Doing the same job as an employee or a freelancer

The main difference
First, I make decisions and assume responsibility for them. It’s a luxury and a comfort, being able to work your own way is really what I prefer in my situation.

What to insist on
Self-teaching is crucial. As an employee, you put in your hours and you do the best you can of course… when you start working for yourself, you’ll realize at first that you’re spending a fifth of your time learning and devouring all the information you can find on different topics. You try… at least it’s something I’ve always tried to do… not to hear something for the first time in a meeting with a client.

Face to face with customers
The right to say no. The need to say no. As a freelancer, you’ll realize the customer actually isn’t king. If a client is coming to you, it’s because they need you to say no. They need you to say no the to issues and stakes they bring to the table, and the ideas that aren’t necessarily the right ones. It doesn’t mean you should always say no, but the ability to say no makes a big difference and is a great way to stand out from the group.

Your schedule
Managing your schedule and your private life you learn as you go. It’s not easy, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that binding yourself to 9 or 10 hours of work per day forces you to be efficient. In your time management, as a freelancer, you work. Maybe more than as an employee, but you take control of your schedule. So even if I sometimes work Sundays, it lets me do something else on a Monday afternoon for my private life, to be able to be free to do it.

Getting organized
It’s a matter of setting priorities, knowing what’s urgent, what’s important, what’s important and urgent, and everything else. But all my customers have my phone number and if there’s a real emergency, something that is really important and urgent, they call me. We stop what it is we’re doing and go put out the fire.