6 months into freelancing. What happened?

Alright, we’ve passed the half year mark of this little company of mine. Time to do some reflection. This is, I guess, half navel-gazing and half maybe useful for others contemplating freelancing? Not sure, I don’t have a real plan, I’m just going to pour my thoughts into this post.

Okay so, quick recap, I quit my previous job last summer. Why, after 14 years, did I decide it was finally time to go freelance? Had I considered it before, was it a dream? Not really.

In my mind, freelancing was something you did kind of against your will, in between employment 🥴 But that’s because I had, up to that point, only worked at agencies who rarely brought freelancing creatives in. And later I went in-house where the marketing department was big enough to cover all the needs.

That all changed when I switched to a marketing-as-a-service agency where I led the copy department. There, freelancers was the main resource. I came in contact with incredible freelance copywriters, who I tried to hire full-time and they politely declined because it wouldn’t make sense financially and they were really happy as a freelancers.

I was like, hold up. Here’s where the thought started forming.

At the same time, three things happened at once:

1. I had several previous colleagues and managers reaching out, willing to work with the marketing-as-a-service agency just to collaborate with me. I was flattered, but also made me wonder why I didn’t just pocket that myself.

2. Because of the autonomy of the position at this agency, I realized how much I could get done when managing myself and my projects, and when I got to set my own pace independently.

3. I had moved out from Stockholm city to a small town and the commute was a total bitch. I wanted to work more remotely.

From the thought forming to quitting my job, true to my own brand, was like 4 days. I thought about it intensely from every angle and considered if I had any big purchases ahead requiring loans (and hence – proof of employment + steady income) which I didn’t because we already had house and car and the RV could wait. So I quickly organized a buffer to cushion low income months, planned a portfolio and how the business would be set up, and then I quit. Out of the blue, for most people. Absolute insanity in this economy, some even remarked.

Happily unhinged, I worked intensely on my portfolio over the summer, setting up my enskild firma (individual company), found a freelance accountant and let my entire network know that I was going freelance and would be available for projects after the holidays.

Then it started, and it hasn’t slowed down since. I’ve been busier and busier, and by now I’m fully occupied (to the extent I choose, hehe) and thriving. I’m so incredibly happy I didn’t overthink it, and with the risk of tooting my own horn, I’m really proud that I went for it full steam – knowing damn well I might’ve had to apply for a full-time job a couple of months in. That would’ve been okay and something I was prepared to do – but I didn’t have to, and I won’t, if nothing dramatically changes. I hope I get to do this for the rest of my career.

Alright, let’s look at some of the most common questions I get from across the board:

1. How do you get clients?
   Up until today, 100% network. I don’t personally know everyone I work with, but in those cases – I was recommended by someone I know. So most often it’s:
   - Previous colleagues or managers bringing me onboard.
   - The same people, or friends, recommending me to their network when they hear about an opportunity.
   
   This has kept me busy, and if it ever changes, I'll have to start being more active on LinkedIn (trying already, but you know… the cringe barrier is real) and pitching my services more.
   

2. How does it work, practically?
   With some clients I have contracts guaranteeing them a certain amount of hours every week. For others, it’s purely project based and I do estimations of time and cost for every projects, and they have to check availability beforehand. And for one client, which is a small tech startup – I’m their marketing manager on a freelance basis, pitching in regularly depending on what the budget allows and how my schedule is looking.
   
   Honestly it’s all about communication. In February, a big brand asked for full-time for 4 weeks, to which I replied that I can’t do that since I have contractual agreements with other clients for a certain amount of hours every week. But I could do 4 days a week for 5 weeks, which was no problem. And then I just let the other clients know that I’m stepping into a big project for 5 weeks and my time will be limited during that time, but if anything urgent pops up – they can always reach out and we’ll solve it no matter what. I want all my clients to know they can rely on me, and so far no one has abused that trust or been shitty about it. Everyone respects my time, and I respect theirs by showing up, delivering on time and communicating clearly.
   
   There are days where I’m in between projects and have full days off, and there are days where I work evenings and weekends. But I’m good at planning and managing my time, and protecting my mental health. So I trust my gut here, when to do full throttle and when to brake, balancing client happiness (and making money) with rest and free-time.
   

3. Do you make more money as a freelancer?
   Short answer, yes. I always invoice my clients on the last business day of each month, the hours I’ve worked up until then, and I charge 1200 SEK/hour excluding VAT. If you put all those invoices together, the total amount per month have ranged between 18 000 SEK and 195 000 SEK. I’d say the most common amount so far is 90–100 000 SEK per month. Which roughly after tax + VAT, leaves me with about 40–45 000 SEK per month to spend. I always put away a little more than needed to be sure, and because I’m terrified to get a giant invoice from the government one day.
   
   And of course, as you all know, you need to keep in mind that freelancers don’t have paid holiday or sick days, we save for pension etc ourselves, and buy our own hardware + software.
   
   But still, what I value the most, is the fact that I can decide myself that lower pay + more time off is worth it certain times. While more work + effort equals immediate payoff. I’m in control and it’s only up to me how much I choose to take on.
   

4. Is it hard to find motivation, when you work from home and independently?
   No. I guess this is different from person to person, but I personally find this really easy. My motivation is happy clients, good results for their brands and a healthy payout each month, and as long as it’s on my table to deliver – I have no problem with sitting my ass down and cranking it out. I’m not distracted by laundry, video games or TikTok, unless I actively take a break and focus on it.
   
   I think it also helps to have a designated office space, which I have here at home. When I take a break or shut down for the day, I physically remove myself from the place of work. I only go downstairs, so no commute hehe, but I’m still removed from where I just worked. That’s why I don’t like to work in the kitchen or living room, because it starts to blur – and I’m always half working, half doing other stuff, because it’s right next to me.
   

5. Why enskild firma (sole proprietorship) and not aktiebolag (corporation)?
   Everyone asking me this, and I mean everyone without fault, goes on to explain the benefits of aktiebolag to me. But I’ll reply the same as I tell them after they’ve finished explaining, that it’s just easier to get started this way. Let me live in peace. Yes, me and the company are the same person, and if all goes to shit, it’s on me personally. But it’s just me and my laptop, no stock and no products, basically no expenses (400 SEK/month) and I just wanted to get going and just have a MILD headache, not a migraine.
   
   I might switch to aktiebolag later, but honestly, I hate everything administrative and I loathe government speak, and I’m pretty happy the way it is. I can invoice, I get paid, I have the money I need. Let’s see later if the monetary gains are worth increased expenses and headaches, jury’s still out.
   

6. Would your recommend freelancing to others?
   Short answer – yes and no, it depends on who you are as a person and professional. And this is just my perspective, I’m sure there are a lot of people who’ve succeeded without this, but I’d still encourage anyone contemplating the freelance life to consider the following:
   - Do you have a solid network, that you can keep building on? People who know your skills, your work ethic, that trust you and would willingly recommend you to others? If not, you’ll need resilience and confidence to cold pitch and apply to listings.
   - Are you an adaptable person? Or do you love stability, predictability, knowing what you can expect? Freelancing means trusting your gut, going with the flow, make spontaneous decisions and riding out period of uncertainty. It can also means being flexible, learning new things and evolving as a creative and business owner.
   - Are you a social person with natural communication skills? Because you’ll be project manager, finance department, marketing department and production coordinator for yourself and your business, and depending on the size of your projects and the type of clients you’ll take on, you might be account executive, too. You’ll need to keep many people in different loops, and create trust with them all, if you want to get more jobs from them. Also, you should really be active on LinkedIn and increase your visibility.
   - Are you structured and disciplined? As above, no one will check in and make sure you’re delivering as (you) promised. You need to keep deadlines, deliver in the right formats, to the right people, over and over again – and juggle several clients yourself. And when you fuck up, because you will at some point, you need to own it and find a way forward yourself. This requires structure, self-leadership and a neat balance between humility and thick skin.
   

7. What’s the biggest difference between freelancing and employment?
   The actual work is the same. I produce the same things as I did as employed, apart from putting on a few more hats and developing skills in new areas that had designated roles at my previous jobs. But I’d say the biggest difference, which you might not consider at first – it’s 95% work, 5% meetings. Mind blowing. At every job I had, it was like 60% work, 40% meetings. Just hours upon hours that disappeared in meetings about the work, instead of actually doing the work.
   
   Now there are practically no meetings, except for some brief meetings, workshops or interviews if I produce any content based on expert input. Freeeeeeeeedom.
   
   And the other one, which I touched on above, is the immediate payoff from increased effort and workload. At any employment, you might climb and get salary increases – but it’s slow, incremental and not even guaranteed. So basically you bag the same benefits from doing the bare minimum attached to your role, as going above and beyond while also single-handedly carrying the work culture. It doesn’t matter really. In freelancing, it does. When I go above and beyond, work really hard, and maybe even sacrifice personal time – I get paid twice as much, as gain the trust from a client that might stay with me for a long time.

Yeah I think that’s about it. 6 month reflection done and the summary is – I love it here.