Freelancers: Are you experiencing a Self-Employed Depression?
The phenomenon of a Self-Employed Depression was written about recently in The New York Times Magazine. Emily Bazelon coined the term as she described the effects of the recession on solo practitioners in NYC. In the current economy, she asks the question, ‘œWhat happened to all those liberated, self-reliant, self-branded free agents?’
Bazelon’s story focused on one yoga instructor who sent her an email message that said, ‘œI don’t know how I will make it through the summer.’ The bottom of the note read, ‘œSent from my iPhone.’
The call of semidesperation via a high-tech status symbol is an emblem of the gap between the past and the present for many of urban America’s self-employed. Freelancers still have the trappings of middle-class entrepreneurship. But the downturn is eating away at their livelihoods and the identity they thought they chose when they decided to work for themselves.
Livelihood and identity often go hand-in-hand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the estimated amount of self-employed workers in the US was 9 million in 2005. And now with corporate layoffs and out of work professionals adopting the freelance mindset, it’s likely that the self-employed pool of workers is deeper than it was even a few years ago. That’s a lot of self-employed competition.
Although Outright, the online bookkeeping service for self employed people goes on to ask if the article made too many sweeping generalizations:
After all, it mainly focused on service workers like yoga teachers and SAT instructors. Yoga and SAT tutoring are luxuries, not necessities, and it stands to reason that the desire for these services will wane along with the economy. What about self-employed accountants, web designers, copywriters and all the other self-employed who provide vital, timeless services? All are just as important now as they were in the past, and the case has been made that, with many companies downsizing their in-house staff, freelancers are finding more work than ever.
So what do you think? Is the country experiencing a self-employed depression? Or are there still plenty of gigs out there for people willing to dig deep and work hard as their own free agent?
Check out the two links below for some ideas about building your portfolio of work:
- A Review of My So-Called Freelance Life by Michelle Goodman
- Podcast Interview with Michelle Goodman, Author ‘œMy So-Called Freelance Life’
Nina, speaking from personal experience, I think that being a successful freelancer is all about the hustle. You can’t expect work to just land in your lap – you have to go out there and get it. I actually set a quota for myself – I need to do so many editing jobs per month. If I actually work on hustling up the work, it’s easy to meet my quota. The question is all about motivation.
As for the yoga instructor who is worried about making it through the summer – ditch the iPhone and the expensive cell service that goes with it. That ought to free up a couple hundred bucks a month.
Serena is right; “the hustle” makes a huge difference. For my part, as a freelance copywriter, I just had my best month ever.
Especially for freelancers in a B2B world (as opposed to providing services to consumers), a recession means companies would rather use contract talent rather than go to the expense of hiring someone new.
Not in my experience so far, but then again I am in IT. Maybe that makes a difference
I’ve had about 8 offers since the “recession” and I’ve turned them down for various reasons (not challenging, not enough money, wanted to send me to a third world country unprotected).. stuff like that.
I’m just waiting for the right cherry.