Some wise man once said that all rules were made to be broken (I know, cliche). It’s true though. Who ever got by as a freelancer by happily obeying the rules of the working world? Yet despite this career choice, there still always seems to be more rules to have to follow. Well, I give you permission to break these ten so you can get on with your career already.
10. Set and meet deadlines. If it doesn’t involve kidnappings, legislation or nuclear standoffs, then it really isn’t important in the grand scheme of things, is it?
9. Be attentive to your clients. Your clients are mature adults fully capable of handling themselves. So be repectful and treat them as so.
8. Quality is everything. Yeah, they say that at McDonalds but you still eat there right?
7. Always collect a 50% deposit at the beginning of any project. I’d think a 100% deposit would be better. You know you’ll be high-fiving me later.
6. Learn to just say no. Didn’t work during your teenage years. No sense in trying now.
5. Eliminate your work distractions. Spending hours on end on Twitter and checking up on Lindsey Lohan makes for a pretty dull life. See how distracting yourself with work turns out.
4. Take a vacation once in a while. Now would be a good time to go all crazy with Twitter and the Lindsey Lohan updates instead of doing something lame, like travel.
3. Keep up with your health. Live young forever. Spend day after day high on Red Bull and coffee and burning out your retinas. Kids are totally jealous of this.
2. Save money whenever possible. Well, have to keep up with the stash of Red Bull and coffee, right?
1. Always use a contract. Go with the pinky swear instead.
And while we're on the subject...
P.S. Jones
July 27th, 2010 at 12:08 amI literally laughed out loud. Good post. I pinky swear.
P.S. Jones´s last blog ..Being a Know It All- One of the Overlooked Benefits of Freelancing
kathryn barlow
July 27th, 2010 at 12:53 amHa! Gotta be able to laugh at ourselves! Nice list.
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July 27th, 2010 at 2:16 am[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Johnny Spence, Freelancing Job. Freelancing Job said: Top Ten Freelancing Rules To Break, Just So Things Don't Get … http://bit.ly/aoIXph [...]
Johnny
July 27th, 2010 at 4:18 pm@Kathryn – Thank you! The inspiration does have to come from somewhere, right?
Johnny
July 27th, 2010 at 4:27 pm@P.S. – Thanks… I enjoy laughing ass off at our own expense too.
Issa
July 27th, 2010 at 4:52 pmHaha… It’s so funny I’m even bookmarking it on my PC right now. I guess breaking rules can apply anywhere else but freelancing, unless you want to go back being an employee. I think I’ll have to do the pinky swear for now, lol.
Issa´s last blog ..Trendspotting for Freelancers
Johnny
July 27th, 2010 at 5:15 pm@Issa – We do make our own rules but sometimes they are just not fun enough.
Thanks for the comment!
cmdweb
July 28th, 2010 at 2:53 pmI actually laughed out loud to some of these. I’m not 100% sure what a pinky swear is, but I’m sure it’s something I should learn.