Contemplating Self Employment

[Mark Landman]

Chris,

You might want to check your insurance situation very carefully before making the leap. I see you’re picking up your own insurance, but will you be able to continue that same policy once you’re self-employed? The laws are different from state to state. Here in Illinois I can’t get on a group policy because I’m self-employed. Individual policies are obscenely expensive and 20%-30% ANNUAL rate increases are the norm. (and that’s without filing any major claims-I’d hate to imagine what would happen if I had a major illness.) Medical insurance is far and way my largest monthly expense.
Good luck.

[Ned Miller]

Wow! What a great thread. There are few places on this interweb thingy that Al Gore invented where I can find people I relate to, who are in the same professional situation as I am, although the bulk of my revenue is as a DP. My wife says my most animated conversations are when I am among other freelance DPs and indie producers. But the posters replying to your inquiry, I can relate to all of them, they spoke the truth, some may give it more of a positive spin while others are Midwestern blunt, like myself, but thus far they all were spot on. A few things:

First, as someone who raised a daughter, enjoy the time NOW, because when she is about 14 there’s a 75% chance that she won’t want to talk and be with you all that much until after college, although I have seen some exceptions (the other 25%). If I recall that gives you 4 years. You get an inkling around 13 if she will be part of the 75 or 25 percentile, you can’t tell at 10. Also, remove her photo from your post, too dangerous.

Now let me get to the meat of the matter. After re-reading all your posts I feel I have a good handle on you, not personally, but I’ve known quite a few dozen guys like yourself who were in, or trying to get into our biz. You summed it up responding to Bob with:

“I find that my personal values and goals in life differ greatly from almost anyone I have ever talked to in the business world, where financial success seems to be the point of life.”

So my sage advice is: You need to, have to, have no other choice but to, work for a NON-PROFIT, preferably with a religious bent. I can tell you’re a religious guy. It can be on staff or as your main freelance client, but guys like you need to have that “meaning” to make the grind and sacrifices worthwhile. Someone like me (and Bob) on the other hand, we’re highly paid mercenaries. I look at my prime earning years (28-62?) as the time to gain financial security and I do meaningful videos as side projects. I always have some worthy charity I am doing something for yet am keen at making sure they don’t take advantage or too much of my time. I am not a street whore, I am a gorgeous, highly paid escort…

I am looking forward to my retirement years for using my super powers for the good, instead of creating TV entertainment and selling cheese, jetliners, machinery and various services like I do, whereas you want to do that in your prime years. Fortunately I am a production junkie so it really doesn’t matter what I shoot or produce, I just like the “act” of production in all it’s aspects and I have figured out a way to make a good living at it which is rare. You like making voices for your animated children’s videos and that is great, but there’s the old expression, “Ain’t no money in it”. As a dad and husband and someone who does not come from family money I have always felt it was my responsibility to come home with the bacon: for college costs, mortgage, vacations, health insurance, car payments, you name it. So suffering through inane subject matter, biting my tongue, putting up with crap, that’s what you have to do if you’re in the freelance/self employment pool, it’s being The Dad, the guy who brings home the bacon, or what you seem to be deriseveley calling “financial success”. In the freelance pool you really do swim with sharks and are prostituting yourself by offering your talents for money to whoever comes along.

Since you have clearly stated you can’t do that I strongly suggest you ensconse yourself within a religious non-profit, or some worthy cause organization such as Lions, Rotary, etc. I know this with 100% certaintude because I do a LOT of fundraising docs for orgs like that and I see how they operate and the kind of production folks they have. Most don’t have in-house production people, rather they have “communication” or “development” execs, the later being a fancy term for fund raising, and that’s usually the department you produce the videos for. They are all driven with a higher mission and that seems to be the kind of person you are, so go after that. However, I have found the inside politics of non-profits worse than corporations, mainly because they tend to “committee” every production decision to death, especially in post, so if you go this route you need to deal with that plus you’re still in a cubicle working long hours.

Lastly, speaking of hours, when you’re working for yourself it’s easier to put up with these long hours because you see a direct correlation between that and your reward (the “financial success” you eschew), whereas if you are on a flat salary it is just a grind. You said you can do it when you’re daughter is there but often, and in the near future, she won’t be there. I don’t know how old you are but as one ages in this biz the excitement fades and the money does become the primary goal because it’s not like we here are doing it for the fine arts, self expression aspect of video. We are in BIZNESS. This forum is named for that. Not only does it take a lot of money to maintain your family and secure it’s future but you need to bring in the Benjamins to run your business. That’s why in my previous post I said to make two spreadsheets, named Personal and Business.

So Chris, that’s my tip. Do NOT go on your own, you’re not the type that can make it because of your mindset, which is an admirable one but does not lend itself to freelance survival. You will miss recitals, Daddy/Daughter dances, soccer games, etc. while making deadlines, like the situation Bob is presently in which you find to be like a “death sentence”. Look for a mega church or worthy (large) charity that has an AV department. Or perhaps go for a Masters Degree and teach at the college level.

All the best,

Ned

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Chris Warren]

Thanks Ned,
Spent 6 years working for a Mega Church. Best job ever. Guess I’ll start calling around.

“You are the universe experiencing itself”
ChrisW
http://www.azprovideo.com

[Doug Collins]

Not sure that would discourage groups of kids either. Way back when while I was in the Marines, one day, at the end of the day, I was the only one with a vehicle (a small 4-cylender pick-up) to get from our duty site back to the barracks….ended up with nineteen Marines in that truck….five of us in the cab. Oh by the way it was a stick shift which made things very interesting! I think they were three deep in the back. Only did it once, won’t ever do it again, hopefully the OP’s kid is smarter than I was!

Doug

[Tom Sefton]

This is an awesome thread, filled with practical and grounded advice.

I don’t really have much to add, other than to say, it’s 130am on sunday and I am laid in bed checking a quote that has to go out on Monday am. Whilst reading the cow and checking the blackmagic forums to see if there is any news about when my damn camera is going to be built/tested/shipped/delivered. Being a freelancer is way harder than being the guy who turns up 9-5. But it’s more rewarding, and if you have to ask the question to see if strangers on an Internet forum think its a good idea for you to take the plunge….well you can see where I’m going with that. Your daughter is the biggest thing in your life and that is wonderful-make your decision around maximising your opportunity to provide for her, not around when you could take time away, because every afternoon off in the week is a weekend you lose. I can already see how much it sucks when decisions about freelancing are affected by healthcare. God bless the NHS!