Freelance Freedom #103

Haha, I can see where Freelance Guy’s friend is coming from, but you hear about freelancers who have children all the time and also having a successful freelance career. I’m he’s not going to have as much time, but time management pays off!

All is a question of boundaries. When my wife tells me: “You can take care of the laundry today? After all you are all day here!”, I tell her very clearly: “I am not here, I am in the work!”

Yes! it is a challenge to work freelance – especially when the kids have the day off – and are making too much noise — Like Rogers said – its about boundaries – and being clear with the kids/husband that you have certain commitments (ie: i need to talk to my client for 15mn and i need you to go upstairs and be quiet until i call you back or .. yes the house needs to be cleaned but I don’t have the time this week ) -
that being said good luck — its not easy – the different age groups present different challenges -
I started my freelance career when my son was born – and i wasn’t able to get completely serious about it until he started daycare about a year later

I’ve been freelancing since 2003. I work out of my home and have 5 kids under the age of 13 and we homeschool them all. One of the reasons I started freelancing was to spend time at home, not at work. Sometimes my office feels like a three ring circus, but that’s what I asked for. You really have to rearrange your idea of work when there are kids in the house. I’ve been known to conduct quite a few client calls in my office closet . With 25% of the workforce today freelance, most clients understand and are usually quite envious.

it can work! when mine were babies and through preschool I hired a sitter for 4 hour blocks 3-4 days a week, then I worked solidly when they were in bed from 8-12 or so, otherwise it was more hit or miss during the day but hell: I’m a mom first and proud of it.

Its not that extreme, you can loose your more clients than kids.!
I have two boys under 4 and its a challenge keeping the noise down but you have to be creative its part of being an artist. I find kids to be extremely inspirational and beneficial to the creative process.
It’s no comparison to going in to the same drab office daily! and dealing with that!

Its not that extreme, you can loose your hair more from clients than from kids

I’m actually starting up a freelance business to stay home and watch my daughter. The wife makes enough money for us to live and anything I make on top of that is awesome gravy. Plus being home with the munchkin is fun. But she know to leave Daddy alone if he needs to focus on his work for a bit.
Mind you, occasionally One Fish, Two Fish, can trump what Daddy’s doing lol.

I’ve heard you have to be careful about that. I’m not a parent just a collage kid, but its hard to go to school, freelance and then have 1 parent having you do his business paper work and the other asking you to cook and clean “because you’re here all day”.

I’ve found just driving to the library or some place with resources corrects them in that I do work all day.

I have a new daughter, a full-time gig, school, and manage a few freelance gigs each month.

Just be real with your clients, let them know that your having a life-altering process take place, yet at the same time let them know that they are still important to you, and your not just sticking them on the back burner, and everything seems to work out just fine.

Just be prepared to make your power ban from around 8pm-12am, I noticed this is the “free-est” time I have during the day, when daughter is down for bed, the lady is relaxing getting ready for bed, and me, well I am on the computer trying to figure which symbol best represents a company for a logo re-design.

Good Luck!

I have three daughters ages 6, 5, and 3. I homeschool the older two, and I run my business as our main source of income. My husband is a pastor, so he is available a lot of the time, so that helps. Usually, my offie is my headphones. I have noise canceling functionality and they are the big kind that completely cover my ear. When the music is pumping so is my creativity and my focus.

I think it’s in our genes (creatives) to be bald as early as 29 So sad to see my hairline receding but I’m happy to see my kids grow everyday. I have 2 incrediboys too – and their super powers “CRYING OUT LOUD”..

I was a nanny for a few months a few years back whilst being freelance, so have a little experience of having a kid around whilst trying to work. Tricky, that’s for sure, but not impossible. I had to take on a little less work, but it is possible to fit the two around each other. Good luck!

I work as freelance designer, and my wife is (very) freelance, in about 2 weeks my freelance days will be over