{"id":20287,"date":"2023-02-15T16:33:48","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T21:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=20287"},"modified":"2023-02-15T16:33:49","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T21:33:49","slug":"balancing-freelance-full-time-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/balancing-freelance-full-time-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Balance Freelance Work with Your Day Job"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

After more than 20 years in the design world, I\u2019ve done my fair share of freelancing. But today, I\u2019m also a partner<\/a> at a creative agency<\/a> whose designers occasionally freelance on the side, so I\u2019ve got a unique perspective on the practice. There are lots of great reasons to experiment with freelance while you\u2019ve got a full-time gig: You can earn extra cash, express more creative freedom, and work with a long-term client or friend, to name a few benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s important to compartmentalize properly, so that one of your responsibilities doesn\u2019t damage the other. Here\u2019s how you can do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prevent a Conflict of Interest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, let\u2019s start with the obvious: does your employer allow freelancing<\/a> in the first place? Some workplaces might forbid additional outside employment because they don\u2019t want their employees spending their intellectual capital and personal time (or worse: company time) on unrelated work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you even begin to freelance, learn if you have such a clause in your agreement with your company. (It\u2019d appear in your employee handbook or your signing letter). If you don\u2019t find a written policy and you are not doing work that conflicts with your day job, consider this an instance where it\u2019s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My agency, Anchor & Alpine, prohibits designers from freelancing without permission. If we hire someone with a thriving freelance practice, we work with them to responsibly de-escalate that practice over time. We do this to ensure that we\u2019re not competing against our own employees for projects and to ensure our team maintains a healthy work\/life balance. That said, we\u2019re usually happy to give permission, and every designer on our team (including me) does freelance work. When one of my teammates has a freelance project they\u2019re interested in, they\u2019ll start by bringing it to one of our agency\u2019s partners. If it\u2019s a good fit, we write up an agreement that states the designer can work on it outside of work hours, and that they can use their company property for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n