![freelancer-rich Freelancer Rich](https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/cdn-origin/uploads/2011/12/freelancer-rich.jpg)
The top 1%
There are thousands of freelancers out there, designers and programmers. I don't know the percentage of them that make six figures a year, but I would have to assume it is very, very small. There is also a small percentage that make enough that they get to live comfortably in life. The rest? Simply trying to grind it out so they can eat and pay bills or grind it out so they can get to that level. While I don't think there will ever be a shortage of clients, that doesn't mean the competition pool isn't going to increase—because it does. The problem is that the competition pool grows faster than your skillset. It can take years to become the type of designer that you aspire to be and it takes only seconds for another fifty people to decide they want to do freelance work. In most cases I see freelancers say they need to get better and continue to go out and look for more work. This is a good strategy, but think about it for a second from an economical standpoint. There is only one of you, and that includes the work you outsource to others, and there is only so much time in the day you can devote to work. If you aren't working then work isn't getting done, and if work isn't getting done then you aren't finishing up projects to help get you paid. The less projects that get done the less money you get paid. Freelancers know this logic, but they don't seem to consider it too often. This is why it's easy to find someone who has put too much on their plate. If you are doing $2,000 jobs with 3 month timelines then you have to work on 3 projects at the same rate simultaneously just to make $2,000 a month. Not sure about where you live, but in America you are going to struggle at that income level. You can make it, but you aren't afforded any luxuries. Simple math dictates that if you want to make more then you have two real options.- Take on more expensive projects. However, these have to fit within the same timeline as the $2,000 projects for any revenue increase. For example, you finally landed that $20,000 job, but it takes 10 months to complete and it's the only project you are working on during that timeframe. That's no different than the simple website you did for $2,000 that took one month before. You're a freelancer so you will stack projects so you don't just have one you are working on.
- You pile on more projects. This means you pile on stress and time constraints as well, have fun with that.
Themes
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E-books
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Paul Scrivens
Paul Scrivens is the Product Designer at (mt) Media Temple. He also runs the Imagination Community, Drawar. He believes great design makes the world a better place and that we should all strive to improve the world around us. You can find him on Twitter @scrivs. He also likes cats.
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