Freelance or staff
08/05/06 17:10 Journalism in practice
There's an interesting discussion kicking off
at
Object Marketing's blog
- someone has asked whether they should go freelance
in order to earn £60K per annum and take massive
holidays.
I'd make a couple of points about that from the journalist side of the fence. Having been freelance some 13 years now I find it very difficult to believe in this 20 weeks per year holiday. It can't, really it can't, be right - a freelance works by himself or herself, and if you're not there 20 weeks a year the clients will go away. It would be the same if I had an editor asking me for a regular column - he/she might be happy for me to have up to five weeks off per year but 20? Get real.
The other thing is that although I don't know the PR industry in depth, or at least not its earning capacity, I'd query whether a great many independent PRs get that figure in gross profit rather than in turnover. If it's turnover, OK, but you've got all your costs to come out of it.
In fact my best advice to people thinking of freelancing is always to watch the money. Never mistake an outstanding invoice for cash; it can go wrong, a client can go bust and not get paid and if you've bought a new car on the strength of the posited income you're suddenly in debt. Second, never mistake turnover for your own income. You do need a computer, premises, all those things, and they cost money. By the end you might find your actual income a bit depressing, but whoever said it was all going to be easy..?
I'd make a couple of points about that from the journalist side of the fence. Having been freelance some 13 years now I find it very difficult to believe in this 20 weeks per year holiday. It can't, really it can't, be right - a freelance works by himself or herself, and if you're not there 20 weeks a year the clients will go away. It would be the same if I had an editor asking me for a regular column - he/she might be happy for me to have up to five weeks off per year but 20? Get real.
The other thing is that although I don't know the PR industry in depth, or at least not its earning capacity, I'd query whether a great many independent PRs get that figure in gross profit rather than in turnover. If it's turnover, OK, but you've got all your costs to come out of it.
In fact my best advice to people thinking of freelancing is always to watch the money. Never mistake an outstanding invoice for cash; it can go wrong, a client can go bust and not get paid and if you've bought a new car on the strength of the posited income you're suddenly in debt. Second, never mistake turnover for your own income. You do need a computer, premises, all those things, and they cost money. By the end you might find your actual income a bit depressing, but whoever said it was all going to be easy..?
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