Open Thread: Do You Want to Stay Small or Grow Big?
Posted September 1, 2008 in Open Thread 24 Comments »
The decision to become a freelancer is often a very personal one. We all have our individual situations, preferences, and abilities. We all have our individual goals.
For some people, freelancing is a gateway to a larger business. Expanding and taking on more work is the name of the game.
For others, freelancing is about following an individual passion. The goal is to refine and improve a small business.
Both of these paths can be equally rewarding, but today’s questions is — which do you prefer? Do you want to stay small, or do you want to grow big?
About the author: Mason Hipp is an entrepreneur, marketing guru, and writer. He blogs about life and business at FreelanceFolder.com and is co-author of the Book The Unlimited Freelancer. Follow him on twitter @MasonHipp
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24 Comments
Jacob Cass
September 1st, 2008 at 10:24 amWhat is small and what is big? That is the question.
Simon North
September 1st, 2008 at 10:34 amAt the moment I am very happy with freelancing but in a couple of years I know that I will want to be a boss having people work with me and owning a “business”, I always liked to be the busy businessman guy you see on movies, always in a rush, on the phone, in meetings etc. I would love to be that guy, whether or not when I get there I will miss freelancing and want to go back I do not know, but atm I think the answer for me is big.
shiido
September 1st, 2008 at 10:43 ambig as i can…
@Jacob Cass i think it differs from each person, but there are people who will be conformed by his position and stop growing in an specific stage.
i think the question is, in your work, in what you do, how big you want be? you want to be big just enough to pay your bills? or you want to be big enough to buy to start a studio? or be the best in your area…. what is your goal?!
Maneesh Madambath
September 1st, 2008 at 10:47 amAs someone driven by the concept of entrepreneurship itself.. I feel that anyone who is enterprising enough to start on their own as a freelancer should push the envelope and try and build a business and grow it.. that is the essence of enterprise.. so creating jobs.. creating value.
Somewhere down the line it joins at the fact that you are part of the society and doing what you do best while good needs to spread… and the best way is to think and act big… At least that’s how I see myself growing
and @Simon yep they paint a pretty good picture of a successful business guy in the movies ..though I think even I’ll need a script written by someone else to be so :D
Gerasimos
September 1st, 2008 at 12:09 pmI think everyone at least at some hidden spot in their brain have a dream of growing big. Even the ones with a steady (steady & freelancer hm.. there’s a contradiction there) business and clientele. As Jacob said though the question is what is big and what is small..
Patrick Sesko
September 1st, 2008 at 12:46 pmRight now it is just me freelancing but I have a network of other creative professionals that I use to compliment my own skill set so I can handle any project.
My short term goal – 5years or so – is to stay small but have 4-6 employees picking and choosing our work. But once I reach that goal I may want to get bigger. However what’s more important to me is to be doing work I like to do. I feel like when you reach a certain size, you have to take any work you can get your hands on to cover overhead and you end up losing your passion for design. then it just becomes work so you can cover the expense of having a large business. I realize this is a generalization but from what I have seen, it is more often than not.
Katharine
September 1st, 2008 at 12:54 pmI like the immediacy of being solo and of not having to be anyone’s boss, and I’ve been freelancing full time for nearly 14 years now. But if my youngest son turns out to have the editing gift, as I think he might, I’d consider bringing him into my business as a partner one day. My oldest may very well end up as a partner in my husband’s cabinetmaking business.
Dainis Graveris
September 1st, 2008 at 3:11 pmI think small is associated as one person’s yob and big is like expanding as company?
If so – I don’t think that You can know right answer, while being small – it is all dependent on situation – If I’ll have a chance I would take it and try to expand my business – no doubt for that.
Erin
September 1st, 2008 at 4:13 pmMy freelance business is a one-woman shop and will remain that way. I’d make a lousy boss, and I have no desire to deal with the extra levels of bureaucracy and paperwork that employing someone else would require.
I work full time, I have a variety of clients, and this works for me.
Mason Hipp
September 1st, 2008 at 4:40 pm@Maneesh — That’s a great way to put it, and is one of the reasons I’d personally like to grow my business.
On the other hand though, expanding isn’t the only way to create new value. Some freelancers have really pushed themselves toward creating fantastic products or offering truly incredible services, without being bigger.
@Gerasimos — I respectfully disagree :-) While I may share your opinion, I think there are many who just don’t want the added responsibility of growing a larger business. But, as you and Jacob both said, big and small are relative terms.
@Dainis — Sounds like you may have found a middle ground, but do you think not choosing a goal beforehand might limit you in the long run?
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
September 1st, 2008 at 4:48 pmI want to grow as big as I can. I don’t want to just have me as a business. I want a business that thrives on its own, whether I’m there or not to attend to it. I want to be the go-to business and I want to be recognized and respected wherever I go. I want to ride the wave of the Internet until I hit the beach. And then I’ll just take up running :)
Nicole LaMarco
September 1st, 2008 at 8:28 pmIn Some Ways Small:
I do hire other writers when I need help, but I like to work alone. I enjoy being the boss from time to time, but working from my own home and by myself is the best.
In Some Ways Big:
I like to help others who want to become writers with my blogs and websites, and that makes me expand my business.
So, in some ways I want both. I guess I can’t really have both, though, can I? This is a great question!
Brandon Cox
September 1st, 2008 at 9:00 pmI’d like to stay small, but freelancing is not my primary source of income, so I have the luxury of designing because I enjoy it. I don’t think I’d enjoy managing a design studio in addition to all else I have going on. Being small gives me the freedom to do all that I please, as I please.
Mason Hipp
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 am@Nicole — I sure think it’s a good question, but I’m biased :-) I definitely think you can have a little of both, but it takes deciding before hand. You have to choose which areas of your business can expand, and how far, and which to keep small, etc… Reality isn’t nearly as black-and-white as this question, there are rather many gray areas.
@Brandon — That’s an interesting situation that doesn’t quite fit into this question. I suppose that ‘freelancing on the side’ counts as staying small, but it is still not quite the same. Would you ever consider freelancing full time? If you did, would you still want to remain a one-man-shop?
Thanks everyone for the great discussion — and watch out for next week’s question, I’ve got a good one :-)
Nicole LaMarco
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 amMason,
That helps to be reminded it is not black and white. I tend to see things that way far too much! I will certainly be giving this question some thought!
Maneesh Madambath
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:31 am@mason agreed.. freelancers do create some mighty value add with what they do.. I guess I need to shrug of my investor mentality and not look through the glasses of scalability and ROI and stuff haha… :)
Sal
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:05 pmI think I would like to stay small for now. Who knows, in the future I may wish to get bigger, but I am not sure that I want to deal with all of the extra stress. Besides, I like doing first then teaching. If I can be successful on my own then I know others can be successful with me.
Is small the new big?
Joshua Clanton
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:29 pmI want to be well-known (big) for delivering great websites for small businesses and individuals (small), with corresponding (big) pay. :-)
frank
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:15 pmI agree with Jacob Cass. What is big and what is small?
Dainis Graveris
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:54 pm@ Mason – I`m not sure, maybe it is so – but I just know that if I see any new option, that will open up to me – I’ll just use it. But there surely is no limits for me – everybody just needs to think about expanding – or else why live the same life again and again?
Laura Spencer
September 4th, 2008 at 7:01 pmI’ve been meaning to join this thread. (It’s a great discussion!)
I think the answer to this question can be determined by what primarily drives you. I was driven to freelancing because of a need for balance in my life. Having my own business gives me the freedom to find that balance in a way that working for others never did. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I can’t grow large. It does mean that I will need to find a way to maintain that balance if I am to grow larger.
Other people may be driven primarily by a need for power or money. Their answer would probably be different from mine.
Cindy G.
September 6th, 2008 at 2:01 pmI grew up in a big city (pop. 150,000) and moved to a small town (pop. 1000) in my mid- teens. Wow! What a change… In the beginning I hated small town life… but through my adult years I have come to realize that no matter where you live, it doesn’t have to limit your desires and dreams or the kind of person you want to be. I’ve always had a passion for creativness– drawing, designing, writing…. and a desire to own my own business. I want to keep my business small so I can enjoy the bigger things in life!
John Galt
September 8th, 2008 at 2:42 amOnly as big as we can (handle). We dont want to have the sometimes complicated bureaucracy of big design agencies. We want to keep it simple, direct. Our freelance business (i and my friends) have always maintained a compact form and our clients like it that way.
Keep on. :)
opirestictera
January 21st, 2009 at 7:51 pmNothing seems to be easier than seeing someone whom you can help but not helping.
I suggest we start giving it a try. Give love to the ones that need it.
God will appreciate it.