Creative Freelancers: What challenges do you face??

[justin ahlmann]

I'm currently creating a course helping creative freelancers improve on running a freelance business, and am trying to learn what others have had struggles with in their careers.

We generally all love the CR3471V3 side of our business, but on the business side of things (taxes, marketing, finding work, etc.), what are your biggest pain points/things you hate dealing with?

 

[James Falco]

Freelance is not a business. I suggest you look up he term in the dictionary.

One of the biggest mistake people make is putting a company logo on a freelance reel.

A freelancer is a loose gun for hire.
A company aka business is the one who is hiring.


A production company would not hire anyone with a reel that pretends to be a company.
Because they will look at it as a potential competitor.

 

[justin ahlmann]

Freelance is not a business. I suggest you look up he term in the dictionary.

One of the biggest mistake people make is putting a company logo on a freelance reel.

A freelancer is a loose gun for hire.
A company aka business is the one who is hiring.


A production company would not hire anyone with a reel that pretends to be a company.
Because they will look at it as a potential competitor.

I appreciate your point of view, James! I actually did double check the definition of business so thank you for making sure I don't mislead anyone or make a fool of myself. "Loose gun for hire" and "freelancer" are informal ways to say what is legally "sole proprietor" according to the U.S. government/IRS. This is the Google definition I found for sole proprietor: "A person who is the exclusive owner of a business, entitled to keep all profits after tax has been paid but liable for all losses." Another reputable site declared the following: "Sole proprietorship is a business owned and operated by a single individual."

That said, I feel I understand your intent, to not confuse freelancer as the company who does the hiring. I agree, freelancers and companies are definitely not the same thing.

My only intent by the original post was to see what challenges creative freelancers faced in their careers, meaning do they struggle more with tax preparation or knowledge about gear, finding work or figuring out what they're worth, getting bigger gigs or discovering their niche, etc.

 

[Jason beaumont]

I work with a lot of upcoming film makers, I think a lot of them struggle with making the jump from small budget ($1000-$5000) to bigger budgets like 10-20 or 20-50. That might be good information to include.

 

[justin ahlmann]

I work with a lot of upcoming film makers, I think a lot of them struggle with making the jump from small budget ($1000-$5000) to bigger budgets like 10-20 or 20-50. That might be good information to include.

That's super helpful, Jason, thank you! What exactly do you do that you work with so many upcoming filmmakers? Also, what is the struggle with making the jump to bigger budgets – mentally, or skill-wise? I appreciate your feedback! Definitely want to include that type of information as you suggested.