Arbenting

A short time ago, in a blog post not far from here…

We started a series about The True Costs of Freelancing, and we had always intended once we wrapped the third post on the series, to revisit the theme from the other side of the coin. We have a thing for balance, and we never wanted to just look at the somewhat negatives of the gig. So we have decided to go ahead and kick off towards the flip side and turn the Arbenting eye on the True Benefits of Freelancing.

To Yang the Yin we initially led with, we wanted to keep things formatted like the original, cause we wanted the sequel set of posts to have the same feel as the first trilogy. Hopefully this set won’t suck like another trilogy that springs to mind. I mean, come on, George Lucas, what the hell? How could you sully the memory of the original Star Wars trilogy with that over-produced prequel that maintained none of the feel of the first series? For shame, George. For shame. Wait, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah…Freelancing.

Without further ado, we present to you the first part of the beneficial side to being your own boss!

The Bene’s Begin

It’s no question that working for yourself can have it’s downs, but the fact of the matter is, the ups far outweigh them. The first three that we want to talk about here today are

• #1 – Bye Bye, Tie!
• #2 – Shotcaller!
• #3 – Workin’ 9 to, oh 9:30!

…just a side note, we wanted to add some big unnecessary explosions, and other big budget effects to really set this section of the text off, but again, we realized that this would stray from the tone and feel of the original, and we didn’t want to suck. Sometimes, George, bigger isn’t always better!

Bye Bye, Tie!

So in the first series we covered the cost of the uniform as a bit of a joke, but this is not a laughing matter. Though it was in the first post, and damn funny, too. You can admit to a giggle, it’s all right. It’s not like it will effect my ego. (I mean, when you’re this good, who needs ego?) Anyway we wanted to revisit this idea from another perspective. The perspective of a dude in a tie!

There was a time, when I had a job for a corporate entity, and do you know what they made me do? Wait, is it too obvious that I’m the dude in the tie? Oh well. They made me a wear a tie! A tie. Like around my neck. How uncool is that? Why would anyone inflict that kind of punishment flagrantly on their employees, demanding they tie a daily noose around their necks to come to work? That’s comfort? Don’t you work better the more relaxed and at ease you are?

Now being a freelancer, you have it made. No ties, unless you like that kind of stuff (No judgement!). And at any of the other jobs I have held in my life, showing up to work in my underwear, not only would result in being sent home, but I would also be asked to not return. I know this to be true of one place for sure, but due to certain legal agreements I’m not really allowed to talk about that. The other places I am assuming they all had similar policies. But the freedom of dressing as you please, or not if that’s what you please (No judgement!) really cannot be underscored enough. Especially if you have had to spend your entire work day in a freakin’ tie.

Shotcaller!

So you want to be a baller? Shotcaller? With 20 inch blades, on the Impala? Well, alright, maybe not that last one, but the choice would really be up to you. That is one of the most awesome things about being a freelancer, getting to call all the shots. Hit the highway. Making money the fly way…sorry, the song came back into my head. It won’t happen again.

Basically when you work for a client, one might argue that they are the ones who have all the say, but the truth is, they can often times be lead in a direction if you do things right. But that’s neither here nor there. What we are talking about when we say ‘Shotcaller’ you get to decide how much work, and what kind of work you want to take on. And while money can be a powerful motivator, the motivations don’t make the final decisions. You do.

The freelancer, once again, has a freedom to decide what clients they want to take on, based on their own personal preferences, morals, whatever. But if you look at working for a business, they tell you what jobs you have to take, and good luck arguing the case. And if you work for someone else, they will pile on the work until they are satisfied with your workload, in a lot of cases that we have found. You often do not get a large say in the amount of work you have to do, unless of course, you are the one calling the shots. As a freelancer, that role is yours. And there’s got to be a better way, a better way…sorry, song again. I know I said I wouldn’t, but it’s catchy.

Working 9 to, oh, 9:30

We don’t mean to say that Miss Dolly Parton had it wrong, but we were never that partial to making a living working 9 to 5. The appeal was extremely lacking, and never really took. Perhaps that’s why the freelancer’s life is the life for us. Your schedule is more than flexible, it’s double jointed.

Basically you get to set your own schedule, no one else is doing it for you. A client can certainly give you a deadline to work against, but you get to set the times you work on it. A client can also ask for meetings and updates, but these can also be conveniently scheduled with some flexibility based on your availability. Like between your afternoon nap, and your brain drain reset video game hour. The only hours of operation you have to be accessible are defined by you.

This also allows you to work only when you are your most productive, and keeps you from having to force your work through a time when you should be seeking some sort of release. If you want to work for only half an hour before you take time off, and have an extended lunch break to boot, or if you want to work nights, days, middays, midnights whatever, you can do that. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, family gatherings, Buffy cast comic-con appearances in Denver whatever special event is coming up in your life, you can take the time off to attend. You needn’t worry about how many vacation days you have built up, or if you will need to use a sick day. It’s your schedule. Decide for yourself.

To Be Continued…

Well that’s a wrap on part one of the post. Part 2 will be following later, and look for part 3 after that. Let us know what you think should make the list, and it might just make it’s way on there. Hit us up in the comments, and leave your suggestions.

The Complete Series

• What Does True Freelancing Cost? Pt. 1
• What Does True Freelancing Cost? Pt. 2
• Freelancing Costs Pt. 3 – Return of the Red-Eye!
• The True Benefits of Freelancing Pt. Deux!
• Freelancing Benefits Episode III : Revenge of the Myth

A Final Word

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