Am I insane to keep trying to freelance in... wait for it... 'current climate', when have permanent job offer?

[LuckyC]

Am I?

Have 1yo DD. Have loved being a freelance, content-editorial-website-y person. This is year 3, excluding a year on maternity leave. I have a job offer, permanent and fulltime, to work on a local company's website. OK job, nice company, won't set world on fire but is secure. Not that well-paid.

I also have an offer of 40 hours a month from a very cool company, iffy payers, a start-up with recent funding secured, for the foreseeable future. It's not brilliantly paid either but will - just - keep wolf from door and DD in nappies.

I want to keep freelancing but I am, frankly, scared. We're very short of cash and work seems pretty thin on the ground out there.

What do you reckon? Are you (editorial people) finding work? Should I take job and try again in a few years?

Hi

I cannot really comment on the market for freelancing website copy writers (sorry)...but some thoughts I had.

I think the question could be 'what I am giving up if I take a full time job?', as it is clear what the job offers: regular money, stability and the other things that come with an employer; lots of things sorted for you (pay, some admin aspects, stationery orders etc) and colleagues/social aspect.

I have only just set on the freelance journey, but from what I have read/heard it takes time to build up the contacts and work. If you go back to being employed are you hoping to return to freelancer at a later point, will that mean starting again? I would also think about why you love freelancing ? if it is freedom, working from home, being in charge of your own destiny...then I guess there are aspects of a job that you might now find difficult?

This would depend on what sort of freelancing you do, but could you ask the company if you could do part-time, which would allow you to continue doing some freelance...

I wouldn?t also discount the feelings of fear/uncertainty that seem to come (or at least did with me and others I know) with going back to work post baby, whatever that work is.

Maybe produce a list of pros and cons for both? I did when I was weighing up an employed job versus freelancing, and the only difference for me was the ?known? and I decided to push through the fear and go for it!

Do you have a DP ? what is their view?

Trust your instinct ? even if it doesn?t work out, at you know you made the decision based on what you felt was right at the time.

Good luck

Couldn't you do both?

I don't work in your field, I'm in market research, and work is truly dire at the moment. If I was offered a full-time job right now I'd jump at it, to be honest.

Nothing to say you can't keep your own, independent stuff going on, as long as it's not directly competitive, I suppose.

Thanks both. Much to think about. Have not made decision yet but need to soon.

I'm in your business and it's not easy. The market for freelancers working from home is saturated. Most of the freelance posts advertised are inhouse and based in London.

I have been working for a foreign company that doesn't mind me working from home but why couldn't UK companies be more flexible? I have done a lot of work for this client and it's coming to an end, so I'm wondering what will happen next...