Comments on: The Debate Continues: Would You Freelance If You Had Nothing?

By: Dick Mcphail

Dick Mcphail — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:42:42 +0000

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By: Successful Freelance Writer » Freelance Writing Startup Costs

Successful Freelance Writer » Freelance Writing Startup Costs — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:26:03 +0000

[...] recently by two writing websites â€“ Men with Pens and Freelance Parent. The issue is about how much it takes to start a freelance writing career. Iâ€™ve taken the time to post on both sites (and the sites are well worth a visit) but the issue [...]

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:08:25 +0000

“If you had less than $500 in your pocket with no partner, no financial backup and no other income in sight, what would you do? Would you hit local stores? Would you sell some gadgets? Or would you freelance?”

If it was just me? Then I would probably sell off anything that I could to build up a little money and then go after freelancing. I think that in some ways freelancing IS much easier today than it was 15 years ago. The internet has opened up opportunities that I would never have seen other wise. Writing is one of those few “jobs” that doesn’t require a partner or other financial means.

For the record, I started freelancing with a hand me down computer, dial up and two toddlers at home . Money can make things easier, but it is not the only route. You do have to be a bit more patient (I could write 5 articles in the time it would take me to upload one), a bit of boldness and a blind faith that can carry you through fear. Nothing to it.

Kathryn’s last blog post…Freelance Writers Need to Procrastinate

By: --Deb

--Deb — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:42:34 +0000

I keep reciting that “nothing to fear but fear itself” line, but nothing is helping…

By: Amy Derby

Amy Derby — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:05:20 +0000

I started freelancing with much less than $500. Nothing would be a closer estimate. So yes, I know it CAN be done. Would I do it again? Probably… because writing was one of the few things I knew I could do that wouldn’t put me back working in an office.

Had I had a family to support, I don’t know if I would have made the same decision. I was on my own, so I had the option of taking the risk and not making it work…

Great discussion.

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:26:46 +0000

Well, it may not be fair for me to answer because I had less than $500 and I chose freelancing. It was not easy and I would not recommend it for the faint of heart. You have to really be willing to go all in and give as much to your business (more really) than you've ever given to an employer. 60 hour weeks in Corporate are nothing to the blood, sweat and tears of working your tail off to build a business and keep yourself out of a homeless shelter at the same time. I am really glad that you and the FPs are debating this subject. People need to understand the reality, and reality is not always easy or pretty. Thank you for presenting the balanced truth. Karen Swims last blog post..Paralyzing Perfectionism

By: Tony Lawrence

Tony Lawrence — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:37:51 +0000

I would absolutely “freelance”. If desperate, I might consider a temporary job but I’d be planning to leave it asap.

Ordinary employment ties you down, locks you up from other opportunity, wears you out and never pays you what you are worth.

Yes, it has risk. What doesn’t? You can get fired because somebody in an office three thousand miles away needs to balance a budget. Poof – there goes all your income. When you work for yourself, you may be doing badly, but you probably have something coming in and you always have hope.

By: James

James — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:39:31 +0000

@ Alex/Pat – Well, considering that we often call ourselves boys and have been called boys frequently by clients, and don’t demean women… yeah. No one should read intention into my words.

‘Nuff said!

By: Patrick Vuleta - Lawfully Green

Patrick Vuleta - Lawfully Green — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:49:14 +0000

The ‘girls’ thing really depends on the person.

Some find it ok, some don’t…

Personally I find ladies or women old fashioned and so always use ‘girls’, but I have the uptmost respect for women and see them as equals.

I think it’s a mistake to read values behind words into these words that are simply part of modern English.

Patrick Vuleta – Lawfully Greens last blog post..Pandelaw Becomes Lawfully Green

By: Louis Burns

Louis Burns — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:18:16 +0000

It really depends on the kind of life you want. Can you deal with as much stress and heartache as the hero of “The Pursuit of Happyness”? He freelanced without a net and is probably glad he did now.

I’d take a good hard look at your aversion to risk, what the worst case scenario would be, and what your highest values are and then make the decision that’s most true to who you are. Would you endure 5 years of abject poverty if you knew you’d be a millionaire after that? Some people would.

It really just depends on the kinds of experiences you want to have had when it’s all said and done. I was at a seminar one time and explaining to a couple of guys the experience of getting thrown out of the military for my beliefs that what we were doing was wrong. I didn’t realize until that point that it’s those huge adversities in life that determine how far our roots go and therefore how high our branches can grow. Running headlong into hardship carries some pretty big rewards if you can stomach the risks.