Author Topic: Update on my lay-off  (Read 4855 times)

freelancerNfulltimer

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Update on my lay-off
« on: July 19, 2013, 12:21:45 PM »
I hope y'all don't mind me sharing this, I just want to talk this out and I like being able to discuss this with people who are like-minded in wanting to save more money and retire early.

I posted about getting laid off last Friday. I've been really hustling the last couple of days applying for jobs and wrangling up some freelance work. In just a week's time I have managed to get together at least two months of guaranteed full-time freelance work. I also expect to be interviewed for a couple of full-time salaried positions based on the feedback I've received from the hiring managers about my resume, cover letter and portfolio. I have two big potential contracts for freelance projects that could lead to an indefinite amount of ongoing freelance work.

Now that I'm doing the math, I'm realizing I can easily replace my salaried position with only four hours of billable work per day. This means I could potentially cut my work week by five to twelve hours and end up making like (at minimum) $500 more a month even after accounting for increased costs of no more employer paid cell phone, increased health insurance costs through my husband's plan and my increased payroll taxes as a self-employed person.

I guess I'm trying to figure out if I should even bother taking on a full-time job. Freelance income isn't guaranteed but it's very unlikely I'll be able to match my earning potential as a freelancer with a salaried job.

I've done the full-time self-employed thing before and I know I can do it. The difference between this time and last time is that I'm now able to command a considerably higher hourly rate than before. Also this past week of working from home has been amazing. I feel like this crushing weight from being miserable at my job has just been lifted from my shoulder's. I didn't realize how much stress working for a mismanaged company and this looming fear of lay-offs was causing me until I wasn't there any more. I thought I'd been happily putting up with it in exchange for the steady paycheck and fairly good compensation.

Obviously some of this is putting the cart before the horse. I haven't been offered a salaried position yet and don't know what the pay would be. But I can't keep myself from thinking about this stuff in advance.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2013, 01:07:59 PM by freelancerNfulltimer »

MissStache

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Re: Update on my lay-off
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2013, 12:31:33 PM »
You've been so busy!  Good for you!

If you can reliably get the freelance work, then it seems like the obvious choice to do that, but I would advise that you think long and hard about how likely you are to keep a steady stream of freelance jobs.  Is the maket steady enough to guarantee that you would be getting work month after month? Year after year? That would be my only concern. 

Good luck- sounds like you are enjoying yourself :)

burly

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Re: Update on my lay-off
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2013, 01:30:50 PM »
What type of work do you freelance? - Just curious.

I do freelance web coding on the side and there is a lot of demand.. but I find it very hard to balance it with working full time... But once I get enough courage, I'd love to make that jump and lose that burden of working for the man... especially the mismanaged ones...


In my opinion, you can always work for someone, so maybe take some time and work for yourself?

freelancerNfulltimer

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Re: Update on my lay-off
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2013, 01:37:46 PM »
What type of work do you freelance? - Just curious.

I do freelance web coding on the side and there is a lot of demand.. but I find it very hard to balance it with working full time... But once I get enough courage, I'd love to make that jump and lose that burden of working for the man... especially the mismanaged ones...


In my opinion, you can always work for someone, so maybe take some time and work for yourself?

I do web and graphic design, mostly web design and development. I think taking some time to work for myself and then if it doesn't work out the way I hope start looking for a full-time job is a good plan of attack. It's just that I have an interview on Monday now is for a very senior marketing position at a big local company. It would be an amazing resume booster and jumping point towards transitioning from design to marketing/management. But on the flip side of the coin in the last week being at home working I remembered how nice it is to work from home and be your own boss.

BlueBeard

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Re: Update on my lay-off
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2013, 02:57:20 PM »
I do web and graphic design, mostly web design and development. I think taking some time to work for myself and then if it doesn't work out the way I hope start looking for a full-time job is a good plan of attack. It's just that I have an interview on Monday now is for a very senior marketing position at a big local company. It would be an amazing resume booster and jumping point towards transitioning from design to marketing/management. But on the flip side of the coin in the last week being at home working I remembered how nice it is to work from home and be your own boss.

Did you find work from previous contacts or where did you find it?  I do similar work so I am very interested in what you have learned and can share.

wing117

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Re: Update on my lay-off
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2013, 03:26:40 PM »
I do web and graphic design, mostly web design and development. I think taking some time to work for myself and then if it doesn't work out the way I hope start looking for a full-time job is a good plan of attack. It's just that I have an interview on Monday now is for a very senior marketing position at a big local company. It would be an amazing resume booster and jumping point towards transitioning from design to marketing/management. But on the flip side of the coin in the last week being at home working I remembered how nice it is to work from home and be your own boss.

Sounds like you've got some great leads! My SO is a Typography, Illustration & Letterpress specific graphic designer that's currently learning web design on the job. We hope to get her heavily into freelancing once she's spent some more time under a good art director.

I'm not sure how much you've done of freelancing in the past but this book has been indispensable.  Also, check out called "Fuck You. Pay Me".  Great info on making sure you have contracts in place.

Good luck!

freelancerNfulltimer

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Re: Update on my lay-off
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2013, 07:48:56 AM »
I do web and graphic design, mostly web design and development. I think taking some time to work for myself and then if it doesn't work out the way I hope start looking for a full-time job is a good plan of attack. It's just that I have an interview on Monday now is for a very senior marketing position at a big local company. It would be an amazing resume booster and jumping point towards transitioning from design to marketing/management. But on the flip side of the coin in the last week being at home working I remembered how nice it is to work from home and be your own boss.

Did you find work from previous contacts or where did you find it?  I do similar work so I am very interested in what you have learned and can share.

I reached out some of my previous contacts the day of my lay-off to see if they needed any freelance work.  I also applied under the Web / Info Design section of my local craigslist.

The best thing I can recommend is to have a stellar portfolio and resume ready to go. I have three different resumes specialized to what I'm applying for. I write a custom cover letter for each job. I also have a lot of websites that I've built that link to my portfolio websites so I often get found that way.

www.askamanager.org is a great resource for cover letter, resume and interview help.