that you wouldn’t have even considered before in a permanent role, including insurance, membership fees, technology bills…etc. And not all time is billable time; you can’t charge the client for the time it takes to prepare an invoice! The good news is that you can choose exactly what any revenue is spent on. You might prefer to pay it all out as a salary or dividends, or to invest it in the business. Either way, it’s certainly wise to keep enough in the business to cover quiet times, holidays and sick leave.

Perception: I can manage my own timelines.
Reality: Nope. In the majority of cases, by the time someone realises they need additional support from a freelancer, half of the original timeline has already passed. In the worst situations, half of the budget has also been spent which means that expectations for efficiency are high! And as the last person brought in to the project, you are often unaware of the early conversations which can introduce further inefficiencies… At Fingerpost Consulting, we try to work with our clients to help identify freelance support needs at the earliest opportunity to improve the outcomes for everyone involved but it’s not always possible.

Perception: I’ll be more relaxed.
Reality: This is true in some cases; I now bring the dogs to the office, wear what I like and I’m free of the office politics. I no longer worry about whether I’m hitting my targets, and I’m not reliant on whether one person (e.g. a line manager) recognises my achievements. In fact, I have complete control over my career and that is liberating. However, these worries have now been replaced with other things! I now have multiple ‘managers’ to impress, there is very little job security, and I have to deal with a range of issues like chasing late payments. I don’t have an IT department to call if my computer crashes, I don’t have a legal team to review my contracts or GDPR rubbish, and if I don’t run the payroll, no one gets paid. And worst of all, I now have the pickiest line manager of all time: me. 

At first glance this list might sound negative, but personally, I find the pros outweigh the cons. I love it and have no desire at all to go back to a permanent role. I’ve learnt a lot about myself, I’m regularly pushed out of my comfort zone and love it when someone recommends me (without being prompted). I’ve also been surprised by how much I enjoy the more entrepreneurial side of running my own business and have already adapted and evolved Fingerpost Consulting so that we are now a team of freelancers. Our infrastructure enables us to provide continuous and reliable support, which is of value to all of our clients, but particularly the small to medium size companies who cannot resource internally at the drop of a hat. In fact, business is going so well that we are currently expanding our team.*

Whether it’s suitable for you or not definitely depends on your personality type. If you’re happy being busy, are accountable for your actions and enjoy networking and building relationships, you may well enjoy freelancing. If you would like to find out more about the realities of freelancing before making the leap, or maybe even join our growing team, please get in touch; I’m always happy to help!
 
Cath Bacon
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*If you are a recruiter please don’t take this as a cry for help; we already have a couple of recruiters working on this and are not looking to work with any others.