This is very similar to pre-industrialized society, but what’s interesting is that the self-reliance is combined with the ability to market your products and services to the world, instead of just your local village.

So we can see people going into much tinier niches than was ever possible before.

That goes back to your point, Ed, about differentiation.

This is something that has worked well for me. I’ve been freelancing for 15 years now, with a tight focus on doing marketing & PR for small software companies.

That has been a powerful differentiator that has made it much easier – and less expensive – to attract quality clients.

I would encourage anyone to have a function focus (marketing, bookkeeping, whatever) plus a vertical/industry specialization. It just makes everything so much easier.

Seriously, I believe this is simply a cycle repeating itself. At one time in our early history (as a country) most people were self employed. As industrialization kicked in we became a nation who worked for those that could amass the equipment. Now technology has put the means of production back into the hands of individuals and the trend is going back to the way it was in our early history.

Daniel Pink in his great book “Free Agent Nation” discusses this concept. He says as this trend continues it will revolutionize policy and the work relationship. One note I remember very well is taxes. Currently if you are a freelancer you send in one BIG check to Uncle Sam every quarter as opposed to having a little taken out of each check where it isn’t quite as noticeable, which is the way the government wants it. However once enough people have to start mailing giant checks into the government every quarter the focus on how high taxes are will certainly take on a new tone. It will be interesting to see what other changes start to take place as this takes hold.

Fact is, you HAVE to differentiate and you need to offer proof points to make those differentiation claims believable. And, of course, you have to CONTINUALLY market yourself.

Health care and benefits are a huge issue for all of us. I believe the govt is going to have to address this in the next couple years. Check out what http://www.freelancersunion.org is doing on that score in the meantime.

I agree with you re: blog post writers who give their work away. But again, just like in any industry, there are thousands who still make a comfortable living in these areas.

Part of the secret is knowing who your REAL prospects are. A $10-a-web-page client is not a good prospect for most of us. And trying to convince that individual that you’re worth $100+ is, IMO, a waste of time — and the reason so many freelancers get frustrated.

@Robin – Good to hear from you, Robin! You’re absolutely right in that looking to a spouse’s plan through work is often the best option. However, I can tell you that the health care plan options that have surfaced over the last 5 years or so are surprisingly affordable, mainly because of Health Savings Accounts (HSA). So when the spouse is not employed, most of us shouldn’t panic.

In my case, I didn’t have to sacrifice quality, either. In fact, I’m on the same exact plan I used to be with before I left my day job, which is a great (big) company with excellent service. And, frankly, I don’t pay that much more in monthly premiums than I did when I was employed. Yes, my deductible is higheer, but I pay for medical expenses with tax-free dollars (because of my HSA). It’s mostly a wash at the end of the day.

I think where people get scared is when they try to get the same EXACT arrangement they had at work ($15 copays and a bunch of free or nearly free stuff). Now…THAT’S what’s going to cost you an arm and a leg.

I’m passionate about this issue because I almost gave up on the whole freelance idea, thinking that my premiums would be $1,000/mo. Once I looked deeper into this, I found that there are many great options.

As far as insurance goes, I’m lucky that my spouse is employed which provides us with access to a great health plan. I don’t know that I could find clients to pay the significantly higher hourly rate needed to cover that kind of overhead. We have three children–comprehensive health insurance is so important that I would give up the benes of the freelance world for the coverage we need.

It’s difficult to persuade a new client to spend $100+ per page of web copy, for example, when he knows of a blogger who will write it for $10.