PageBreak Podcast | A book review podcast for designers, freelancers, and other nerds

Pagebreak is an audio podcast hosted by Liz Andrade and Niki Brown. Join us every Tuesday for a discussion on books (in our monthly 20 - 50 minute Book Shows) or blog posts (in our weekly 5 - 20 minute Snippets) that pertain to Freelance, Design, Development, Marketing and other such things.

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Episode 11: My So-Called Freelance Life

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(Episode listen time - 44:27 - download mp3)

mysocalledfreelance

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It’s Episode 11 and our book this time around is My So-Called Freelance Life by Michelle Goodman. We even have Michelle with us briefly in this episode to answer a few of our questions for her about being a seasoned freelancer. You can get info on Michelle’s other book and all of her online writings at her website Anti9to5Guide.com

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Posted on: 2 Comments

2 Responses

  • liz says:

    A lot of it is just a matter of semantics. The word “freelance” WITHIN the community is just the most commonly word used and i think everyone understands is a just being someone who does not have 1 full-time employeer but either runs their own business OR works as a free-agent for a collection of agnecies.

    Now, OUTSIDE of the online design/dev community — (ie, with clients, friends, family, acquaintances, etc.) I also say “I work for myself” or “I run a one-woman design studio” because many people perceive the word “Freelance” to mean more that you don’t really HAVE a job but are sort of floating around from place to place uncommitted.. (or that you just dont want to say yr unemployed!) I however.. AM employed by just one business.. and that’s CMD+Shift Design — so for me … yea, i prefer “business owner” status.

  • Not to ignite another debate, but how do we define “freelance” anyway? I’ve struggled to transition away from the hired gun/temporary employee/contractor who works on-site for a variety of clients to a one-man agency/solopreneur who works on my own projects from home. In both cases you’d be called a “freelancer.”

    I prefer to use the term “Independent Designer” to describe the self-employed nature of our work. It’s a subtle change, but it helps when meeting people to say “I work for myself” rather than “I’m a freelancer.” Somehow, they’re more likely to pick my brain — and later to hire me — if I’m independent, rather than a freelancer. Perhaps they view freelancers are mavericks who are selfish and unreliable. Who knows.

    Anyways, I agree with your views that the toughest part of self-employment and self-direction is staying on track. Finding “the zone” is often difficult, and there are entire days — even entire weeks — where I just can’t find my own productivity. The result is that I’m in this continual state of quasi-productivity, including late nights, weekends, and during meals. But as you say, when there’s a hard deadline or rush, I find a way to motivate myself.

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