Full Time Freelancing or 9-5? - I've made my decision.

hitmeasap Level X⁵

December 26, 2016, 10:32 pm

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Full Time Freelancing or 9-5? - I've made my decision.

Full Time Freelancing or 9-5? - I

Hello fellow Freelancers!

2015 and 2016 has been rough for me.. - I've lost many things and I haven't been able to fully recover from these setbacks.

With that being said, I love freelancing. I love to be my own boss. - But I can't do this anymore. - I need more stability in my life. I need to make sure that I can always pay my bills, my rent and put food on the table. I want to start a family..

That's the reason I will quit being a full time freelancer from January 2017. - And believe me. That's one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to take. - But I cannot continue to live from paycheck to paycheck in the same way I've been doing until now.

These 2 years have been really rough and I've been totally drained out of energy, and I even lost track of myself during this time..

From January 2017, I will work towards a new goal, and I will work towards one goal alone. Stability.

I will always love both Freelancing and SEOClerks, and I will obviously not give up my freelancing dreams.. I mean, I've been a full time freelancer for 5 years already, so I can go back to full time freelancing again in the future.. - But I cannot allow myself to be stuck in this situation for another year or two.

I will work online during my spare time, so you haven't seen the last of me.. But I won't be here to cover your ass all the time. ;)

I wish you all the best of luck!

Best Regards,
hitmeasap

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anwebservices

I know that freedom of freelancing is addictive and it's not easy decision to make if you have to switch to 9-5 job. Sometime it's hard to get used to having boss, because in most cases you get someone dumber then you, depending what you going to work...
But also being short to pay all expenses or put your life needs to lower level is another problem we sometime facing even when we do 9-5 work. Nothing is easy any more, but at list you know how much you will get on this and this date, so it's easier to plan and organize life and expenses.
I wish you best of luck in both work, freelancing and 9-5, hope you will find what you looking for to satisfy your needs and relax. Good luck Andre

8 years ago

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hitmeasap

Thank you anwebservices, I appreciate it. And yeah, I need more stability. These last 2 years have been like a rollercoaster for me with both ups and downs but the ups I had, never really covered for the downs. - So I just have to break out of my comfort zone sort of, and go back to more stability. And by doing that, I'll freelance part time instead, and go back to full time freelancing in the future again.

8 years ago

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Lynne

Hahaha Abid you have me laughing my head off here. Yeah I have worked for some really stupid people before and I didn't like it then. I can only imagine how it would drive me nutty having to do from being my own boss to working for someone that is stupid.

8 years ago

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Lynne

Andre I am both happy for you and very sad. I know that this has been a terribly hard decision for you.

It is so important in life to do what is right for you at the time. Starting a family and getting some stability in your life will really help you so much, but in another way it is giving up something you love too.

Take some time to get your life back on track, get some stability and come back better and stronger than before. Learn from the past and try to have no regrets.

You are such a hard worker, a complete giver and I know good things are coming your way. I bet you that this door had to close to make way for something much better.

I have to be honest though, I will truly miss you being around all the time.

8 years ago

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hitmeasap

Thank you Lynne. - Yeah, this was one of the hardest decisions ever.. And just like you said, one thing will unfortunately, make another thing go away. - At least in this situation.

I've been struggling to have that solid stability for more than 2 years now and I can't continue like I've been doing. I love freelancing, I love being my own boss and I love the freedom, but I need stability. -I can't count on one project or a client and from nowhere no longer get that income. - I mean, I don't do business like that. My aim has always been to have long term clients, and that's why I had incredible success during the first 3 years as a freelancer. - Because I could do whatever, whenever. And still always count on the income as long as I did what we had agreed on. - And that's the person I am. I like to have responsibility along with freedom. - And that's when I will produce the most. - Unfortunately, I haven't been able to fully recover from the rollercoaster ride during these 2 years, and now it's time to get off this ride. - I will miss you too Lynne, but I won't be away forever.

8 years ago

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Lynne

Well I'm sure you will still be around every now and then.

It looks like I won't be around much myself anyway. My own business has really taken off and while I love chatting here in community discussion I really need to attend to my own work!

8 years ago

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hitmeasap

What else is rough is when the employer does not accept your freelance experience/work in a job interview.

Yeah, I've actually noticed this too. They don't seem to care at all, even though I've been a full time freelancer for 5 years.. But to them, it seems like I haven't done anything at all. - That's actually very frustrating.

8 years ago

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MasterA

If you have good time management, you can always work a 9 to 5 job and also do freelancing on the side. Personally, I have been doing that for a long time and while it can be stressful at times due to the workload, it has worked and provides a good income.

8 years ago

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augusta

I think it always a hard decision to decide which is better, the two comes with it ups and downs, pros and cons that sometimes we are left drained on just deciding. I have worked 9-5 for years and it was like I was living from paycheck to paycheck.I think it only about working where one feels comfortable.If offline is more appropriate then go for it.Best of luck.

7 years ago

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Everett

I am basically in the same boat. I will also be putting freelancing on the back burner, but will do it sort of like on the side. I will get a full-time job doing something. It is a very rough decision. What else is rough is when the employer does not accept your freelance experience/work in a job interview. It is almost like they could care less if you freelanced.. That seems to be an issue i am having when filling out job applications..

When I get back from the holidays, I will be starting my real estate classes, and get a job in between. So don't worry, you are NOT alone.

8 years ago

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Lynne

That's crazy though Everett because I would look at someone that has managed to sustain themselves through freelancing for a considerable amount of time as the kind of person I would want working for me.

A freelancer would have just the type of ambition and drive that I would want in an employee. I also don't want someone I will have to molly coddle and help all the time, I want someone that can use their own initiative, make decisions and get on with it.

Although on the downside I would also know that a freelancer probably hit a bad patch and that is why they are looking for a job, most likely until they can get back into the swing of the freelancing scene full time again.

8 years ago

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chetaseo

The kind of stability that you are talking about here should be that of FINANCIAL stability. it seems this freelancing of a job isnt paying your bills that much, that is why you want to do partime of it. but note that there are some other sellers who have invloved themselves in this freelancing and are doing perfectly well. from my point, i feel it is because the freelancing market is fully saturated with so many competitive sellers offering same services for lesser price and maybe that is why you are not making much from this freelance job, but if i may ask, do you offer your services in other sites like fiverr, upwork, gigbucks etc or are you concentrating only on seolerks? if it is only on seoclerks, a seller cannot make much unless he features his service on the frontpage or maybe reduce it to $1 to get sales which isnt ok enough.
if you have been doing freelancing for 5 years, your accounts suppose to have grown to a level that can surely sustain a living and even a family. i have seen sellers that started about 4 years and are doing very well, well maybe they were just lucky or they applied some strategies that worked out for them.
But the fact is that; i am very shocked that after 5 years, you are finding it very difficult to pay your bills. really shocking. well, maybe not everyone will do well in this freelancing of a thing. WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU FACING THAT IS HINDERING YOUR SUCCESS IN FRANCELANCING?. Is it lack of buyers due to many competitive sellers offring even low cost services? is it lack of promotion? is it lack of adequate electricity? is it high cost of internet? or what other challenges are you facing? you need to find out and work on how to solve it come next year 2017. i will love to hear your response to this my post

8 years ago

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hitmeasap

Hello chetaseo,
Thank you for your reply. - The fact is, that I've managed to work as a full time freelancer for more than 5 years, but during these 2 last years, it has been more and more difficult. Mostly due to the reason that two of my biggest clients didn't need my services in the future. (These clients was on-going and I worked with them for more than 2 years in total. And got paid once per week and once per month.) - Which basically mean that I could always depend on that income. Especially after such a long time. I haven't focused on SEOClerks for a very long time and I haven't sold services on Fiverr or any other marketplace either, as I've worked with my personal clients and built my own business over the years.

That being said, the first 3 years was totally fine and I never had to worry about incoming money, bills or anything related to money at all. Which also is the reason I more or less tossed away thousands of dollars on really stupid projects.. And I did that, because I could do it. - I had nothing to lose except money and money was never a problem. - During the last two years, I've been living on money I saved during the first 3 years, and I continued to work with my personal clients for as long as I could, but the sad part is, that I never really tried to do other things, because I was satisfied with my own business. The only thing I needed, was more clients.. And that didn't really happened during these 2 years.

So yeah, I need stability. Working 16 hours per day doesn't work. I tried but I can't continue like that because the money is gone. Sure, some months have been way better than others, which is the only reason I've been working during this year too, but it's hard to stay focused and put in the necessary effort it takes, when I can't be calm about the incoming money at the end of the month.

Imagine the feeling of having $1500 to pay at the end of the month, and your income have been $3000 just a few months ago, but now, when you sit there, you find out that you have less than $1000 in your bank account. - You can't do what you've been doing lately when you find that out.. And that's basically what happened to me. Hello chetaseo, Thank you for your reply. - The fact is, that I've managed to work as a full time freelancer for more than 5 years, but during these 2 last years, it has been more and more difficult. Mostly due to the reason that two of my biggest clients didn't need my services in the future. (These clients was on-going and I worked with them for more than 2 years in total. And got paid once per week and once per month.) - Which basically mean that I could always depend on that income. Especially after such a long time. I haven't focused on SEOClerks for a very long time and I haven't sold services on Fiverr or any other marketplace either, as I've worked with my personal clients and built my own business over the years. That being said, the first 3 years was totally fine and I never had to worry about incoming money, bills or anything related to money at all. Which also is the reason I more or less tossed away thousands of dollars on really stupid projects.. And I did that, because I could do it. - I had nothing to lose except money and money was never a problem. - During the last two years, I've been living on money I saved during the first 3 years, and I continued to work with my personal clients for as long as I could, but the sad part is, that I never really tried to do other things, because I was satisfied with my own business. The only thing I needed, was more clients.. And that didn't really happened during these 2 years. So yeah, [b]I need stability[/b]. Working 16 hours per day doesn't work. I tried but I can't continue like that because the money is gone. Sure, some months have been way better than others, which is the only reason I've been working during this year too, but it's hard to stay focused and put in the necessary effort it takes, when I can't be calm about the incoming money at the end of the month. Imagine the feeling of having $1500 to pay at the end of the month, and your income have been $3000 just a few months ago, but now, when you sit there, you find out that you have less than $1000 in your bank account. - You can't do what you've been doing lately when you find that out.. And that's basically what happened to me.

8 years ago

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EliteWriter

Making this decision must have been hard especially since you seemed to loved freelancing. However I believe that if you want more stability and peace of mind, it would be best to have a regular job, and maybe do some freelancing part-time. I hope you manage to find a job that will be ideal for your skills and according to your expectations. It may be hard at first, especially since you will need to get used to the hours, the traveling, and having a boss. But just bear in mind the regular wage you will be getting. I wish you the best of luck and hope we will still see your around here.

8 years ago

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hitmeasap

Thank you EliteWriter, I appreciate it. And yeah, it was the hardest decision I've ever had to take so far. It's hard to see yourself working for others when you've been your own boss for the last 5 years. So it will definitely be hard to adjust in the beginning. - But at the end of the month, I'll have my paycheck and it will be the same amount of money every month, and that's what I need right now.

8 years ago

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clerkboy3

Bad news! This is bad news

I hate to see somebody so successful and inspiring like you, going through this...
It is not a good sensation to see somebody famous in the freelancing world to take a hit like this, especially in the last 2 years...
We can see that by your discussions, ideas, your help, your creativeness that you are a very intelligent guy...
Sometimes, intelligent people suffer way more than the "practical" people (you are not the only one in the intelligent / intellectual group, I know some other people as well). --> sorry if I am a little bit too direct to the point here

I know that earning money online is more and more difficult nowadays. Sometimes I want to punch or slap myself or to be punched or slapped by somebody else. I started freelancing in 2013 and quit shortly after and than only in the last 2 quarters of 2016, especially the last quarter of 2016 I started again... Back in 2013, it was easier to earn money online! :s
I did not putted the effort, I was not practical, I was stupid, I don't know what to call myself!...

Let me ask you this:
1. You know the rule of not putting all the eggs in the same basket. Why have you relied so much on only 2 clients?
2. You also know that with your notoriety here (you are an level X5 seller with close to 700 in feedback) you could sell some services and pay to be featured on the front page or at least in the category page. People would certainly buy from you

3. If the sales were not good enough you could try to put up more services (especially similar to the more popular ones).
4. You could also heavily promote your services, maybe in the same way you have been able to gain so many affiliates?

Even if you start your 9 to 5 job:
Please do not give up!...
Stability is important but be careful, your upside potential is capped at a certain level!
I would love to see your success and I believe in you ;)

8 years ago

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hitmeasap

Hello clerkboy3
I'll quote your questions and answer them separately below.??

1. You know the rule of not putting all the eggs in the same basket. Why have you relied so much on only 2 clients?

- Good question and I can totally see why you or anyone else would ask this question. However, the answer is actually quite simple. First of all, the clients I've worked with made me money on a regular basis. And not only that, I earned a full time income from these two clients, which ultimately enabled me to focus on other things, than money.? - Which I gladly did, as money is far from everything. - That being said, I also worked with these clients for a very long time, so I never relied on these clients for starters, but when you've worked with two clients for more than a year, and payment comes regularly without a single problem.. - Well, you start to rely on it. At least I did.

2. You also know that with your notoriety here (you are an level X5 seller with close to 700 in feedback) you could sell some services and pay to be featured on the front page or at least in the category page. People would certainly buy from you <img title="Full Time Freelancing or 9-5? - I" ve="" made="" my="" decision.'="" alt="Full Time Freelancing or 9-5? - I" data-cke-saved-src="https://www.seoclerks.com/images/emoticon/emoticon-smile.png" src="https://www.seoclerks.com/images/emoticon/emoticon-smile.png" style="max-width: 600px; height: auto; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; max-height: 600px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244);">

- This is very true and I would love to use my user levels full potential to expand my business and to make more money. Obviously. However, due to the situation I'm in at this time, there's literally no way of doing that right now.

3. If the sales were not good enough you could try to put up more services (especially similar to the more popular ones).

- Similar answer to #2.

4. You could also heavily promote your services, maybe in the same way you have been able to gain so many affiliates?

- I haven't done a single thing for a very, very long time to gain affiliates, but I will slowly start to focus on doing this in the nearest future. - The promoting/advertising doesn't really work when it comes to services in that sense, just sort of, but yeah. You have a good point and I appreciate it, however, as of now, I've made my decision and I can't really come up with anything decent right now, so I'll have to come up with something new/more in the future, and that's exactly my idea.

Best Regards,
hitmeasap Hello clerkboy3 I'll quote your questions and answer them separately below.?? [quote]1. [b]You know the rule of not putting all the eggs in the same basket. Why have you relied so much on only 2 clients?[/b] - Good question and I can totally see why you or anyone else would ask this question. However, the answer is actually quite simple. First of all, the clients I've worked with made me money on a regular basis. And not only that, I earned a full time income from these two clients, which ultimately enabled me to focus on other things, than money.? - Which I gladly did, as money is far from everything. - That being said, I also worked with these clients for a very long time, so I never relied on these clients for starters, but when you've worked with two clients for more than a year, and payment comes regularly without a single problem.. - Well, you start to rely on it. At least I did. [b]2. You also know that with your notoriety here (you are an level X5 seller with close to 700 in feedback) you could sell some services and pay to be featured on the front page or at least in the category page. People would certainly buy from you <img title="Full Time Freelancing or 9-5? - I" ve="" made="" my="" decision.'="" alt="Full Time Freelancing or 9-5? - I" data-cke-saved-src="https://www.seoclerks.com/images/emoticon/emoticon-smile.png" src="https://www.seoclerks.com/images/emoticon/emoticon-smile.png" style="max-width: 600px; height: auto; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; max-height: 600px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244);">[/b] - This is very true and I would love to use my user levels full potential to expand my business and to make more money. Obviously. However, due to the situation I'm in at this time, there's literally no way of doing that right now. [b]3. If the sales were not good enough you could try to put up more services (especially similar to the more popular ones).[/b] - Similar answer to #2. [b]4. You could also heavily promote your services, maybe in the same way you have been able to gain so many affiliates?[/b] - I haven't done a single thing for a very, very long time to gain affiliates, but I will slowly start to focus on doing this in the nearest future. - The promoting/advertising doesn't really work when it comes to services in that sense, just sort of, but yeah. You have a good point and I appreciate it, however, as of now, I've made my decision and I can't really come up with anything decent right now, so I'll have to come up with something new/more in the future, and that's exactly my idea.[/quote] Best Regards, hitmeasap

8 years ago

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trafficsmania

@?hitmeasap 5 years and still strugleing with money, maybe freelancing aint for you, but my personal opinion is you managed your money and work extremly poorly, you built yourself a house of cards, with the slightest problem it will end in disaster.
I have been doing full time IM since the past 7 years, I also had aprox 2 years of beeing broke, mainly did the same thing as you, focused all my eforts on one income source and when that flopped I was earning just enogh to pay the bills.
But a couple of years ago I changed my mindset and diversified my earnings, at this point I have 3 income streams, one main and 2 backups, seocklerks is one of the backupps, anytime one of my other earnings dont perform well I just feature my service and get some easy money.
I never considered or wanted to do freelancing full time, as my mindset is "time is money" why focus on something to earn a couple of bucks from some clients when I can focus on other things and make more money on the long haul but this time working formyself and not beeing hired by anybody.
One important thing I have allways done is to try out new ways of generating mainly passive and recurring money and test test test.

There is no such thing as a stable income, either online or offline, you can allways be fired cuz ur boss fucked up, some new dude gets hired for less etc. but the main difference is that in offline jobs you earn a fixed amount of money each month, while with online marketing the sky is the limit...

You hit the point of no return, now your only option is to start over from scratch, but this time you have some experience behind you, the following months you will either see some positive outcome or enter into another deathspiral...
Good luck tho

8 years ago

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hitmeasap

Well, in all honesty trafficsmania. I know dozens of people who struggled with money for more than a decade, and they're still in the game because of their love and passion for freelancing. I don't know about you, or others, but I personally have never been a freelancer because I've had high hopes of becoming a multi millionaire or other ridiculous things like that. Sure, the money is obviously great while everything is running smoothly, but I've never worked so hard in my life either. And that's the thing. I love what I do, so I do it. With or without payment. I sell myself short. I give away knowledge, experience and advice for free. I've even helped people here in Sweden to launch full time businesses, and I've helped them for almost nothing. - And that's where I'd say that freelancing isn't for me. - I give instead of take and that type of mindset doesn't work when you're freelancing.

Even my 2 biggest clients I've mentioned several times.. I could've charged more, but I'm not that kind of person. As you said, the mindset. That's what I need to change. I need to change my mindset. I need to start to think about me instead of others. I need to put myself first again, which I did during the first 3 years of my full time career. - Anyhow, I do appreciate your reply. You've mentioned a couple of good points and I'll take that with me further on too. - Thanks!

8 years ago

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Lynne

Yes Andre, your mindset does need to change. I believe you are too much of a giver. You know looking after yourself first does not equal being selfish, it is actually self love. There is a massive difference between the two.

If you start putting yourself first in everything you do you will find things coming together more.

8 years ago

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seo1001

I read your ebook and learn a lot from you. I agree with you. You need stability and I hope you will back anytime to make your dream come true.

8 years ago

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DkPatel

It's really hard to choose freelancing but I dare to do it,
I am a full time freelancer but with choose to stick with 9-5 plan. Ha ha ha

8 years ago

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Cristian

I'm glad you finally made a decision Andre! I have experience with working as a full-time freelancer and I can clearly understand your current problems and struggles. I'm a part-time freelancer at the moment and this was probably the best decision I made in my career. I have a lot more financial stability and I'm happier with myself.

I would probably end up in choosing between freelancing and a full time job in the next few years since you can't really do both for extended periods of time.

8 years ago

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Barida

One thing that I've come to realize in life is that there are decisions people make that we've got to respect for only them knew the reason they took such decisions. That's the reason I won't question your decision to quit freelancing and work offline and on that note, I wish you the very best in life.

7 years ago

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overcast

Your life decisions are entirely upto you. And I choose not to subscribe to different opinion and lecture you. I think stability is something we all need to be focused on. And you have to understand that there are always tangents that happen in our life. So check out what applies to you and do the needful. Try to go into the route of delegating and automation. That's what I'd if I were successful like you. I can learn many things in this way. That being said, it'd be reasonable to say any decision you take it's going to be a good journey.

7 years ago

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ColdFlameChris

If I find a good freelancing job that really suits my skills, I would definitely stay full time on freelancing than a 9-5 job. In freelancing, you can avoid traffic, the lavish lifestyle, the everyday expense meal, the transportation fair, the flexible time you have when you're working online and much more. I can see the potential of being a freelancer and I hope, someday, every job can be done online at home. That could really lessen the traffic. It just needs a proper law, regulations and government agency to handle this industry.

7 years ago

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Corzhens

I have been an employee all my professional life with the 9-to-5 work schedule. My part time freelancing is actually a preparation when the time comes that I retire from my office job. I guess freelancing has lesser stress although I cannot say the same with the earnings. For sure, my finances will be at risk.

7 years ago

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vinaya

I decided to become a full-time freelancer and not pursue for9-5 jobs as soon as I completed my university program. By the time I completed my education, I was already earning a bank clerk's salary bu writing for newspapers. However, my freelancing career never took off properly. My friends are earning a fat salary and I don't even earn half of what they make from their 9-5 jobs. Sometimes I feel like I should quit and get a regular job, but then something stops me.

7 years ago

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