Until now I’ve been relatively unaffected by the economic down turn. As a freelance bookkeeper, my clients have been steady and consistent over the last 6 years. However, a few days ago, I received a perfunctory dismissal. They had decided that they were going to "go in another direction with a less skilled but less costly alternative". They needed to "make cuts across the board" to turn a profit.
Fast to process my options, I surprised them & myself by offering to meet their revised budget for my services. They hadn’t considered that I would be willing to stay on for 1/2 my customary wage. Afterall, who would be willing to do that?
I’ll tell you who. Me – someone who is already living paycheck to paycheck – freelancing part-time so that I can be home with my kids. From that perspective, a reduction of 50% is better than a reduction of 100%. Now I have to figure out how to earn the difference which turns out to be a net reduction of 22% of my monthly income. Ouch.
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