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I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

neladunato.com

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Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#51

Post by ilamont »

For years I’ve felt “weird” and “wrong” for working this way.

I still feel guilty when telling people that I am only open for meetings from 11 am to 5 pm. The only exceptions are people in distant time zones.

It can also feel wrong if your SO is on a regular 9 to 5 and you are getting up without an alarm clock, going shopping and making appointments in the middle of the day, and generally setting your own work habits according to your own preferences. Last night I was working at 1 am because I couldn't sleep and there was something I wanted to get done.

OTOH, she never has to go food shopping and I have always been there for the kids in ways that are not possible for her - helped my adult child load and unload a moving truck last Wednesday afternoon, and over the years took both kids to school activities, driving lessons, and other events that my spouse couldn't attend.

Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#52

Post by manicennui »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #35

Warning: bit of a rant ahead. I’m currently on the path to a principal-level role at my company. I really don’t know what I think about it. The jump from lead to principal is a big one in terms of workload and stress, and I’ve been told the pay difference isn’t huge. Older I get, the less I care to ascend the ladder. Even at this point I’m doing it out of a sense of amassing status in case I need it, rather than bein…

Having never worked at a FAANG company, I'm not sure exactly what the principal role commonly entails. That being said, I've recently been promoted from lead to principal, which is one of the highest titles for software engineers on our tech track. There are basically a few people who are higher in the entire company, which is a medium-sized public company.

The best thing about this company is the work life balance; I never put in a lot of hours. The worst thing is the skill level of most of our software engineers. The thing I hate about this new role is that I'm less connected to the day-to-day work and just getting shit done. I'm in even more meetings now and the expectation is that I'll somehow help to level up the semi-competent people we hire, and make sure projects go smoothly even though everything is built on a foundation of shit.

Fortunately I am paid extremely well. Pay is literally the only reason I accepted the promotion. Sadly, the company probably gets less value out of me now even though we all convince ourselves that this layer of principals and managers is making everyone below us more productive.

Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#53

Post by manicennui »

MattGaiser wrote: post #38
mattgreenrocks wrote: post #35

Warning: bit of a rant ahead. I’m currently on the path to a principal-level role at my company. I really don’t know what I think about it. The jump from lead to principal is a big one in terms of workload and stress, and I’ve been told the pay difference isn’t huge. Older I get, the less I care to ascend the ladder. Even at this point I’m doing it out of a sense of amassing status in case I need it, rather than bein…

In general, interest in career advancement is collapsing. https://www.wsj.com/articles/your-coworkers-are-less-ambitio...

Unfortunately promotion is the best way to get more money at most companies without leaving.

Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#54

Post by [deleted] »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #35

Warning: bit of a rant ahead. I’m currently on the path to a principal-level role at my company. I really don’t know what I think about it. The jump from lead to principal is a big one in terms of workload and stress, and I’ve been told the pay difference isn’t huge. Older I get, the less I care to ascend the ladder. Even at this point I’m doing it out of a sense of amassing status in case I need it, rather than bein…

[deleted]

Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#55

Post by ipaddr »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #35

Warning: bit of a rant ahead. I’m currently on the path to a principal-level role at my company. I really don’t know what I think about it. The jump from lead to principal is a big one in terms of workload and stress, and I’ve been told the pay difference isn’t huge. Older I get, the less I care to ascend the ladder. Even at this point I’m doing it out of a sense of amassing status in case I need it, rather than bein…

That status can act like an anchor and prevent things in the future. Once you have that on your resume you outclass yourself for smaller title roles where you might be happier.

A principle helps other and finds ways to add value. You get to deal with the enterprise issues. If you like sticking your nose in everywhere, going to meetings and want to move away from programming this is the role.

It's a role with little power or accountability. Part of your role is justifying your value. The successful ones I have seen have been able to listen, take in everything and convey that message in language a vp understands.

By default I say don't take it you sound happy at your current level. You are better off going the management route or product manager path if you are looking at status, power and higher pay.

Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#56

Post by manicennui »

LapsangGuzzler wrote: post #27
pxue wrote: post #12

As a solo dev contractor who got my business to $500k/year during the pandemic - I echo a lot of the sentiment in this post. An extension to the post I want to touch on is that VC funded startups are not the only way to break free from the dreadful corporate games. Working for yourself at your own pace is. As an industry we're surprisingly very behind in normalizing this.

> As an industry we're surprisingly very behind in normalizing this. Given the fight we’ve seen over WFH, I’m very inclined to believe that this is intentional by the industry. By focusing on paying top dollar for FTEs and demanding incredible amounts of time and energy from them, companies maintain a level of control that they wouldn’t have by working with a fractional engineering team.

I find it humorous that anyone thinks they are capable of forcing talented people to do more than they want. Most of the people who feel pressure to make their corporate masters as happy as possible are either desperate or barely competent. All one must do is appear to be slightly better than all of the dead weight in the corporate world. No need to work hard.

* I wanted to add that I am referring to software developers. Creative types like the author of this article are always shit upon by corporate types unfortunately

Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#58

Post by ransom1538 »

freitzkriesler2 wrote: post #17
DeltaCoast wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask how you find contracts? Are there that many contract roles posted in public or is it due to your network?

Upwork. Solely up work.

If you are cool with $12 USD an hour: it is the place to be.

Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#59

Post by codeTired »

pxue wrote: post #12

As a solo dev contractor who got my business to $500k/year during the pandemic - I echo a lot of the sentiment in this post. An extension to the post I want to touch on is that VC funded startups are not the only way to break free from the dreadful corporate games. Working for yourself at your own pace is. As an industry we're surprisingly very behind in normalizing this.

Would you mind sharing how to get started? I am full stack dev. I can pivot my current job into a contract but I’m scared of getting more clients.

Re: I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency

#60

Post by manicennui »

wslh wrote: post #30

I sympathize with the sentiment of working on your own way instead of following the growth, or others mantra. But I think Nela should also understand that she is an outlier deciding to work ALONE: what happens when someone decides to have children? Do a single person has the skills to manage the complexities of a business? Be ready all the time? I don't underestimate Nela skills, just saying, again, she is an outlier…

How is a useful thing to write? All advice is circumstantial. There is no reason to apologize for nor temper one's opinion because it doesn't apply to everyone.
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