Sure, the article is applicable primarily to US-based freelancers. YMMV in other places.
If it's any consolation, I live in a tiny town in the US and have rarely met my clients in person. Many of them have no idea where I work from or that I occasionally wear pajama pants on video calls, because my webcam is from the waist up.
> I live in a tiny town in the US and have rarely met my clients in person
This is awesome. I feel like it's more of the exception than the rule though. Just out of curiosity, I assume you primarily work off of referrals now, but how did you get your first few clients? Or I guess a better way of asking is how did you get enough clients to where you had enough referrals coming in?
1. Premium job boards. AuthenticJobs used to carry much more freelance work, but basically I'd find places where people had paid to post a job, and I'd do my darndest to impress them with my opening email.
2. My professional network. A couple of old contacts referred me to excellent agencies. Those connections still pay dividends today.
Hope that helps. These comments are giving me ideas for "Everything I know, part 2".
Just chiming in to add a similar but different experience. Been freelance for nearly 20 years and I've always lived in major US cities but very rarely do I take on local clients. This is absolutely intentional. I don't care if the client is on the other side of the planet or 6 blocks away, I work when and where I want with no expectation of "on-site".
Of course, if I happen to like the client personally, that's another story. But those visits are off the clock.
If it's any consolation, I live in a tiny town in the US and have rarely met my clients in person. Many of them have no idea where I work from or that I occasionally wear pajama pants on video calls, because my webcam is from the waist up.