|
|
|
Alone Together
Freelance professionals play an increasingly important
role in Connecticut's communications industry
|
Business New Haven
8/24/1998
By: Susan Banfield
|
Nowadays people refer to it as “outsourcing,” a recent buzz word that makes it seem like the idea only just evolved. In fact, the use of independently contracted part-time help is a practice that dates back to medieval times, when armies who hired independent knights referred to them as “free lances.”
Freelancers have been around for ages, especially in the communications industry, where the use of freelance writers and graphic designers is commonplace. Freelancing has proved to be a popular practice in this industry because it provides mutual benefits for both the workers (who enjoy the independence, flexibility and variety) and for the companies who employ them (who, by outsourcing, are able to “work lean and mean,” as Allen Ripke, marketing manager at graphic design placement agency Mac Temps, puts it).
People begin freelancing for a variety of reasons. Many start because their company has been downsized and they find themselves out of a job. Tony Mancini of Farmington had been with a large insurance company for 12 years when his position was outsourced. Rather than scramble to find another full-time job, Mancini saw this as an opportunity to go on his own. Today he has a successful freelance business producing multimedia CDs for businesses.
In a similar way, people who move to a new locale - say because their spouse is transferred - sometimes begin freelancing in order to explore their industry in the new location. Kirstin Ahearn moved to Connecticut from California two years ago. Not sure of which marketing/public relations agencies out here were the best to work for, she decided to work as a freelancer instead.
She made cold calls and sent out letters, and eventually found a niche for herself - targeting small start-up companies which couldn't afford the services of an agency. Today, Ahearn is a dedicated freelancer.
Many women begin freelancing after they have children. Freelancing offers them a way to stay home with their families while still maintaining a career and bringing in income. One Fairfield graphic designer who today has her own business worked as a freelancer at several points during her 20-plus years in the industry. They pretty much coincided with the births of her children, when she felt the need to be at home.
Finally, many people go freelance simply because the benefits - the flexibility, the variety of work - are attractive to them. Laura Spitz, a graphic designer and Web site designer, felt stifled in her staff job and saw no future in it. She decided to return to school and train as a designer, then started out on her own. “I have a lot of flexibility in how much time I work, and when I work,” Spitz says. “I've done a greater variety of projects.”
“I wanted the flexibility of being able to set my own schedule and to pick my own bosses,” says Leila Secho, a marketing freelancer.
Whatever their reasons for starting, most freelancers discover advantages to the lifestyle they hadn't even hoped for. Ahearn feels she has been forced to be more on top of her business. “I've really expanded the amount of reading I do - marketing trades, industry trades.”
“You learn a lot more. There's more personal growth,” says Mancini. “Sometimes I say, 'Well, I haven't done it, but I'll charge you a little less and learn.'”
There are also definite disadvantages to working freelance, however. Perhaps the most serious among these is the lack of control a freelancer has over his or her cash flow. “One month I think it's great; the next month it's stressful,” says Spitz.
Freelancers use an array of strategies to cope with the problem. Secho credits her MBA training with helping her to manage her cash flow better. “The MBA helped me to do a business and marketing plan. Also, I try to get those regular customers. I look for projects that are going to be ongoing.”
Ahearn also tries to get yearly contracts with her customers. Spitz says she has simply learned to become a better saver, so that she can make it through the lean times.
Another disadvantage to freelancing is the lack of benefits. There are no paid vacations, no health insurance, no pension plans - unless you provide them for yourself. While a freelancer's time may seem to be his or her own, getting away for a week or even a few days is not always easy.
In order to go away for a week, freelance writer and reporter Linda Mele finds she needs to have a half-dozen articles written in advance to be published while she is gone. Says Ahearn: “I feel guilty being away from my clients. I'm constantly checking my voice mail, even on vacation.”
Some freelancers are able to take advantage of a spouse's health plan. Others must carry their own health insurance, set up their own IRA. The National Association of Self-Employed does make several health plans available to its members, but says NASE member Mancini of these: “I'm not thrilled. It's not as good a plan as I had with the company. It's really just for major medical.”
Despite the drawbacks, thousands of writers and designers around the state choose to stick with freelancing because, for them, the benefits of the freelance lifestyle far outweigh the downside, and - not least important - because they find they are able to make as much if not more than they would in a staff position.
“I've been able to maintain an adequate income,” reports Ahearn.
“I found I make more,” says Spitz.
“I made in two years what it would have taken me three years to make on staff,” explains Mancini.
There is certainly enough demand for freelancers in the communications industry to keep those drawn to the lifestyle in business. Allen Ripke of Mac Temps, a temporary employment agency that deals primarily with people who do computer graphic design and Web site design, reports that about 70 percent of the people his company places today are freelancers. In the ten years Mac Temps has been in business, the number of freelancers the agency works with has increased, Ripke says.
There are a number of reasons why companies are using freelancers, as opposed to a staff worker or an agency. Most are financial. “I definitely think it [the use of freelancers] has increased, and there's no secret to the reason,” says Jack Kramer, editor of the New Haven Register. “The company doesn't need to take care of the cost of benefits.”
Both the Register and the Connecticut Post make frequent use of freelance reporters, whom they call “correspondents.” At the Post, even front-page stories are often the work of correspondents.
Adds the Post's editor and associate publisher Rick Sayers, “The talent level of some of the people who work for us as columnists we could never afford to hire as staffers.”
When it comes to deciding between hiring an advertising and marketing agency, or hiring an individual freelancer, for many small companies, there really is no choice. They hire the freelancer because they can't afford the agency.
Hammer & Nail is a small Watertown microbrewery. Although its initial label design was done by an agency, the firm now uses a freelancer for labels, banners, flyers and other communications. “We use a freelancer because of the expense,” says Eliza Hammer, one of the company's four principals. “If we had a bigger advertising budget, we would stick with the agency.”
Agencies themselves also sometimes employ freelancers, although until recently this has been kept quiet. “In the past freelance was always a dirty word,” says Lawrence Marks, head of MCS Advertising and president of the Advertising Club of Connecticut. “When corporations started downsizing and outsourcing, having freelancers came out of the closet.”
Here, the reason for turning to freelancers is not so directly financial. In general ad agencies use freelance help primarily to enable them to handle temporary increases in work load. “We use freelancers when we find a lot of clients want a lot of work at the same time,” explains Wil Bradford, president of Bradford Advertising & Public Relations.
With benefits to both freelancers and companies so apparent, will freelancers eventually take over the communications industry?
Not any time soon. There are still many companies which prefer to have their communications work handled by people on staff. John Disko, executive vice president of Centrix, a Shelton-based manufacturer of dental products, says his company prefers to use a staff person because “[The employees] know the company and the product.” Larger area companies such as Bic and Subway, still tend to have most of their work done by agencies.
Agencies, too, still often prefer to use on-staff people whenever possible. Says Marks: “Every client has its own idiosyncrasies, every industry has its own buzz words. Getting familiar with these takes time. Getting a freelancer up to speed on a particular client can take too much time.”
Eric Mudry, a partner in Innovative Internet Marketing Solutions, feels the use of freelance help can be particularly tricky when it comes to Web site design. This is ironic, as the advent of the Internet and e-mail has been a real boon to freelancers, enabling them to send and receive information from clients instantly. Yet, says Mudry, “[Web site design] is too difficult. We have to do too much training. We try to keep as much work inside as we can.”
So, while there are a number of forces at work - economics, the growth of the Internet, business people's desire for independence - which are definitely contributing to the growth of freelancing in the communications industry, there are other forces which still put the brakes on to a great extent.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
