Courtesy Olivier Boulais
- Olivier Boulais is an A. product designer. Team, a platform for independent tech talent.
- He charges as high as $140 per hour and works for projects that last around 12 months. He made $249,000 in 2021.
- His advice is to create a safety net for yourself and a reputation before you start freelancing.
This essay was based on a conversation I had with a friend. Olivier Boulais, a 34-year-old freelance product designer based in Quebec City, Canada, who's a part of A. Team's talent network. It has been edited for clarity and length.
I've always had an entrepreneurial mindset. At 14 years of age, I founded my first business because I loved snowboarding and wanted original artwork for my board. Organic Snowboards grew from my passion. I shipped custom boards throughout the US, South Korea, Japan, and South Korea.
Courtesy Olivier Boulais
I sold the company at 20 years old and began working as a freelancer. In 2013, I graduated from the Visual College of Art & Design in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a degree in graphic design and reinvented myself as a UI/UX designer.
From 2013 to2015, I was the senior graphics designer at a longboard manufacturer Landyachtz. I left in 2015 to become a full-time freelancer. I tried out websites like Freelancer.com, where I could only find small gigs that didn't pay well, I put feelers out to my own network and got connected with folks at A.Team, a members-only network of the world's top engineering, product, design, and marketing talent.
I was subject to a thorough application process, technical interviews and an algorithmic assessment. Trusted references and proven track records are also considered in the vetting process. I joined A.Team's talent network in July 2020. The startup was still in "stealth mode" and hadn't publicly launched — I was one of the first builders they accepted into the network. I made $244,000. In 2021, my first full-year on A.Team.
Once accepted into the A.Team network, you're teamed up with other product builders to tackle complex initiatives, or 'missions'
Companies come to A.Team with an idea for a product they're trying to build, and A.Team helps them assemble the right team for the mission from its talent network of more than 7,000 engineers, product managers, designers, and data scientists. A.Team recommends people to missions based upon their skill sets, willingness to work on the mission, as well as who works well together.
Some projects freelancers on A.Team are building are the future of vaccine manufacturing for Apprentice, the new "TikTok for textbooks" for McGraw Hill, a revolutionary model for brick-and-mortar with Blank Street CoffeeYou can find out more about it here.
An A.Team mission takes on average 12 months. My typical mission is a full-time mission that takes 35-40 hours per week. I also take on a few smaller missions that take five-10 hours each week.
This type of stability is so difficult to find when you're not a full-time, in-house employee. Additionally, it is much more fulfilling for me to do problem-based work than one-and done tasks.
One of the biggest missions I've worked on through A.Team was for a client called Love Stories TV. It was a two year project that involved four developers, one manager and three product designers. I was also part of it. This type of project simply wouldn't exist for a solo freelancer — the scope was too big for one person or one skill set.
A.Team charges $100 to $140 per hour depending on the mission. My own rate setting is my responsibility. Before joining A.Team in 2013, I was earning roughly $100,000 a month freelancing for a mix of brands, including Lululemon. After joining A.Team, my income more than doubled.
To account for inflation, my hourly rate is increased by 2% to 3.3% in normal economic conditions. I'm planning on sticking to 2% to 3% this year, as I'm being mindful of clients' concern around rising costs in an economically uncertain environment. I've heard of friends lowering their hourly rates recently because they're concerned contracts will be harder to win if a recession hits. Before you lower your rate, make sure to assess whether you have enough money to weather the next year.
A.Team missions accounted for 90% of my work in 2021. I still have a few old clients that I didn't find through A.Team, but I only did a few small projects for them last year.
My personality is not suited for full-time employment.
I've always felt that way, but I also recognized the merit in gaining project-management experience in a company environment — having that skill set is a must in my line of work. I decided to take a hybrid approach and freelanced for several years while still working full-time at Landyachtz.
I had a strong vision for where I wanted to take my career, but I didn't feel ready to fully commit to freelancing full-time until I built up my client Rolodex and had at least a year of savings on which to fall back.
Even though I was financially prepared, the transition felt risky. But you have to make the leap. That's my biggest piece of advice to anyone trying to make their side hustle their full-time job: Create a safety net, then take the leap.
A lack of peer support is a major problem for freelancers. I found A.Team to be a solution. I'm still an independent worker with control over my schedule, but on A.Team I get to work with teammates I like who can help me overcome challenges that arise.
Because so much freelance work is done through word-of mouth, you need to establish a good reputation. If you're doing great work and people love working with you, clients come back to you. If you're just starting out, sometimes you need to take what work you can get. But as you grow, don't look for one-off gigs. Through networking and attending meetups, I was able to find better opportunities for contract work and more consistent work. Creative Mornings in Vancouver.
Your stable job is only as stable and healthy as the company where you work. Comparatively, freelance allows you to determine the value of your time as well as your skill set.
In market downturns, it is not uncommon for employees to be the first line item to be eliminated. We saw that come true at the start of the pandemic, and it's happening again as the tech industry braces for a recession. More tech companies are Resigning from job offers, Promoting and freezing promotionsAnd Announcement of layoffs. This is threatening the trust employees had in the full-time model of work.
I love being an independent contractor and having an hourly rate because I know I'm still getting paid fairly for my hard work. I've heard so many horror stories from friends about working more than 40 hours per week as a full-time employee and never seeing an extra dime for "working overtime." It's important to ask yourself what the true ROI is from the hours you're putting into a job as a salaried employee.
My favorite thing about freelancing is the freedom to take long breaks. Because I love snowboarding, this flexibility allows me the freedom to enjoy the winter months on the mountain rather than behind a desk.
Are you a freelancer looking to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at lhaas@insider.com.
