For those of you that freelance and/or contract on the side, how many hours do you target a week/what percentage of your income is from this source? Advice on optimizing income without burning out? I’ve been doing 80-90 hour weeks for about 6 months now (aside from times that I’m traveling) and feel fine, but family and friends warn me this is unsustainable.
Freelancing, one can bill hourly or per project/fixed fee. I’ve had fixed few projects basically end up being near $300/hr due to the amount of necessary work. I’ve had hourly projects that I bid my rate on I should have padded.
Do you go on the websites? I go by word of mouth. Those websites get underbid by foreigners.... by a lot. People are willing to do $500 for something that takes a week to do.
How much do you make?
I’m in Virginia... make 105k salary (rarely put in more than 40 hours a week) and bill $64/hr in my contract with a former employer, typically 12-15 hours per week, though during key periods for them I might bill 30-40 hours week
That is pretty good for Virginia. You could make a lot more in Bay Area but cost of living would also be a lot higher. So if you are happy there then there is no reason to quit.