Freelancing & Your Identity
Posted June 15, 2011 in Getting Started
If you’re new to freelancing (or maybe even if you aren’t), you may be concerned about putting too much of your personal information online.
I can totally relate to these fears, because when I started out as a freelancer I had them too.
Of course, the worries are not completely without merit. There are some really good reasons to be concerned. There are scammers online and organizations that are just phishing for your personally identifiable information.
But, at the end of the day, if you’re a freelancer, you’ve probably found it necessary have some sort of online identity in order to get clients.
In this post, we’ll discuss some concerns about having an online identity and also identify some solutions.
A Name Is Just a Name, Or Is It?
One of the first things that many beginning freelancers hesitate about is using their real name online. Usually this is just due to a desire for privacy or a fear of identity theft, but I’ve heard of a few cases where a freelancer is fleeing from an abusive past and does not want the abuser to find them.
Now, we are told that transparency is usually the best policy, and I believe it is. When someone is purchasing a service, they typically want to know who will be providing that service. This is certainly reasonable.
But I also believe that individuals have a right (and in some cases, a need) to privacy. Privacy should not keep someone from being able to work as a freelancer.
The way many freelancers get around the issue is to adopt a pen name for their online work. Others go so far as to create a complete online persona. While I don’t necessarily recommend creating a persona, I understand why it is sometimes done.
One caution in this area is that in some locations, it is not legal to sign a contract using your pen name or persona name. Reviews the laws in your own locale carefully if you plan on using anything other than your legal name to do business.
Your Online Image
Another identity issue for freelancers is the publication of your photo on your website and in social media profiles. Using a real photo makes many people uncomfortable. This could be because they don’t wish to make their identity public, or they may simply be unhappy with how they photograph.
Of course, many freelancers get around this by using an avatar (a small image) or other design to represent themselves online. But, in some cases doing so may actually be detrimental to your freelancing business. Study after study has shown that customers like to do business with people. A photo yourself may actually attract more business.
One thing to remember is that you can determine which images represent your freelancing business, at least in your own profiles and on your own websites. Some freelancers have taken the time to get professional photos made especially for the Internet and I think that this can pay off.
Other Personal Information
There are many other personal details that can cause freelancers some anxiety, including:
- Your phone number–I always recommend that a freelancer get a separate phone number from their private line for business purposes.
- Your actual location–Applications like Gowalla, Foursquare, and Facebook Places have made it popular to share location, but is it safe?
- Your Facebook–There’s an ongoing debate about whether or not to connect with clients and prospects on Facebook.
Whatever you decide, it’s important to think carefully about your choices.
When and What (Not) to Share
It’s important to screen prospective clients carefully. Go to their website. Google their personal and business name. If something feels wrong about a “prospect,” it probably is wrong. You’re better off safe than sorry.
Clients should be mostly interested in information that pertains to their project, not personal information about you. Also, they should be willing to pay an deposit upfront before starting a project. Failure in either of these areas could be a red flag.
PayPal and similar services make it totally unnecessary to give a client your bank account number, although I understand that this is common practice in England and some other countries.
In most cases, you will be working as an independent contractor for your client. It is true that in the U.S. a client is required to report total annual payments of $600 and above to a single individual on Form 1099-Misc . The client will need your social security number to do that, but one-time clients who only pay a few hundred dollars and never give you work again have no need of it.
U.S. freelancers may be able to avoid giving out their social security number by registering for and using an Employer ID Number (EIN) for their freelancing business.
When a graphic designer is hired by an organization to build a website, they are expected to not only create a site that is visually appealing, but a site that is in compliance with industry regulations which should be tested for security problems. A penetration test is a component of Cyber-security best practices to defend your organization. Since the majority of information today is communicated over the Internet, taking the proper precautions in regards to protecting confidential information can mean keeping that information out of the wrong hands.
Your Turn
Have you had fears about revealing too much information online? What precautions do you take?
Image by LollyKnit
Related posts:
- How I Lowered The Costs Of Creating A Corporate Identity
- Logo Identity Inspiration from LogoPond : Best of 25 Logos
- Two Free Corporate Identity Packs from MediaLoot
- Logo and Identity Design Tips: Study the Competition
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.
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19 Comments
Silvina
June 15th, 2011 at 10:37 amLaura, you raise a very important issue, especially for those of us based in the U.S., where identity theft appears to always be on the rise (and FL, where I’m located, is the worst state for it!)
First of all, let me tell you what I’d NEVER do: Reveal my current location. This isn’t only uncomfortable, but it could be a safety issue, particularly if you have kids. For example, in Twitter my account is not locked and anybody can follow me; if I disclose my location, how can I be sure that it won’t be used as an excuse to “meet” me.
In relation to Facebook, I have 2 separate pages: A personal account and a page for my freelance work, under Around The Globe Translations. Many people interested in my work have requested to be “friends,” a request that I usually deny explaining to them that my policy is to separate my personal and professional lives. After several months I’ve included some colleagues in my personal Facebook, because they’d become [virtual] friends.
Finally, my phone number, my e-mail address, my picture… they’re all out there! I have an office number (a Skype number) and a cell phone number, but they both ring to my cell phone. I thought about doing the “info@” e-mail address, but it would also end up in the same inbox. Regarding my picture, it was a small concern when I started in Twitter; I initially had my company logo but then I realized that people like to interact with somebody, not only with an intangible entity. I find myself feeling in such a way, too. After I’ve interacted for quite some time with a particular translation agency (most likely, using their company logo and name), I usually send them a message and ask for the name of the person who is managing the Twitter account. Why? To give it a personal touch.
This is great topic. I look forward to other comments!
Laura Spencer
June 15th, 2011 at 11:21 amGood tips Silvina!
Unless you are actually meeting a client face-to-face, there’s no reason to reveal your current location. However, I must say that this is getting more and more difficult to do because more and more apps (and even Google) include location information.
I think a good solution for Facebook is having a fan page separate from your ‘friends and family’ facebook account.
You’re right about having your real photo out there, though. Several years ago I used an image, but have found that many more people interact with me since I’ve switched to using my photo.
Kei San Pablo
June 15th, 2011 at 12:51 pmI agree with Silvina re: personal photo. People really do interact more when you give the accounts a “face”.
I think it’s a matter of how much you are willing to share to the cyberworld while minding your safety. After all, whatever you put in the web stays. It is both amazing and scary – the amount of information you can find and know about a person just by going through google. So all I can say is PROCEED with CAUTION.
Christina
June 15th, 2011 at 1:08 pmI have 2 personal FB accounts: one that is truly personal with no clients, and the other that I accept clients on after I’ve felt comfortable. Since I live in a small community, it’s frowned upon to not be friends with people you work with. But I also have a business page on FB for business only.
As for online personas, I do just the opposite of your article. People know me professionally by my real name but I use an online persona for business forums as well as another persona for personal forums that aren’t business related. This allows me to post anonymously while allowing my online name to become better known and respected. I’ve used these other two names for about 5 and 10 years each.
I didn’t realize it was such a huge deal with photos of yourself on Twitter. So looks like I’ll be changing that. And last but not least, I don’t use my physical mailing address for anything so no one would know where my office/home is except a small amount of people.
Samantha Gluck
June 15th, 2011 at 1:11 pmGreat post — thought provoking. I have always used my real name as a freelancer. Of course, I have two Twitter names: texascopywriter and medtopicwriter, but my real name is quite apparent on both of those profiles. I think all freelancers should use their real names unless, as you pointed out, an abusive past partner exists or something similar. I think some lack confidence in their work and that is why they may create a persona. While we all make mistakes and will always have to field criticism of our work at some point, those who don’t have enough confidence to claim their work as their own, probably aren’t ready to go freelance full-time.
I had been considering using Foursquare, but that idea was quickly quashed by my husband who thinks that announcing an exact location to the general public is neither safe nor wise.
I would hope that most people use common sense regarding what to share and what not to share, but it’s important to talk about it for those just starting out or perhaps who come from another country or culture.
Samantha
Dr. Freelance aka Jake Poinier
June 15th, 2011 at 1:43 pmI’ve long ago stopped worrying about how much information is out there, though I do have a “virtual office” business address, a business-only phone number, and an EIN rather than SS#. Any crook with time on their hands can mine whatever data is out there. My understanding from interviewing fraud experts is that you’re just as much at risk from the physical world: someone stealing your mail (which happened to us a few years ago) or raiding your garbage (which is why I use a shredder).
That said, I do take some simple precautions: I wouldn’t use Foursquare, I don’t have my birth year associated with my Facebook account, and while I call all my clients before I go on vacation, I don’t mention it on social network sites until after I’m back.
Laura Spencer
June 15th, 2011 at 2:09 pmReally great, thought-provoking comments!
I see that most everybody takes some precautions and that’s good.
It surprises me that more of you aren’t using the location networks like Gowalla or Foursquare (although I don’t care for them myself). I thought they were fairly widely accepted.
Dr. Freelance–Thank-you for mentioning a shredder. In our household we have, not only one, but two shredders. (My husband’s job bought him a shredder.) You do make a valid point too–the risk is not only online.
Christina
June 15th, 2011 at 2:15 pm@Jake…. it’s funny that you bring up the birthdate/Facebook association because not only do I not post my birthday, the one I put in is a fake. I also do not put in where I graduated high school or make any of that information public.
For identity theft purposes, I am getting more interested in EINs at this point. The great thing about California is that you can freeze your own credit but on the other hand I don’t think that takes care of identity theft overall.
Michael Raffaele
June 15th, 2011 at 7:44 pmSince stepping into full time freelance work I have come to understand that it is important I provide proper information online as you may be communicating with a potential client right then and there. Linked in, twitter and general online social interactions are all done under a genuine name, with a genuine photo and genuine contact details.
I would not break my location down any deeper than the city I live and work from and I aim to keep facebook completely independent from my professional life. I also try to keep age specific details and my phone number off the web and up until recently even used a “dummy” email for most websites.
With all that being said, there are forums that I still use an avatar and could never imagine releasing my personal details. These forums have nothing to do with my career though, so real details would probably never be necessary.
Thanks for a great article, it’s always interesting seeing how other people handle these kinds of issues.
Stephanie
June 15th, 2011 at 9:14 pmI agree, this post is thought-provoking. I choose to use a real profile photo of myself and my real name because I want my readers/potential clients to know that they’re talking to a real person.
I guess I’m a bit crazier than others, but I’m quite comfortable with that. I know my limits though, so I don’t publish my specific location/residential address, my financial information, and personal information/the location of my family and friends publicly.
As for social networking, I have a Twitter account that I use to follow and connect with friends, readers, and my favorite blogs/web personalities. I also have a Facebook and Plurk account that I use for personal networking. I don’t accept invites to be friends from people I don’t know personally, so only people I trust can message or chat w/ me there.
TLC
June 15th, 2011 at 10:24 pmI definitely recommend getting an EIN. It can be generated on http://www.IRS.gov in just a few seconds — no need to wait for paperwork. It is so important to safeguard your SSN. Yet I’ve seen professionals put it in their online CVs!
Silvina
June 15th, 2011 at 10:30 pmDefinitely agree with TLC and Dr. Freelance regarding the EIN. I got one a couple of years ago when I realized that I was filling out too many W-9 and my information was probably read by many people within different companies. Just like TLC mentioned, it is a pain-free process and you get it within minutes.
Going Online UK
June 17th, 2011 at 9:10 amI personally don’t like giving out information publicly, as a freelancer or as an individual. I got a free phone number for my business (This is on the UK only, not sure how it works in the US) that I use for business reasons, and I don’t really announce if I am on holidays or not, just that I am not available for new projects. I’ve seen people sending all sorts of personal details (including passports and bank statement scans) to almost anybody who asks for them in exchange for the possibility of a job. It worries me that people are so not worried about having their identity stolen.
I understand the need to create trust and everything, but I also don’t want to create too much trust with the wrong people!
Matt Keegan
June 18th, 2011 at 8:27 pmI haven’t opted for a separate phone number for my business for the simple reason that most phone calls are interruptive. That may sound counter-intuitive, however when someone queries me for work, I prefer an e-mail or the filling out of a contact from. That way, I’m certain to be able to plan the time to make a phone call at a time that is convenient for both of us.
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