Is Part-Time Freelancing a Good Deal?
It’s incredibly common to freelance on the side: if you’re working a day job, it’s inevitable that you’ll come across someone who wants you to exercise your skills off the clock. Some folks take it farther: actively seeking out freelance projects to do after they get off from their day job. But how does part-time freelancing stack up against going full-time?
The Perks of Part-Time
There are benefits of having a day job when you’re also freelancing. If you’ve got the right day job, you’ve got your health insurance taken care of — neatly avoiding one of the biggest downsides to freelancing full-time. Other employee benefits, like retirement accounts, can make life a lot easier, as well.
Financially speaking, it’s possible for a part-time freelancer with a decent day job to come out ahead of a full-time freelancer.
You also have the comfort of knowing that you don’t have to rely on landing a steady stream of client work to be able to keep the lights on. It’s probably your goal, but if there’s something that just makes it impossible for you to freelance for a few weeks, you don’t have to worry.
Even better, if you’re freelancing part-time and working either part or full-time, you may very well be making good income. In addition to the money that you’re directly earning, you have lots of opportunities to keep your taxes and related costs down. You can increase your withholding at your job to make sure that you don’t have to worry about paying your taxes, while still writing off all the deductions that go along with having your own business.
Financially speaking, it’s possible for a part-time freelancer with a decent day job to come out ahead of a full-time freelancer. But there are certain problems that can get in the way of those finances.
The Other Side of the Story
When you’re freelancing part-time, you can run up against time crunches that full-time freelancers don’t experience. Working full-time on one job and then freelancing in the evenings means that you’re either going to have limited hours in which to work on client work, or you’re not going to have a social life. And while it’s easy to say that a social life isn’t really necessary, at least in the short-term, working too many hours out of every day can mean that you’re turning out work that just isn’t up to the standards you would set if you’re well-rested and have gotten a chance to relax recently. It’s not impossible to manage — but it is harder.
Limitations on the number of hours you can work can also make it harder to land bigger projects. If you just don’t have time time to complete a certain project in the timeline a client has in mind, rates and skills don’t even come into the question. It’s tougher to land long-term clients that will bring you project after project, if you don’t have the ability to take them on.
There’s also the risk of unprofessionalism: if you don’t have to rely entirely on the payments your clients send for your income, you may make choices that your clients aren’t as thrilled at. Many clients associate project delays, lack of communication and other negative characteristics with part-time freelancers. Not only do you have to avoid potential problems, but you also have to overcome some stereotypes.
That might also include some of your own stereotypes. If you keep thinking that freelancing is just something you do on the side, it can be a lot harder to convince yourself to charge what you’re worth or to tell a client no. You have to be able to think of yourself as a professional, even if you’re not taking on forty hours of freelance work a week.
Part-Time is a Good Deal — If You Can Make It Work
There’s no denying that health insurance and other benefits can tip the scales in favor of freelancing part-time while working a day job, at least in many countries. But you do have to work harder to build up a clientele that respects you as a professional. You also have to make sure that you’re taking yourself seriously, as well. If you can do that, though, you can make part-time freelancing pay off.
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Unless you have the savings stored away, I think its important to support yourself with another job before hitting it full time in the freelance world especially if you’ve never been self employed – it’s quite the reality shock. There are downsides and you’ll miss many a birthday bash, and end up working every weekend but the rewards are worth it if you are determind to make it work.
Great post!
I’ve been doing it for years, freelancing part-time as a science journalist, and it works great!
But maybe that’s because I take my business even a bit more seriously than my salary-job.
Great article! I have a part time web development office job (3 days a week), and also freelance part time, and feel I have the best of both worlds. Luckily I have health insurance covered through my significant other. My office job provides me the stability to be picky about my freelance work, as well as much needed in-person interaction. I’m open with my freelance clients about my schedule to ensure good communication and manage timeframe expectations. I also don’t go in to my office job until 10 or 10:30am, so I have a few hours in the morning when I’m available.
I’m in the converse position. I am a FT freelancer, but have a part-time job on the side. The job definitely helps with my sense of security, but doesn’t interfere with my freelancing. One day I may be able to give up the job, but for now it is a godsend.
I took a one year (full time) contract when my freelance career was in its infancy and found that I resented giving the contract my “best” creative hours, during the day.
I was also torn between professional integrity vis a vis the contract and wanting to “be there” for my own clients if a problem arose with them, during the day.
On the plus side, the money was good though!
Great read!
I turn away far more work than I accept because I’ve got a full-time job and I just can’t make a commitment to long-term clients. It’s limiting but, like you mentioned, there’s a lot to be said for the security of a regular paycheck.
I was working full-time and freelancing on the side for a while before it became too much. I would work 10-7 then go home and freelance till 2-3am for a couple months and it really took a toll on me. I decided to just make the jump to freelance full-time.
I think it really depends on the project though, if you working on a smaller project on the side that’s not really pressing and the timeline isn’t to tight that’s fine. But, if it’s a big project then that’s when it becomes difficult also as you mentioned not being available during normal work hours will limit the type of freelance projects you get.
The most common problem I’ve seen for part time freelancers is undervaluing their labor – because they may already receive benefits from a full time job,and also because they are under severe pressure by the client to consider the freelance gig “extra money”.
In a way this works out. A part time freelancer really can’t make many promises to their client, because he/she already has a full time job. The part timer is already more likely than the full time pro to provide discounted rates. This reflects less certainty about their ability to deliver on time.
I believe that if you want to succeed at anything you need to have full commitment. And if you want to take on really important projects you need to show that full commitment to your business and not treat it like a side thing. The commitment or lack thereof will show through to clients.
It depends on your day job. If it drains you, you can not commit to another serious responsibility and family. But if it let you do it, for sure go for it.
I decided go to full time freelancer because I thought I can not handle both.
I started out of college freelancing because I already had a small stable of clients when I was a college students. I expanded to having 5 employees in a few years with an office.
Then I pared back down to just myself and a part-time freelancer to help me.
I did that for a year or so and was approached and accepted a job at an Agency. I was curious what working for someone else full-time at a fairly large agency was going to be like and my freelance business wasn’t growing as much as I would have liked due to the ecomony.
I’ve now been with the agency full time and I’ve maintained my existing client list and added some new ones. I’m now at a point where I’ve continued to raise my freelance rate so that I’m making almost the equivalent of an extra paycheck after taxes in freelance money a month.
It’s been hard. I work A LOT. I’m really burnt out at time. But now that things are growing again on my freelance side I’ve upped my own freelancer’s hours and added a second.
My goal is to do this for a couple more years to save some money. When my freelance income has surpassed my full-time job’s income I’ll probably quit unless I’ve gotten a significant enough raise at the full time job.
Having a full-time job and working freelance is an incredible way to save money if you’re willing to sacrifice your sanity and social life.