Work

[glorybound]

If you don't know, which most probably don't, I started freelancing full time a year ago. Over the past year, I haven't had a day off, and I am loving the work. However, to tell you the truth, part of me worries that work can stop at any moment, which causes me anxiety. I keep reminding myself that a worry is a form of atheism, which I am not an atheists ( the premise is you have to have faith in God). Long story short, I have an opportunity with a potential client to stay busy for most of next year, which means I'll have to turn down most other projects that come in. Part of me thinks that working for one client is putting all my eggs in one basket, and that would prevent me from getting many new clients that could benefit me longer term. Over the past year, I haven't had to turn down any projects; I thought I would have to, but things just worked out and I got the work done, without sacrificing quality. What do you think?

[joconnell]

Yep, it's not the best of ideas getting 100% of all your income from one source. Your work is good enough to keep getting hired over the next year and if anything you could afford to perhaps charge a tiny bit more and be picky about your clients to allow you some much needed time off. What's the point of working 100% of the year? It'll only burn you out eventually and adequate rest is a huge part of professionalism. Overworked people make bad decisions so not taking the odd break to recharge would make your work suffer!

[glorybound]

Hey, thanks for the kind words.

I wouldn't say I was overworked, I sincerely love working. I agree with your point and that's pretty much how I feel.

[Morbid Angel]

Well Bobby, its an interesting point and I'm faced with that very often. As joconnel pointed out, relying on one income source is not a good idea. Anything can happen, they can stop the work for any reason. It can be as simple as your relationship deteriorated or they don't want to pay as much or whatever it is. By committing your self to one client you are pretty much tying your hands.

I had this offered to me many times - end result it never worked out So after placing my self in that situation a few times I just said never again. I'd rather have several variable clients / jobs and always look for more then be in that position again.

What you can do though is you can expand - hire more people. This means you can keep your current client for whatever duration and also keep other work coming in. Imo this is the best method. You can hire people and pay them % or salary whatever, and you can manage how long you need them for by how busy you think you are going to be. The tricky part is finding reliable help but if you search the forum you can certainly find some talented folks out there.

[glorybound]

Yes, all good points. I just wanted to know if my thoughts were spot on, or I would be dumb not to jump on it.

[joconnell]

Yes, all good points. I just wanted to know if my thoughts were spot on, or I would be dumb not to jump on it.

Why do you think the company would take the risk of offering someone an entire year of work? If you're good enough that they want to tie you in then you're obviously worth hiring - Dmitry's got a very good point though, it might be worth your while branching out a tiny bit and taking a junior under your wing to train up, they'll suck for about 6 months but then all the grunt work you do of cleaning stuff up and scaling things could get done by them while you concentrate on lighting.

[glorybound]

The company has a lot of work, 10-20 project a month, or so they say. They were using an overseas company, however, there wasn't any consistency in quality and the communication was difficult.

[Morbid Angel]

I worked for one company for 6 years consistent projects, well paid etc. Then after a major project where I had to hire few people to help and pay them upfront they stalled on the payment. After 6 month of bla they told me they were bankrupt. They still ended up paying (which was surprising to me) I was happy that they were not my only source and even at one point I was offered to relocate there to be in their office (good thing I didn't).

[prateekvishwa]

If you don't know, which most probably don't, I started freelancing full time a year ago. Over the past year, I haven't had a day off, and I am loving the work. However, to tell you the truth, part of me worries that work can stop at any moment, which causes me anxiety.

That is exactly what i feel. As of now i'm getting work from word of mouth. people appreciate & i keep getting one or other projects. Somehow all is well till now.. but i know it is not going to be same always. Marketing for my work is the only solution i see.. in that case i need to hire more people & expand which means i am no more a freelancer. & then setting up a company means lot of funds.. & then many more ifs and buts.... phew!

[AJ Jefferies]

It's such a difficult situation and one I think a lot of people here face. I don't have an answer unfortunately. One the rare occasions where we've had a project come in that would book us up for a solid chunk of time, we have found ourselves turning down other projects, sometimes great ones and this does feel like a real set back. The way I look at, as long as the lengthy project you're taking on will produce work that you're proud of, losing those other clients/projects will hopefully be only temporary as you'll have a glut of new work to showcase yourself and bring more work in.

As for worry being an atheist viewpoint, I am not a religious man but I think even if you entrust your fate to a higher power it's still healthy to worry. 'Worrying' often means you're thinking ahead and as I get older I've come to realise that thinking ahead is one of the things the separates the experienced from the inexperienced.

[joconnell]

Yep - negative people, similar to worriers are more inclined to see what could potentially go wrong in a process - handy for stopping problems before they happen.

[AJ Jefferies]

Exactly. I consider myself a pretty optimistic guy in general but I drive my wife nuts because I instinctively list potential problems with things. I never mean it to be negative, I just like to consider the options and plan ahead. As long as you still DO the thing and don't just throw obstacles in your own way, I think it's a good thing.

[glorybound]

I told this guy that I would need to see the kind of work he does. I said, 'if it's 20-30 garages a month, I would not be interested, however, if it's 20-30 cool houses, I would be interested". I told him that I typically quote higher for projects I don't want and I might quote a little less for ones I really want to do; I think he appreciated that answer.

[prateekvishwa]

As for worry being an atheist viewpoint, I am not a religious man but I think even if you entrust your fate to a higher power it's still healthy to worry. 'Worrying' often means you're thinking ahead and as I get older I've come to realise that thinking ahead is one of the things the separates the experienced from the inexperienced.

very well said!

[glorybound]

Not a religion forum, so I don't want to offend anyone, however, here is what we are called to do.

Matthew 6:25-34New International Version (NIV)

Do Not Worry

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

To me, a very hard thing to do, but I try. Working 9-5 and getting the paycheck from the boss man, you forget to trust God. Now, I put all my trust in God, for that next project, so I can feed my family.