Recently I found out a close family friend lost her job. I do not know the specifics, but I know that it is a scary and frustrating time for her and her family. You hear about people losing their jobs often, but when it hits close to home, the impact reminds of us to reflect.
I remember a conversation I had with my friend and mentor Alison Heittman a few years ago. She claimed she always has work because she evaluates new and current prospects frequently. At the time, I was starting my freelancing journey at the age of 20 and my dad was on the longest unemployment streak of his life searching for a new job to pay the bills. I believed her claim but I was skeptical at best because of my current situation.
Over the next few years, I struggled and grew with every job, client, contract (lack of contract), and deliverable reached. I changed my employee mindset and embraced the life of an independent contractor.
I realized being a good contractor is like having a diversified stock portfolio. Like a diverse portfolio, you must be tolerant of market fluctuations, manage your risk, and re-balance when necessary.
Being an employee of a company is like having all of portfolio in a single stock. So if you go the employee route, you better watch your investment and be ready to jump ship before your stock is worthless. I'm not trying to say being an employee isn't stable. Just make sure you keep an eye on your company and watch for warning signs.
Now I see why Alison is so confident in her claim. When you have binding contracts in place with many clients in diverse markets and spaces, if a few disappear overnight, you will still be OK.
Currently I have clients in the Educational Technology space, the University of California system, Audio space, the Food and Restaurant business, and many small ventures.
Being an independent contractor gives me full control over selecting clients, mitigating risk, and taking on new opportunities.
This process allows me to write my own ticket.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.