I switched back to permanent employment from freelancing in May. For me, the issue wasn't money but time. I had two stable clients. One of them didn't renew their contract, and while I could extend my hours to full-time with the other client, I felt that with a newborn, my classic workweek (8 hours a day contract job, 2 spent on blogs, newsletters, socials, marketing copies, and the weekends for finding leads) wouldn't work anymore.
I also took a similar approach and didn't mass apply, but I wanted to get into a big corporation and didn't want to get a role where I had to lead something – because I felt I'd need a clear mind and low stress. I found a company I'm pleased with, and the transition has been easy. It feels refreshing to work in a world where there's an entire team figuring out what we should work on next – quite different from freelancing, especially when you build custom apps from high-level requirements!
Thanks for being transparent about why this didn't work out for you. People think subscribers, likes, and connections earn you money, but it's quite different in the real world, and several factors need to be in check to actually turn those numbers (which are just vanity metrics otherwise) into money.
Good luck with your new job, and no, this wasn't a giant failure. :)
Congrats, Richard, this is a huge step!
I switched back to permanent employment from freelancing in May. For me, the issue wasn't money but time. I had two stable clients. One of them didn't renew their contract, and while I could extend my hours to full-time with the other client, I felt that with a newborn, my classic workweek (8 hours a day contract job, 2 spent on blogs, newsletters, socials, marketing copies, and the weekends for finding leads) wouldn't work anymore.
I also took a similar approach and didn't mass apply, but I wanted to get into a big corporation and didn't want to get a role where I had to lead something – because I felt I'd need a clear mind and low stress. I found a company I'm pleased with, and the transition has been easy. It feels refreshing to work in a world where there's an entire team figuring out what we should work on next – quite different from freelancing, especially when you build custom apps from high-level requirements!
Thanks for being transparent about why this didn't work out for you. People think subscribers, likes, and connections earn you money, but it's quite different in the real world, and several factors need to be in check to actually turn those numbers (which are just vanity metrics otherwise) into money.
Good luck with your new job, and no, this wasn't a giant failure. :)