Part Time Vs. Full Time Freelancing – Why I Prefer Part Time

There is a difference in approach to freelancing as a part-time freelancer and of a full-time freelancer.

Part-time freelancer prefers working on smaller projects whereas full-time freelancer prefers long-term projects.

Size can be a relative term but for me, any project or milestone that can be delivered within a couple of week’s time is small in size.

I always prefer small projects over bigger ones. It is because I like things when they are complete so I can focus on my blogs, forums, or any weekend projects that I may be working on or even do insightful research for an equity investment.

The main aim of freelancing is to keep the money flowing into my bank account on a more regular basis so I can experiment.

Small size projects can be a disadvantage where you have to look for more and more clients on a consistent basis and that may be true if you are a full-time freelancer but not for a part-time freelancer.

So let me share the distinctive advantages of working on smaller projects.

1. Has more source of work

There is a limit to the number of clients one can interact with. If your approach is to work on small size projects, you interact with more clients compared to those who work on large size projects.

More clients means, a greater chance of getting more work from old clients on a more regular basis.

As an example clients email me if I can work on things that they want. If it is something beyond the scope of what I do, clients may look for other developers and this gives me more source of work.

2. Can easily switch technologies

Having long term clients can actually mean you are working for those clients on a more regular basis and not being able to move to new technologies if those clients are not interested in those technologies.

I had a long term client in vBulletin for a couple of years and though I wanted to move to Xenforo for Go4Expert.com, it delayed the process for me because I was too busy with the deliverables of the client. To make a move I had to stop working for the client which was kind of tough.

A higher learning curve and being able to switch technologies is the sole reason I prefer part-time freelancing over full-time.