The Grass Is Always Greener
When I was working full-time, I thought: “If I could just work for myself, everything would be better.” When I went freelance, I thought: “If I had more stable clients, this would work.” When I had stable clients, I thought: “If I could build products, I’d have real freedom.” When I was building products, I thought: “Some employment stability would be nice right now.” After 15 years of trying every model, here’s what I’ve learned: they all have tradeoffs, and the “best” model depends entirely on your context.The Four Main Models
Let’s break down the four main ways to make money as a builder: full-time employment, freelancing, client work (longer engagements), and products. Each has a different impact on your time, your money, your mental health, your learning, and your future opportunities. Let’s examine each honestly.Full-Time Employment
You work for one company. Clear hours (usually). Regular paycheck. Benefits. One boss. Clear role.What You Get
Stability—money hits your account like clockwork. You can plan long-term. Mortgage, vacation, investments. Domain expertise—you go deep in one area, become genuinely excellent at something specific. Colleagues who understand the context, can discuss complex problems without 30 minutes of background, social interaction built into your day. Clear boundaries—when you clock out, you’re out. Weekends are weekends. Someone else worries about the business. Benefits like health insurance, paid time off, equipment budgets, professional development. Lower stress—one set of priorities, clear success metrics, predictable rhythm.What You Give Up
Limited freedom—can’t choose your schedule, projects, or team most of the time. Income ceiling—salary increases are capped, no direct upside from company growth usually. Office politics exist. Bad managers exist. You might get assigned to boring projects. Promotion often depends on politics. You don’t own what you build. Can’t take it with you. All the upside goes to the company. Risk of being laid off. All eggs in one basket.Best For
People who value stability over maximum freedom. Those wanting to go deep in one domain. Anyone who needs benefits. People early in their career building expertise. Those who prefer clear boundaries. Anyone who gets energy from working with a team.Freelancing
Project-based work, usually shorter engagements (days to weeks). Multiple clients. You handle everything: sales, delivery, admin, taxes.What You Get
Freedom—choose your schedule, clients, work from anywhere, take time off when you want (if you can afford it). Variety—different problems, industries, technologies. Never boring. Higher hourly rates—usually 2-3x what you’d make as an employee hourly. Control—fire bad clients, say no to projects that don’t excite you, build your business your way.What You Give Up
Unstable income—feast or famine, hard to plan long-term, constantly selling, sometimes net-never payment terms. You’re a vendor—clients can drop you anytime, first to go in budget cuts, limited context and influence. Everything is your job—sales, marketing, delivery, admin, accounting, tech support, collections. No benefits—pay for your own health insurance, no paid time off, no retirement contributions. Isolation—working alone, no colleagues to discuss problems with. Constant context switching between different clients, codebases, domains. Mental overhead is exhausting.Best For
People who value variety over depth. Those who can handle income instability. Anyone good at sales and self-promotion. People who work well alone. Those with a strong network for leads. Anyone who needs maximum schedule flexibility.Client Work (Longer Engagements)
Similar to freelancing but longer: 6 weeks to 6 months or more. Often retainer-based. Deeper relationships. More like having 2-3 “bosses” instead of 10.What You Get
More stable than freelancing—predictable income for the engagement period, can plan months ahead, less time spent on sales. Deeper work—actually finish projects, see impact, build meaningful relationships, go deeper into problem domains. Better rates—often monthly retainers, charge for value not just hours. Some flexibility—usually remote, more control than employment.What You Give Up
Multiple bosses—each client has different expectations, communication styles, standards of quality, levels of respect for your time. Still a service—you’re delivering what they want, limited creative control, projects end, you don’t own the upside. Scope creep—“just one more thing,” boundaries blur over time. Between-project anxiety—what happens when this ends, constantly thinking about next client. Client management—unreasonable deadlines still exist, some clients are great, some aren’t.Best For
People who want more stability than freelancing but more freedom than employment. Those who can handle 2-5 client relationships at once. Anyone who likes finishing projects but doesn’t need to own them. People good at managing expectations and boundaries.Products (Your Own)
You build something you own. You control the roadmap. All the upside is yours. So is all the risk.What You Get
Ownership—it’s yours, you build it how you want, all upside belongs to you, can sell it later if it works. Creative freedom—no one telling you what to build, can experiment, can say no to features that don’t make sense. Uncapped upside—if it works, revenue scales, not trading time for money directly, passive income potential, wealth creation potential. Learning—every part of the business. Satisfaction—it’s yours, you can be proud of it, users choose you.What You Give Up
All the risk—might make 0 for years, your time, your money, your risk. You do everything—development, marketing, sales, support, accounting, legal. Loneliness—building alone is isolating, hard to find people who get it, every decision is yours, easy to spiral into self-doubt. No safety net—no paycheck, no benefits, no team to fall back on. Market risk—might build something no one wants, market might change, competitors might crush you. Slow—takes time to get traction, to build, to learn what works.Best For
People with runway (savings or another income source). Those who can handle uncertainty and risk. Anyone who has to own what they build. People who can do sales, marketing, and code. Those who are okay being alone a lot.The Reality: Most People Need a Mix
Here’s what I’ve learned: pure models are rare and often unsustainable. Most people who seem to “have it figured out” are actually mixing: employment + side products, freelancing + one product, 2-3 clients + teaching, full-time + consulting, products + consulting. The portfolio approach lets you balance risk (if one fails, you’re not broke), balance learning (depth from one, breadth from others), balance income (stable base + upside potential), balance social needs (people from one, independence from another).How to Choose
Ask yourself: What’s my financial situation? How much runway do I have? Can I handle irregular income? Do I need benefits? What’s my actual burn rate? What’s my risk tolerance? How much uncertainty can I handle? Do I need to know where money comes from next month? Do I need colleagues or work well alone? Where do I get energy? Do I have other social outlets? Do I prefer going deep or staying broad? Do I get bored easily or love mastery? How important is owning what I build? Can I be happy building for others? What are my actual constraints? Family? Mortgage? Visa? Health? What can I actually afford to risk? Am I optimizing for next year or next decade?My Path Through All of Them
Early 20s: Employment. Needed stability, learning, visa sponsorship. Got domain expertise, colleagues, stable income. Missed freedom and upside. Late 20s: Freelancing. Needed freedom, variety, higher income. Got flexibility and good money during booms. Missed stability, depth, colleagues. Early 30s: Products (Voucher Publisher). Needed ownership, upside potential. Got business education and some success. Then policies changed and the whole thing collapsed. Mid 30s: Client Work (MVP Sprints). Needed more stable than freelancing, more freedom than employment. Got good money and interesting projects. The gaps between projects were stressful. Now (37): Portfolio Approach. Trying employment + consulting + products. Hoping for stability from employment, upside from products, variety from consulting. We’ll see if this works long-term.The Model Doesn’t Matter If You Hate the Work
The work model doesn’t matter if you hate the work itself. A toxic full-time job is worse than chaotic freelancing. Freelancing for clients you hate is worse than employment with a good team. Building a product no one wants is worse than consulting for clients who value you. Get clear on what work actually energizes you, who you want to work with, what problems you want to solve. Then choose the model that best supports that, given your constraints.Switching Is Normal
One more thing: switching between models isn’t failure. I’ve gone: Employment → Freelancing → Products → Client Work → Back to Employment (probably). Each shift made sense at the time. Each taught me something I couldn’t have learned otherwise. The people who tell you to “pick a lane” usually haven’t tried multiple lanes.The “best” work model is the one that fits your actual life right now—not the one that sounds best or that someone else says you should want. Be honest about your constraints, your needs, and your goals. Then choose accordingly.