I can’t believe I’ve been freelancing all this time (over seven years) and I haven’t really run into this myth before. Apparently, some folks believe that those of us who freelance are doing so because we are unable to do anything else. In other words, we couldn’t quite make it in the corporate world and therefore we must freelance because that’s the only thing left for us to do.
This (hopefully limited) myth certainly doesn’t apply to myself, or to any of the other freelance writers that I know. Nearly all of them are competent, capable writers who would be an asset in any corporate environment. What I’m basically saying is that freelance writers are not corporate castoffs who couldn’t make it in a “real” job. We’re not the corporate world’s trash.
From a personal perspective, I chose to leave a very good corporate job with good pay and many perks. I wasn’t forced to go. My reviews were good. I liked my boss and my colleagues. (I hated my commute, but that’s another story entirely.)
There are many valid reasons why a person might choose freelancing over a corporate job. Here are just a few:
- Flexible hours
- Control over one’s income
- Greater variety of projects
- The opportunity to build a business from the ground up
- Creative control
- The ability to work at home
Of course, the reasons vary from freelancer to freelancer. My point is that they are valid reasons to freelance.
In addition, freelancers often get more work done than those in traditional corporate environments do. Not only do they save time on the commute (since many of us work at home), but they also don’t have to sit through countless meetings that are only marginally related to their actual job. There are typically no interruptions from coworkers, and there’s no corporate bureaucracy to go to for approval.
Why even bring up this myth, let alone debunk it?
I think it’s important to debunk the myth because it affects how freelance writers are treated as a whole. If the perception out there is that most freelance writers are somehow inferior to their corporate counterparts, then naturally that affects how their work is valued. (Translation: we will be underpaid.)
On the other hand, if people understand that most freelancers are competent professionals who have chosen to work independently, then our value goes up accordingly.
Are you a freelance writer who has faced this myth? How did you deal with it?
25 responses so far ↓
1 Carson Brackney // Jan 26, 2010 at
I don’t like to wear shoes.
When I do put on a pair of shoes to go out and grab lunch or something, I invariably encounter all of these traditionally employed guys in suits or Dockers (if it’s casual Friday) and I can just smell the office on them. They spend their work days looking over their shoulders and their carefully-scheduled lunch hours griping about work.
Been there. Done that. Never again.
I don’t like to wear shoes.
I liked going to my 5-year old’s Halloween Parade at 2:00 on a Thursday afternoon, though. I liked being able to take the baby to her 9-month well appointment on a Wednesday morning, too. I love my morning commute. I walk through the kitchen for coffee and down the stairs to my office. It takes approximately 45 seconds.
I’ve never really confronted the myth but I don’t spend a lot of time listening to what people think about me, either.
Being self-employed requires a set of skills that few corporate cast-offs have. When there’s no one there to “manage” you and no fear of retribution if you decide to go to a Tuesday afternoon baseball game instead work, it requires a certain level of responsibility. Running your own show from top to bottom also requires a level of hustle, smarts and commitment you don’t find in every corporate middle manager.
2 Laura Spencer // Jan 26, 2010 at
Thanks Carson!
Come to think of it, I don’t wear shoes when I work either. 🙂 I think we have almost the same commute time too.
I really liked your last point–“Running your own show from top to bottom also requires a level of hustle, smarts and commitment you don’t find in every corporate middle manager.” I know a lot of people who couldn’t this because they don’t have the self-discipline.
People don’t understand different, and freelancing still makes us different. Just because they want a 9 to 5 corporate job doesn’t mean that I want one too. However, I’ve recently run into this from so-called potential clients who think they are helping me out because I can’t find a job at the local fast food parlor.
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5 T.W. Anderson // Jan 27, 2010 at
I’m with Carson’s point of view.
I’ve been self employed for the vast majority of my life. I never would have made it in the corporate world, although not for a lack of skill or commitment. I was making more money per year by the time I was 20 than most college-educated individuals make in today’s corporate environment. I owned my own company by the time I was 21, and I’ve never looked back.
The reason I can’t stand the corporate environment is I don’t need someone looking over my shoulder to tell me if I’m doing a good job or not. I like to let my paychecks tell me if I need to spruce up an area or not.
I don’t like 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year with 2 weeks paid vacation. I like to work 3-4 hour days, and take multiple vacations all throughout the year. My wife and I go 5-6 times a year throughout Europe. Even in my previous job when I was the owner of a construction company I usually only worked 6-8 months a year, and spent the rest of my time in Europe, traveling and spending my hard-earned money. When I was back in the States I worked hard, but I worked the hours I wanted to set. Sometimes that was 3 hour days. Sometimes it was 14. Sometimes I worked what others considered holidays. But I rarely worked more than 6-8 months a year. Nowadays, I work a few hours a day and spend the rest of my time enjoying life, and I am out of the office as frequently as I can.
I don’t like two 15 minute breaks per day and a 30 minute lunch break. I like to get up when I feel like it. I like to take breaks when I want. My lunch lasts as long as I want it to. I typically enjoy a beer or a couple of glasses a wine with my lunch. I take breaks when I feel like it, not when the clock tells me I’m allowed to.
I don’t like suits and ties. I like sandals, t-shirts, and shorts. Sometimes I’ll go weeks without shaving. I’ve grown a 6 inch goatee…twice. I’ve had a ZZ Top beard. I’ve had lambchops to rival Asimov’s. What can I say…I like to experiment with facial hair, and I can’t do that in a corporate setting. Right now I’m enjoying a smooth, baby-faced look that my mother-in-law appreciates because it’s far more “professional”.
I walk my wife home from work. Every. Single. Day. I get to spend 6-8 hours a day just talking with the woman I love, in our house, at the park, on vacation. We hang out. We do stuff together. We craft, we watch shows, we play computer games, we explore the world. I would never be allowed the time to do that if I worked in the corporate world.
I make more money than middle management. Most of the time I make upper management wages. And I never had to go to college and spend 40-50 thousand USD to earn a degree, or put myself in debt.
I don’t have a 45 minute commute to work. I get up, I wander to the kitchen, enjoy a morning workout on the elliptical, have a shower, a couple cups of coffee with breakfast while I browse whatever websites I feel like browsing because I don’t have to worry about whether or not they are work safe, and then I work for a few hours. I pick my nose, I listen to music, I play with the cat, and if my wife calls to ask me if I want to go somewhere for lunch or an early movie or a walk to the park I don’t have to ask someone for permission. I do it.
As Carson says, being your own boss comes with its own set of complications. You can’t make it unless you are a self-driven individual. Self-driven individuals don’t always make it in corporate America because CA wants mindless drones to be part of the “team”. People who stand out are promoted. I’m my own promotion. I don’t need a pat on the back to tell me I’m doing ok. I look at my checkbook and I say yep, this was a good year, or I say hmmm I need to step it up a pace.
If I wasn’t intelligent, a hustler, a showman, an entrepreneur, a businessman, a hard worker, dedicated, enthusiastic, I would never have made it this long. I’m thirty years old and I’m debt free, making more money than any middle management in the corporate world, and I don’t have any strings attached. I do what I want, when I want, and how I want to. And I wouldn’t trade that for the world.
6 Laura Spencer // Jan 27, 2010 at
Hi T.W.,
Thanks for your testimonial on the benefits of freelancing. I would certainly have to agree with you.
Personally, I was surprised that a potential client would suggest that freelancers were people who couldn’t find work otherwise. While I’m sure that there are a few folks who grasp onto freelancing because they lost their corporate job, I think that’s the exception rather than the rule among long-term freelancers.
7 Laura Spencer // Jan 27, 2010 at
Just to clarify things, I believe I could probably get a job at the local fast food parlor (and much better) IF that’s what I wanted. It’s just not something that I’ve been trying for.
8 T.W. Anderson // Jan 27, 2010 at
I think the reason most people go to the corporate world is because that’s what they’ve been told they have to. Beyond that, I think most people lack the motivation and dedication necessary to make self-employment work. They think the only way to “make it” is to do it the way society tells them they should.
It’s the same misconception I see most people make about many Europeans. When the typical American thinks of people living in Spain and Italy, the first word that comes to mind for most is “lazy”. Why? Because they (individuals living in Spain and Italy/Mediterranean) only work 4-5 hour days and entire cities shut down for 4-5 hours every afternoon for the siesta period between 1/2 p.m. and 5/6 p.m. Cell phones are shut off, landlines are unplugged, restaurants close their doors, every house and office closes down for business, and the only ones wandering the streets are the American tourists wondering where the hell everyone went. (Please note that this is a generalization. Note I used the word “most” several times; there are exceptions to the rule)
Who says I have to work a 9-5 job? Who says I have to work 40 hours a week? Who says I’m only allowed 2 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute break for lunch? Who says I only get 2 weeks vacation a year?
I choose to live my life on MY terms, not the terms society tells me I’m supposed to conform to. Meanwhile, I’m thirty years old, debt free, own my own place, and I’m living my life now, rather than spending 30-40 years of my life paying off a mortgage and 2 car payments and living in a country where the cost of living strips away 85-90% of my income.
I always get a giggle about people who make comments regarding whether or not a self-employed individual is corporate materiel or not. I *am* upper management. I hire, I fire. I schedule. I do PR. I do the books, human resources, I cold call, I e-mail, I do it all. I am the owner, the management, and the employee all rolled into one. I am every corporate company’s dream come true because I am a SELF SUFFICIENT person who doesn’t require anyone holding my hand to get ahead in life. This also intimidates the hell out of many people because I am aggressive to the point of overbearing, and so completely mercenary that I have been called ruthless by some.
I’m not the one living in an environment where “the man” has me down, telling me when to pay my bills, how much to pay for this, that, and etc.
/shrug. The only people that matter to me are my wife and my clients. Everyone else is secondary. In that sense, I probably never would make it in the corporate world, at least not in the cushy little office space where everyone is required to keep their mouth shut, their head down, and noses to the grindstone.
9 Matt Keegan // Jan 27, 2010 at
I don’t wear shoes either. Usually, like today, I wear slippers so that I don’t wear out my socks as I slide across my wooden floors. In the summer months I wear shorts, a t-shirt, and little else (don’t ask….) Plus, I shave when I want to, have precious little hair left to comb, and if I get sick of writing an article, I can stop and do something else.
I was laid off in November 2002 and decided to launch my own business. Would I ever work again for someone else? Yes, if they paid me an amazing amount of money and didn’t care what I looked like.
10 Laura Spencer // Jan 27, 2010 at
Thanks Matt and T.W.
I totally get what you are saying about not caring about what others think.
In general, I agree–except when it comes to clients and perspective clients. I care very much what clients think about my abilities since it directly impacts how they will treat me.
11 Michele | aka Raw Juice Girl // Jan 27, 2010 at
Wow, Laura, I’ve never heard this either but you bring up valid points and I’m glad you’ve blogged about it.
I freelance because although I do LOVE people, I am more comfortable at home and not really that comfortable in large crowds. I do well in large crowds – but it’s exhausting to me, ya know?
So, I prefer the solitude of my home and spend way more hours freelancing than I would at a 9-5.
Thanks for sharing this!
Hugs,
Michele
12 Jeanne Dininni // Jan 27, 2010 at
Hi, Laura!
Thanks for a thought-provoking piece! I’d say that some of the very clients who pay freelancers for our work see us in a similar light to the corporate attitude you describe. It’s almost as if they believe the widely perpetuated myth that anyone can write and that therefore our work is worthy of only minimal compensation. (If anyone can write, why would so many individuals and companies need to purchase our work?) Of course, not all clients think this way (thankfully). Yet, I agree with your point that it’s important for us to debunk the myth that the freelancer is inferior to the corporate worker and to do all we can to improve the status of freelancers in the eyes of the world.
As I see it, freelancing is simply being an entrepreneur; and, any corporate type who disparages entrepreneurialism doesn’t have a clue what business is really all about and deserves to remain fully entrenched in the rigorous, 9-5 workday environment of the corporate world.
Thanks again for a great post!
Jeanne
13 Jeanne Dininni // Jan 27, 2010 at
Another thought: Most freelancers love what we do. How many corporate types can say that?
14 Laura Spencer // Jan 27, 2010 at
Good points Michele and Jeanne!
I certainly agree that many corporate types have no real idea of what it takes to run a business. They are only familiar with one aspect of business and that is usually it.
15 Rebecca Laffar-Smith // Jan 27, 2010 at
I am the first to admit I could not cut it in the corporate world and that IS why I freelance instead. Sorry, I’ll play the devil’s advocate on the “myth” but in a wholesome way.
The “myth” is generally perpetuated by people who ARE in the corporate world. They’re usually bursting with resentment, starch, and love the thrill of the cut-throat environment. Most corporate structure is built on competitiveness rather than community. It is foundational to believe in a scarcity mentality in most of corporate industry. But the most significant difference between corporate structure and freelancing is implied by their very names. “Structure” and “Freedom”.
*** The paragraph above is FULL of generalization, not ALL corporate business is like this and there have been a number of big businesses that are restructuring old systems to become much freer work environments while maintaining the aspects of corporation that are most beneficial. ***
I know I CAN’T work that way.
Because of my Bipolar I’ve learned that a structured environment where I’m expected to perform at peak 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday will destroy me. I “can’t” do it. There is no way I can guarantee that I will be well enough from one day to the next. I can still get as much work done, but I can’t promise WHEN it will get done. Freelancing gives me the freedom to set my own hours, to choose to give my best work to the hours when I’m at my best. That means I could be working at peak at 7pm to 3am some days. It means I could be working 9am to 11pm Sunday. But it also means that when I’m having a bad day because of a Bipolar low I’m not under pressure to pretend otherwise. I can have my bad day and not lose my clients or my job.
I also know that I don’t have the emotional or social stamina to deal with office politics. I freelance because it gives me the power to set my own boundaries when it comes to dealing with people. I don’t handle authority figures very well which is why I choose to be my own boss. I don’t like being talked down to, I don’t like feeling like a cog on the wheel, I prefer to choose who I will associate with and who I won’t. I’ve worked in malicious environments. I’ve worked where every employee was played against each other for positions of influence. I’ve even had to fight against my colleges to avoid being “downsized”. I don’t like it and I won’t do it again. I prefer the harmonious synergy in the freelance world. We work together for a greater good. We recommend each other, we harness each others strengths, and we support each others success.
There are many reasons why I choose to freelance and I admit it is because I counter for my weaknesses and play to my strengths. I do believe the “myth” in my case. I know I am not suited to a “corporate” work environment and I choose to work in a way that suits me better.
I also know that I’m a very competent freelancer. I’m very good at the work I do and I do it because I love it. The greatest thing about freelancing is we are FREE to make all of these choices for ourselves.
We are all free to choose the working environment that suits us best. If that is in a cubicle amongst a dozen cubicles, under management from your superiors, at the top of the corporate ladder, the proverbial shark among the fishes of small business, a housewife/househusband, etc. it’s all up to you.
The key is to know your strengths and weaknesses and find a working environment that works for you.
16 Laura Spencer // Jan 28, 2010 at
Thanks for your comment Rebecca!
You brought up a point that I hadn’t thought much about. Namely, what a boon freelancing could be for someone with a disability. 🙂
I think that as long as you are careful not too overload yourself I can understand how freelancing could work well for someone in your situation.
Thanks for helping me to understand a different perspective.
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18 Master Dayton // Apr 10, 2010 at
That really blows me away that anybody would really think that. Shows what they don’t know. Besides, salary might seem great until you add in the commute hours, the overtime, the work at home, and realize you can make 50k a year and be working for $10 an hour or even less. Not gonna’ do that. I like taking my long walks when spring comes, I like getting paid 3-4 time a week, and I’m too ornery and employee for anyone but me to put up with, LOL. Yeah, I have my choice of jobs, and I’ll stick with the writing, thank you very much.
19 Keith Daw // Sep 27, 2010 at
Laura,
I stumbled across your blog this afternoon while coursing through some freelance and networking posts ia Facebook. I’m thankful I did. This series caught my attention for several reasons.
Several have pointed out the various benefits of being self-employed and the flexibility and rewards of being a freelancer. But, during a tough economy, more and more companies are realizing the vast talent available through freelancers. I used to explain to clients they were getting VP quality counsel for about the price they’d for an intern at the large international agency I used to work for. That usually brought a smile to their face.
When it really comes down to it, it’s the perception presented by the freelancer(s) themselves that can begin the debunking process. There are a myriad of freelance sites and organizations that have laid the foundation, but there is no replacing hard work (e.g. your Networking 101 post) in prospecting and quality of work delivered.
Now if you’ll excuse me…I have a lot of catching up to do on your posts.
Keith, aka, The Spindoctor Sayeth…
20 Laura Spencer // Sep 28, 2010 at
Thanks Keith!
“VP quality counsel for about the price they’d for an intern…” I like that. I may borrow it. 🙂
I think it’s actually true, when you consider the additional costs that go along with hiring an employee vs the cost savings of engaging a contractor.
21 outdoor // Oct 27, 2010 at
I choose to live my life on MY terms, not the terms society tells me I’m supposed to conform to. Meanwhile, I’m thirty years old, debt free, own my own place, and I’m living my life now, rather than spending 30-40 years of my life paying off a mortgage and 2 car payments and living in a country where the cost of living strips away 85-90% of my income.
22 Laura Spencer // Oct 27, 2010 at
Congratulations Outdoor!
Your post certainly highlights the advantages of freelancing. Many corporate employees would be envious of the way that you’ve taken control of your circumstances.
23 Chrystal // Apr 15, 2011 at
Just like everyone else, been there, done that. I was in corporate America for too many years. I am smart, I am talented, and I have degrees. I don’t need anyone to tell me how smart or good I am. I made the choice to be self-employed because I was tired of the drama, the commute and (honestly) dressing up. I have piercings and tattoos that had to be covered. No more. I am who I am and I will not let corporate America define me. My list for switching could go on and on. I am happier now in my career than I have ever been.
24 Carrie // Apr 16, 2011 at
I missed entirely to many important moments in my older children’s lives because I was working more hours every week. I was trying to further my career and provide a good life for them but in doing so I was depriving them of what they needed most.
My younger children do not know what it’s like to not have mom around. I don’t miss school events, I am here if they are sick or having a bad day and I haven’t missed any firsts in their lives. That is why I chose to begin freelancing, and no amount of money could entice me to go back to working outside of the home!
25 Laura Spencer // Apr 19, 2011 at
Thanks Chrystal and Carrie!
I’m glad so many people could relate to this post. Life balance was definitely my motivation for going freelance.
Sadly, too many people assume that freelancers are folks who can’t get any other type of job. This is just not the case. Most of us freelance because we choose to, not because we have to.