Is it a good time to go freelance?

by Matthew T. Grant, PhD

If you are a web designer/developer and haven't been living in a shoebox then you realize that the job climate right now is different from the climate this time last year (or even last fall). Given the decline of the dotcoms and the shrinkage of various tech businesses, more folks are looking for work and many are asking themselves if it makes sense to embark on a freelance career. The basic answer is, "If you've got what it takes, now is just as good a time as any." That being said, what does it take?

The success or failure of any freelance business depends on the depth and robustness of your client network. If you plan on going freelance and you don't have a solid list of clients where you have a high probability of finding work, then you might want to consider teaming up a reputable staffing company - one that deals with a large group of talent and companies on a regular basis and devotes a significant amount of time getting to know both. Because their knowledge about each company and candidate is broad and deep a good staffing company can leverage this information to help you make the most informed decision possible.

In addition, reputable recruiters offer both the potential employee and the hiring manager the closest thing to a neutral, objective perspective during employment negotiations. They hear the negotiable and non-negotiable points from both sides and can, therefore, keep the process moving in a productive direction. While it's true most recruiters are hired and paid by the hiring manager, they also must represent the talent's interests to ensure that a good match is made.

If you do have a solid client list, you may be asking yourself: "How many clients should be on this list?" That really depends. This is a case where the solidity of the list is more important than its length. A list with two strong contenders is better than a list with ten weak ones.

How do you assemble the list? You know what you have done. You know what you can do. Now ask yourself: Who hires people like me? Who have I worked with before? How are they doing now? Do they hire freelancers? If they don't, do they know people who do? If questions like these make you nervous, then working as a freelancer is going to be a downright white-knuckler.

But let's say those questions do make you nervous but you still have a gut feeling that you can make it as a freelancer. The real question then becomes: Are there any opportunities at all for freelancers in the web? To answer that question, I called up my friend Andy Wermouth, who works as a freelance art director/designer. When I asked him if this was a good time or a bad time for freelancers, this is what he told me.

Andy started in the print world and migrated into the web where he has successfully spent the last couple of years. Now he's drifted back to the print world. "I'm taking a lot of jobs that I had to turn down before and finding it's kind of fun."

What's the lesson here? If you are going to go freelance, make sure you have an adequately diversified skill set. You want to be a web designer, right. You can do that. What else can you do? Can you write? How are your HTML skills? Did someone say Javascript? ASP? Cold Fusion? How's your relationship with Photoshop? Finally, did you come from the print world? Thanks to the strength of web mania, there is now a dearth of print designers. It's like they say on the airplane, "The nearest exit may be behind you."

Andy has also been doing work for non-profits lately and has seen a trend towards consolidation in that sector as the money stream has dried up. This trend can be seen in the for-profit sector as well and provides us with another lesson. As businesses are forced to consolidate and merge, this can spawn a variety of opportunities for web professionals. Consolidating businesses need a lot of help integrating IT systems and migrating technologies. They also need help redesigning their intranet and internet interfaces to reflect organizational changes. I think opportunity I hear opportunity knocking.

Finally, even though Andy has been doing more print work, he's seeing a lot of web opportunities for people willing to think small. Last year, anyone who wanted to build a small site was hard pressed to get help or afford it when they found it. These clients still have needs and although the rates may be very 2001, the work is real. Did opportunity just knock twice?

I thanked Andy for taking the time to talk to me and paused to reflect. It sounded like there were real opportunities out there for people seeking freelance work. It also sounded like the rules of the game were the same as they ever were. Now as before, if you have a diversified skill set, if you are flexible, if you have a robust network of contacts, and if you are willing to take the time and ferret out opportunities, even in unexpected places, then now is as good a time as any to seek the freelance path.

Matthew Grant is the Minister of Enlightenment at Aquent, the world's largest talent agency for creative, web and tech professionals. He speaks and trains on technical and communication issues.

Aquent is AGDA's First Global Partner, our Official Career Partner.