The Stats
Freelancers often have their time pulled in many directions. Between the constant client phone calls and emails to marketing themselves and billing clients, freelancers must be adept at juggling multiple tasks and projects at the same time.
43% of freelancers spend more than 4 hours a week on business management, and 46% spend over 3 hours a week looking for work. This time can add up! And then you still have to factor in the inevitable interruptions caused by client phone calls or emails.
After being interrupted, it takes on average 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to your task. If we assume you get interrupted 3 times a day, that’s an hour every day you could be spending with your family or friends.
All this easily adds up to more than ten hours per week of non-billable time that you could have spent earning more money. Using the average skilled freelancer hourly rate of $25/hr, ten non-billable hours per week equals 520 hours per year. That’s over $13,000 in lost income! That’s enough money to buy a decent car or take a month-long vacation.
And to top it all off, freelancers can frequently face difficulties with getting paid on time. From creating invoices to sending payment reminders, there’s still a lot of work to be done once the project is complete. Did you know that 48% of freelancers wait more than two weeks for payments to be processed? And 19% of freelancers wait over a month to be paid!
Despite the fact that the vast majority of freelancers became freelancers to have more control over their own schedule, the reality often ends up being the exact opposite. Freelancers can essentially end up being on call around the clock to deal with their clients’ needs and schedules.
The Problem
Endless articles repeat the same advice: download a time management program, set strict meeting times, turn off your phone and email notifications while working. Anyone who has tried these methods knows it’s not that simple.
Clients may not always be in your time zone. They have their own busy schedules. This can lead to requests that you meet during your dinner time or other leisure time with friends and family.
Even if your clients have the same schedule as you, meetings may still interfere with your ability to work effectively. It’s not uncommon to have 2-3 meetings per day to go over revisions or bring on new clients. These can interrupt the longer blocks of time that you need to do deep work.
Freelancers often have to choose between working efficiently and providing excellent customer service. You can work 6 hours straight, ignore all notifications, and decline all meeting requests, but clients may be upset, or you may miss an important update or pivot. You could also decide to answer every phone call, respond to every email, and attend every meeting. Then your day becomes split into 30-minute chunks during which you can’t get any work done.
Freelancers frequently face more sources of anxiety than they would in a traditional job. More than 60% of freelancers are stressed by financials, invoices, taxes, and the unpredictable nature of the job, and working alone away from coworkers or peers in their field can be lonely. While working on their own, 56% of freelancers reported feeling isolated.
So, What’s the Solution
You could join a freelancer cooperative. What exactly is a freelancer cooperative? It’s a group of freelancers who work together under one roof. As opposed to an agency, which takes up to 50% of your profits, cooperatives only charge an hourly project management fee that is added to client invoices and a small freelancer fee to cover marketing and billing costs. These costs can frequently be offset by the increase in productivity and efficiency that freelancers experience when they join a cooperative.
What will you gain from joining a freelancer cooperative? A freelancer cooperative can help you have more of your most valuable resource: time to do your work! Account managers will handle all client support and invoicing. They can even help you find new clients through their marketing team. All of this adds up to hours of time saved, allowing you to work more effectively and better enjoy your leisure time with friends and family. Co-working spaces and group chats where freelancers can talk with their peers and ask for help are also common features of freelancer cooperatives.
Everyone benefits! Freelancers finally have some work-life balance, they can work more efficiently, and they are no longer isolated from peers. Clients get their work done faster and cheaper, and they don’t have to worry about how projects are progressing.
Wow, this all sounds incredible! How can I join a freelancer cooperative? Agency716 is currently accepting freelancers for their freelancer cooperative. If you want to achieve a perfect work-life balance and increase your earnings, join now because for a limited time, freelancers can pay no fees. So, what are you waiting for? Click the link below and start living you dream life.