My fourth year of freelancing
Part of “Year of freelancing” series:
It's been more than four years since I started my freelance career. Here's the overview of the last year.
Clients
Last year I mainly worked with existing clients since I established strong relationships with most of them. I have been working with some clients for more than three years. I had only one project with a new client.
Having long-term relationships with clients allowed me to communicate more honestly. Clients knew what to expect from my side, and they were ready to wait until my schedule cleared.
There were times where I overbooked myself, but I always managed to deliver on time. I plan not to get myself in this kind of situation again. No money is worth my physical and mental health.
Projects
This year I worked on WordPress, Jekyll, Hugo, Shopify, and HubSpot projects. I got my first certification, the Hubspot CMS for Developers certificate.
I enjoyed working on most of the projects. Although WordPress, Shopify, and Hubspot are solid products, I prefer working on static site generators.
I didn't get too much time to work on my side projects last year. I plan to change that. The only project I am constantly working on is the UI Dev Newsletter. It is something that I enjoy, but it doesn't take too much time.
Future
Starting this October, I am going full-time, and I already handed my notice to all my current clients. It is a remote position, and I will be part of a marketing team, and I will be responsible for the company website.
Going full-time was a pretty big step for me, and it was not a simple one. While I never experienced burnout, I had some periods where I felt exhausted. I think it is time to slow down, although it will definitively feel strange to work only on one project and to communicate with only one team.
Conclusion
I don't think my freelancing career is over. I mean, you never know, but I enjoyed it so much not to go back one day. So I guess we will see.