Ask HN: How many of you are self employed?

> I have multiple customers over time; 3 years ago, I worked on a different project, for a different client, than I do now. But with the kind of projects I work on, it's hard to do several of these projects at once, and they're too long to do several in a year.

So please be very careful and if you can find a side gig that doesn't interfere with your main one so you have at least some protection. It could be a low hours but high pay job that way you don't end up eating into your time too much, for instance a coaching job.

> Expecting self-employed contractors to have multiple clients is unreasonable.

On the contrary: it's a must. Without multiple clients you are super fragile, don't have a strong negotiation position and in case of any kind of headwind you're immediately on the ropes. If you insist on doing long running contracts try getting two that do not overlap in terms of run-time, make one two days a week, the other two days a week or three days a week and bill the smaller job a higher rate.

> And there are a lot of companies that have a single large customer. I think I have a lot more flexibility than they do.

That's true, but they tend to have a much stronger position than you do due to the kind of contracts that get written between large entities. In a conflict with a much larger entity you usually end up drawing the short stick. They could stiff you on a bill and it would already pull you under water.

the worker rights issue is mostly a concern for blue collar workers that are forced to become freelance by some companies to save on welfare costs. that is what tax authorities actually look for when they talk about "false self-employment" and that is why it is the company giving the assignment that gets punished in these situations and usually not the freelancer.

that's not really a concern for high billing consulting professionals. it is a common misunderstanding (as you can see from comments here) though and is variously used by companies to undercompensate people who could be far more profitable consulting

Love the comparison against Grand Seiko. I'm a self-proclaimed watch nerd and owner of a Shunbun. Grand Seiko makes beautiful watches!

> the way not to get burned is to charge high enough with trustworthy clients

That helps. What helps even more is to have a nice fat savings account that allows you to negotiate properly, to weather the inevitable dry spells, to build a solid base of clients that value you and that will repeatedly hire you.

> take some insurances

Against what? 90%+ of the freelancers are not even insured against loss of income from health related issues. The remainder is well off enough that they can probably afford to take the risk.

> whether you have 1 or 3 clients at one point in time is immaterial as long as it doesn't sour your relationship with your clients

Until: that one client goes bust, there is a 'policy change', the project/product you are working on gets axed, the economy burps, your main contact at the company gets fired and the new guy or girl doesn't like you and so on.

> I appreciate that it sounds like you had a bad experience with a client though.

I appreciate that it sounds like you haven't had a bad experience yet, but that makes you simply less experienced. Give it some time and you'll see all of the above and variations on those themes.

Here is a 2011 booklet I wrote on the subject.

https://jacquesmattheij.com/be-consultant/

>Finally I ... went back to a big employer and I’m much happier

I have a similar timeline: dropped out in 2009 and started a few blue collar shops (mostly electrician-related). By 2019 I realized (with substantial help from clients / friends) I didn't want to be "on call" 24/7, as bossman, so over the next two years I fired all but my two best clients.

Reflecting on my worklife, I am grateful for so many of my clients/experiences; but it sure would have been a whole lot "easier" had I just worked W2 for somebody else [as were my IBEW apprenticeship days].

I had a family emergency 2022Q1 and then lost my housing 2023Q1 (to a landslide), so I've been promising myself "get employed 2024Q1;" and now with all these layoffs, I've just accepted that this will be my second year I don't have to file income taxes (legally, no income).

The one great thing about being self-employed is it does allow higher wages, flexibility, etc.; in my case, I have enough savings to last decades. If I had a family I would definitely prefer the stability and work/life balance of being a W2 employee [verse running a company, managing clients, installing, etc].