The Worst Things About Being A Freelancer

So what are the worst things about being a freelancer? I think we all know the number one answer to this one...

Not being paid in a timely fashion. This is, in fact, the bane of our existence, and every freelancer knows just how bad it can get. Your bills are piling up, your mortgage is due and you're dipping into your 401K savings to make ends meet. Week after week you check your mailbox only to find more junk mail. Maybe your invoice has been forgotten on someone's desk, caught in an endless loop of red tape, or was just "lost". Of course, none of this matters to the creditors who come banging on your door.

April 15th. The worst day of the year, and the second worst thing about freelancing. The days leading up to April 15th aren't easy either. Digging out old receipts, organizing bank statements, calculating mileage and trying to do all the bookkeeping is always a nightmare. The only thing worse is sitting in your accountant's office, listening to his fingers total up the damage. When he looks up and reads off how much you owe, be sure to have a brown paper bag ready to keep yourself from hyperventilating.

Working at "freelance stations." You've just been given a work order to crank out 8 high-res mechs in less than 3 hours. Unfortunately, the Mac Mini you're working on is 3 years old, has the minimum amount of RAM possible, and outdated software that is incompatible with the rest of the creative department's newer software. The numerous crashes, freezes and font conflicts make meeting any deadline impossible, which in turn makes you look like a slow poke. Did I mention that your computer is hooked up to the only scanner in the building? "Hey, I need you to scan in these 57 sketches for me asap. And how are those mechs coming along?"

Being devalued. You have years of experience, great ideas and a broad creative skill set. Oh, by the way, no one cares. You don't need any of those things to shift a ® one mouse click to the left. Unfortunately, the bulk of freelance work does not require a lot of creativity. On those rare days when you get to actually design a logo or a layout... Well brothers and sisters, those are the good days.

Did I miss anything? Maybe. Now that I think about it, if I could get paid in a timely fashion, that would offset all of the other cons listed above. Ahhhhh, I can dream, can't I?