Dan Lucas wrote:
SD Platt wrote:
Its pure theory. What matters is how things play out in reality
The
reality of my working life is that I turn down clients and work that does not suit me. I control my professional environment.
To be sure, in most fields of commerce, price-takers make up a substantial part of the lower end of the market. If you cannot differentiate yourself from others, you too will become a price-taker. Both freelancers and agencies need to offer something extra (or a blend of somethings) that elevates them beyond the status of price-takers, whether it be specialist knowledge, prompt turnaround, aggressive marketing, or superior client service.
Too many freelancers don't have that "something". They don't understand how business works in general, or they neglect marketing, or they are difficult to work with, or they have no domain-specific knowledge. Then they end up on ProZ or in a Facebook translation group complaining about a lack of business.
Life is difficult. Work is hard. Success is the exception, not the rule, and the burden is heavy even for those who succeed. My own business is doing well at this stage, but that has not come without a cost to myself. For example, I regularly work into the small hours to hit my deadlines and deliver the substantial amount of work I take on. How many of my would-be competitors would consider such hours acceptable?
The key issue is not necessarily what course I choose - whether I opt to work long hours or not - but that I acknowledge that I do have the luxury of choice. I have agency. I take responsibility for my life. I believe that conversely most freelancers fail to accept that they have a choice and they too often say "yes" when they should be saying "no".
If freelancers refused to work on poor terms more often, then they would raise their chances of success, not least because the mindset of saying "no" until the terms are right is more likely to be indicative of business acumen than the "freelancers are victims" mindset of resigned capitulation.
To go back to your original point, If a freelancer is already successful then they don't need to do change the way they work, and entering into a partnership would arguably dilute their existing franchise, and if they are not already successful an LLP is unlikely to change anything.
Regards,
Dan