I also took 5 vacations throughout 2009, anywhere from 4-9 days in length.

I didn’t lose a single client. In fact, I gained clients.

Taking time off has absolutely nothing to do with losing clients, because there is a GLOBAL pool of potential clients out there to pull from. If people want to go with someone else, they are going to go with someone else, regardless if you are taking a few days off or not. If they are the type of client who can’t understand you needing to take time off, they can get bent.

I’ll echo another comment in this thread. I work to live…I don’t live to work. I work just as hard as I need to in order for my wife and I to live the life we want to live. Basically, we work hard enough to cover 5-6 trips a year throughout Europe, pay for our living expenses, and put some money in the bank on top of everything else. Beyond that…I work part-time hours, and I often take weeks off at a time to just relax and enjoy my European lifestyle.

I don’t miss the 40-hour-a-week-nose-to-the-grindstone life in America. Not in the least!

I actually think you make a very good point. It’s something I might look into – down here things are a bit trickier because we combine our summer holidays with Christmas and New Year, so people are often away until the second week in January, but it’s a good point that some may not be. MENTAL NOTE: If you get in when everyone else is waiting to assume that people will be back from the beach, you just might get the pick of the litter.

One thing to mull over, though: when I worked full time for some media outlets, I learned taht the end of the year is a tough time for the budget. Often, companies’ fiscal years run January-January, and the freelance budget is just about gone in December. So with some clients, it might not be worth panicking if they’re not doing a lot of hiring or contracting out work the last six weeks of the year or so.

This is a great post and Deb makes a great point. If you work while others are taking off because an invisible man had a child that would eventually become a zombie, then you are going to make more money.

In this, she comments on the lifestyle of the freelance writer, we will succeed by working when others take time off.

Also, lighten up.

Heath

As well as holidays, timezones are an issue too. I have lost potential clients who went with a US-based writer while I was asleep! I have also picked up US-based clients who are night-owls, while all of my American/Canadian counterparts were snuggled up under the covers. Who cares? There are an infinite number of projects and potential projects out there and being in the right place at the right time is not ‘client-poaching’ – it’s business.

Many people in the world don’t celebrate the same holidays I do. Personally, I know it’s frustrating when the U.S. Thanksgiving shuts down my ability to get good help, hire people or buy what I need.

Because my Thanksgiving is in October – and yes, I’m also available for work that day. Like Deb, I schedule my time accordingly to be able to enjoy my holiday, but I feel it’s my responsibility as a business owner to be present as well.

It’s like the local grocery store – when I need food on a Sunday, they’re not closed. When I need something on Christmas, they’re still open. Reduced hours, limited staff, sure.

But they’re there for me. And I remember that.

We freelancers can be extremely egocentric and self-centered sometimes, and we forget our very purpose – to offer services to consumers. Yes, we freelance to have a flexible schedule and more free time, but as business owners, it’s our responsibility to be available and open for the customers who need us.

So, Deb, don’t feel that you’ll be alone while the rest are off tra-la-laing. I’ll be right there with you, and right there for the clients who need me.

Happy holidays, everyone.

This experiment was not successful at all!

Sorry I let you down. To be honest, I don’t steal clients but there are people who do. I just like to sometimes present the other side of the story. It’s not always rosy for freelancers, you know?

Thanks for the input!