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Comment by jameslk | Hacker News Reader

Maybe times are different now (I’m not freelancing anymore) but I was the happiest when I was a freelancer. I made more than I could have as a full time employee, because I could ask more often for more (vs jumping jobs every 2-4 years). I could write off a ton of expenses. I could put away more for retirement (self-employment gives you higher limits). I didn’t have to do stupid whiteboard interviews. I could work whenever and wherever I wanted. And I could ultimately choose when I took time off and for however long.

It’s not ideal for everyone, especially if you need the security of a predictable salary and good benefits

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Freelancing enjoyment depends entirely on your clients and ability to find more clients.

I’ve had some freelance clients I’ve loved and some that made me regret ever leaving full-time work.

> Freelancing enjoyment depends entirely on your clients and ability to find more clients.

Yes, though I found the former generally to be dependent on the latter

This sounds kind of crazy for me. How can you get over the extra 8% or so from Social Security and Medicare tax and still make more with while paying for benefits and not getting a 401k match? Maybe you're an outlier? I get that expenses get written off, bit that still means they were an expense from your profits.

1. Part of your negotiation should be explaining that independent contractors have ~30% less overhead than a salaried employee due to the savings on payroll taxes as well as unemployment insurance, recruiting, benefits, vacation time, etc and therefore require a higher rate than salaried employees

2. If your time is in demand because you’re being referred enough, your leverage is higher

3. You can jump ship as often as you want for a higher rate without having to explain it on a resume

4. Building a brand around yourself lowers your perceived risk for businesses and gives you additional leverage

5. Write off as much as possible, and if you make enough, there’s additional things you can do on the tax savings front beyond just writing off expenses (S-corp salary + draw taxed as capital gains)

6. Specialize in something (e.g. specific ecommerce platforms, web performance optimization, accessibility remediation) and you will become more trusted in that something, get more referred to others for it, and gain more leverage

You get over it by making your hourly rate numerically the same as your annual salary divided by 1000. If you can pull it off, quote only a day rate (that figure times 8) rather than hourly.

Companies readily pay more per hour for contractors.

If your market full-time salary is $200k/yr, charge $200/hr. If you’re offering your services a la carte at $100/hr, you’re going to have a terrible time.

Why did you stop freelancing?

I wanted to play the start-a-business lottery. After enough success selling your time, you might feel the urge to try your luck selling other things

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