Freelance

Published on: October 17, 2024

🏢 I left the comfort of the corporate cradle and started as a freelancer about a year ago; half a year later, I pulled the plug and am back. I loved freelancing, but sometimes there are offers you can't refuse, and I'm happy where I am again. I still want to share some thoughts on what I loved about the freelance experience.

💡 Surprisingly it is actually running your own business, even as a one-man-shop. Because I was a tech freelancer I didn't have any stock, or employees (outside of myself), but all of the other bells and whistles were there. I needed to set up my accounting, set up my legal incorporation, set up a whole bunch of tax stuff, figure out what I was going to sell myself as, find someone to pay me for services, get a simple website in the air, arrange a bunch of other legal / insurance stuff and ready to go.

Having been cuddled by good employers in the cozy world of corporate for the ten years prior I never needed to consider a lot of the above. I just showed up, did the 9-5, delivered some value (as they say), and got paid. Easy-peasy. But with the above, more personal responsibility was needed, and I really *really* enjoyed that. It was like moving from high school where your schedule tells you where to go and what to do, to university, where nobody tells you anything and you have to figure it out.

It also showed me what I liked doing: I enjoyed figuring out the accounting and tax situation. It's straightforward over here in the Netherlands however, there are still a couple of dozen specific rules, regulations, and exemptions you want to consider, especially if you don't want any surprises on your tax bill. But I was very annoyed with how impossible it is to get decent health-related unemployment insurance (AOV) with any existing conditions, a great way to discourage entrepreneurship.

🌱 It was also amazing to have the freedom to daydream about growing a bigger business, and not feeling constrained by internal career paths. This liberation already started when I left a corporate job for the first time, but reached its fulcrum this time around. There were some downsides as well of course, but that's for a different time ;-)

Feel free in touch with me if you're considering a change, either in one direction or another. Always happy to reflect.