Money tips for freelancers
Hi team! It’s me, Jade. This edition of Money May is made for all my self-employed, independent contractors (like me!) or those that may be freelance-curious and wanna know what it might take to make it on your own financially.
It’s been two and a half years since I’ve seen a salary. There are things I miss. Like on-time and consistent paychecks (professional invoice-chasing should get a section on my resume) and affordable healthcare (is this still on your priority list, USA?) Despite those “luxuries”, becoming self-employed is one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself. Among the time freedom and massive exercise in self-confidence, I’m most grateful to have set up a work world for myself that gives me space to honor my humanhood each day. I schedule my work around my life, not the other way around. Going freelance was my way to make it happen.
When I first dropped into the freelance world, I had a few people in my life already doing it, and though they were helpful and encouraging during my existential sink-or-swim moments, I was so new to the ballgame, that I honestly didn’t even know what questions to ask.
While I’m still navigating the intricacies of how to streamline and market my offerings, and will likely be tinkering with them forevermore, I’ve spent a lot of energy over the last few years solidifying ground rules around compensation that ensure I feel valued, stable, and on track with my ever-up-leveling skillset. It’s been a lot of trial and error, so I’m happy to share what I’ve learned so you can have more trial-and-successes.
I want to reverberate something we mentioned in our Money May intro post: no amount of money can dictate your inherent worth. In our modern culture, where money is our current form of currency, knowing our financial value AND our inherent worth is really important. The tips below are intended to be helpful in finding ways to protect both without sacrificing one for the other. Ready, set, money…
Break away from, or avoid hourly rates where you can
Now look, there will always be exceptions to this, but I’ve found hourly billing can be a bit pigeon-holing. Here’s why:
If you’re building your freelance skills consistently, you’re likely to keep getting better and, depending on the type of work you do, faster at your work. As a freelancer, that means getting paid less for a higher quality deliverable in less time if you’re on an hourly-rate pay structure. And that’s… not nice. This is about prioritizing the value you bring outside of the time it takes you to do the work. If hourly is unavoidable, 1. Make sure your hourly rate gives you room to get faster at your job and still make enough. And 2. Read below!
PS - Rachel has incredible insight on how to set an hourly rate that bakes in all your unique freelancer needs, like time off, health insurance and other expenses. Head to the end of this edition for her step-by-step!
