You're funny. I've been self employed for the last 30+ years and I really enjoy it. But I know the risks and I'm making sure I don't get burned because having only one customer is just setting yourself up for various kinds of failure.
I love freelancers and I love freelancing. But I know the difference between being a freelancer and running a company and being an employee in all but name and you really don't ever want to be in that position.
the way not to get burned is to charge high enough with trustworthy clients, take some insurances and to be aware of your pension provisions that will vary by country. whether you have 1 or 3 clients at one point in time is immaterial as long as it doesn't sour your relationship with your clients
I appreciate that it sounds like you had a bad experience with a client though.
> the way not to get burned is to charge high enough with trustworthy clients
That helps. What helps even more is to have a nice fat savings account that allows you to negotiate properly, to weather the inevitable dry spells, to build a solid base of clients that value you and that will repeatedly hire you.
> take some insurances
Against what? 90%+ of the freelancers are not even insured against loss of income from health related issues. The remainder is well off enough that they can probably afford to take the risk.
> whether you have 1 or 3 clients at one point in time is immaterial as long as it doesn't sour your relationship with your clients
Until: that one client goes bust, there is a 'policy change', the project/product you are working on gets axed, the economy burps, your main contact at the company gets fired and the new guy or girl doesn't like you and so on.
> I appreciate that it sounds like you had a bad experience with a client though.
I appreciate that it sounds like you haven't had a bad experience yet, but that makes you simply less experienced. Give it some time and you'll see all of the above and variations on those themes.
as I already mentioned having reserves is indeed very important
in my jurisdiction there are for example some excellent guaranteed income insurances covering various situations. they won't pay forever, but they'll pay. income replacement due to health issues is covered by normal social welfare in my jurisdiction as well
all of those things you mentioned happen regularly to employees. they are harder to let go, sure, but employers have a lot more leeway to make your job hellish enough to force a resignation, or if the economy is really bad overall they can throw their hands up and say we're cutting divisions of the business with no objections from the law in most places. sure you can go to your work council (hope they are on your side) about it, or to the union (hope they have time for you and you're lucky enough to have enough evidence to win the tribunal) or the lawyer (hope you have a legal assistance insurance and are ready for years of process and fees). employees without a savings buffer are similarly vulnerable in these circumstances
the biggest reason to stay an employee if you can consult instead where I am is really the unemployment benefits you can get, but that now takes up to 10 months to actually start paying out due to how understaffed the government is. so again, best have some reserves. the next biggest reason is you hate paperwork
The point isn't that they doesn't like freelancers, but doesn't like how the employers misuse that to get workers without rights. "Oh, you're not employed here, so we don't have to follow labor laws, we can just terminate the contract".
If I'm not mistaken, in the US employees can also be fired just like that. Meanwhile my contract specifies a month notice for both sides.
And that was their preference. I'm totally fine with being fired; that flexibility is also part of what I sell. It's why they pay me more than they pay employees.
the worker rights issue is mostly a concern for blue collar workers that are forced to become freelance by some companies to save on welfare costs. that is what tax authorities actually look for when they talk about "false self-employment" and that is why it is the company giving the assignment that gets punished in these situations and usually not the freelancer.
that's not really a concern for high billing consulting professionals. it is a common misunderstanding (as you can see from comments here) though and is variously used by companies to undercompensate people who could be far more profitable consulting
It's not really an obsession of the anglosphere, if that's a thing. It's part of a larger signal from the upper part of the class divide, saying "Dear masses, we're going to be taking more, so learn to be content with less."
It's a great question actually! Why would people who have tons of possessions and live in comfort not just spend all their time enjoying being happy, harmonious and fulfilled?
Why is it that having possessions doesn't seem to fulfill all our social, emotional and cultural needs?
Speaking personally an American, any smart person building useful stuff is welcome in my country. That alone _is_ extraordinary ability, in my opinion (can’t speak to the intent behind the law).
You're reading the term too literally. USCIS has set the terms for what it means and the same USCIS has determined that op meets the criteria regardless of what you think it should mean.
Since Melania Trump was a reasonably successful model, it's actually not difficult for her since she could probably easily satisfy 3 of the following —
Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media
Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel
Evidence that your work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases
Evidence of your performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations
Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field
Evidence of your commercial successes in the performing arts
now many hackernews residents are parents the conspiracy theorising about the government trying to get to theirs and theirs kids precious bodily fluids is even more neurotic
"Oh emperor, my wishes are simple. I only wish for this. Give me one grain of rice for the first square of the chessboard, two grains for the next square, four for the next, eight for the next and so on for all 64 squares, with each square having double the number of grains as the square before."
The emperor agreed, amazed that the man had asked for such a small reward - or so he thought. After a week, his treasurer came back and informed him that the reward would add up to an astronomical sum, far greater than all the rice that could conceivably be produced in many many centuries!
it won’t make any impact on the prices there because it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what they spend importing oil and diesel to burn for the majority of their electricity
