Under the Table
Freelance Switch has an article this morning entitled, “Freelancing Under the Table: The Pros and Cons.” It takes a slow, meandering path toward gently recommending that you might find it difficult when engaging in the unethical, illegal, unprofessional practice of taking cash under-the-table from clients. The article is filled with amoral, nonjudgmental passages like this:
“The IRS may be the stuff your nightmares are made of, but the simple fact is that if you take money under the table once or twice, you aren’t going to have a problem. Even if a client reports income that you didn’t expect to pay taxes on, you can probably manage the situation.”
And concludes with another gentle reminder:
“…Before taking on a project under the table, think about the issues that go along with it.”
Wow. Can you imagine such an article in a legal professionals’ publication? Or in a medical professionals’ publication? Freelance Switch has clearly established itself as the leader in providing irresponsible advice to design professionals. Imagine if your clients, in the course of learning about your profession, happens upon that article. Now imagine the impression that they’ll form about you and your profession. Does this sort of advice directed at design professionals inspire confidence in designers or in the profession as a whole? Quite the opposite. This article—and others like it that have been published on this rag—are detrimental to our practice and our profession. Further, they can only inspire our potential clients to view our profession with a jaundiced eye. Thanks, FS.
This was an excellent opportunity to advise professionalism to design professionals. This was a no-brainer, folks. The article should have simply stated that illegal and unethical practices have no place in the design profession. Period. Shame on the author for crafting such an irresponsible article and shame on Freelance Switch for publishing it.
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Comments (17)
Agreed. I began freelancing about a year ago – and used Freelance Switch as one of my sources for advise. I never considered following anything like this and am shocked to see it on their site. With sights set on eventually evolving into my own web design firm, my first and firmest rule is to project professionalism in all facets of my business and life. Boo to FS!
Encouraging ethical violations, as well as legal ones, is very poor practice. It’s right up there with sites that require bidders to post free concepts with every bid. CrowdSpring is one that does this, and there are others. These approaches devalue our work by asking us to work at risk or for free. Avoid these practices! The best clients will value you and not ask, or expect, you to do either. There are guides for ethical practice in our field. I have a copy of the Code of Fair Practices included on my site, and they’re available online. Do a search for “fair practice graphics”.
I would hope that any reputable company considering a particular freelance designer would drop them like a bad habit if it came to light that the freelancer was looking or willing to take money “under the table.”
If the freelancer is willing to defraud the government, what makes you think they won’t cheat you as well?
wow. I used their job board heavily for like 2 months, but never found great value in the articles. Always seemed to another take on what others have spoken on for years. But this, this stuff right here! Is dead wrong.
I’d assume much of FS reader base is young impressionable up and coming talent. The people that would be most likely to take money under the table, and those most likely to value FS opinion.
Advocating illegal, unethical practice. FAIL.
I definitely agree, that advocating illegal/unethical practices is very inappropriate, especially on public platform like Freelance Switch. Those type of articles make them look far less professional, and I’d think it would be a red flag for potential clients.
Thanks for calling FS out for advocating unethical practice. I think, in our live-and-let-live culture, it’s easy to ignore it when people/companies make bad decisions and/or promote making them. It’s refreshing to hear someone speak out as circumstances require it. I have a lot of respect for you guys.
Wow, that is beyond shameful. Considering how hard some individuals have worked to establish our profession’s legitimacy, it just makes it that much more distasteful.
Thank you for taking the time to write this. I’m not a freelancer, and don’t want to be, but even if I was, I would have always steered clear of this site, and others like it.
Fraught with danger. What happens when said freelancer suddenly makes more money then he is used to and finds himself with no understanding of how to handle money. Shame on FS.
Well said, Andy. @Matt Hesig: Exactly what I was going to say!
@Bill Alexy Perhaps I’ve misunderstood your comment, but I take it as sarcastic and actually in support of taking money under the table. You could just as well be in support of someone who cheats and lies to obtain money in other circumstances—robbery, for example. What kind of person do I want to be? I hope to be one who always acts with integrity. What kind of clients do I want to have? Ones who act with integrity themselves, and ones who want to work with writers, designers, and developers who act with integrity.
I agree with you completely. Not sure why what I wrote reads as sarcastic. I only meant to say that if young designers take short cuts they may suffer greatly when they find that they have short changed themselves from gaining valuable experience. Paying taxes and managing money early on, even when one may be making just a little money is a great opportunity to learn how to manage one’s money before the stakes get higher and the consequences for bad decisions/mistakes are irreversible.
Shame on FS for misguiding impressionable young designers who may already be tempted to not pay taxes and not take money management seriously.
@Bill Alexy LOL! I’m relieved to hear it! I read what you wrote as as a sarcastic statement that you thought people would make too much money by following FS’s advice. You are so right about the importance of setting up a real business and learning how to handle things correctly. It goes hand in hand with not knowing what to include in a proper contract and not knowing what really should be covered in initial conversations. (As we’ve discovered, human interactions being what they are, that can take forever.) :) But most of all, it’s a question of integrity. Glad we’re on the same page!
I completely agree, as a publication of any form (even personal) based on the concerns of a profession, they are by default a representative of it. It is very concerning that they would take such a hands off approach, and almost condone doing “just a little bit” of unethical behavior.
I think the rate at which FreelanceSwitch has been growing has quite obviously lead to a loss in quality. This article and others like it over the past couple of months are what has kept me from returning… It is sad too because it used to be such a great site, and other sites in the envato network do have a lot to offer. Hopefully they see this as a sign and get back the blog back on track.
When I saw the title of the article I was skeptical, but I gave it a good read through and found it to be a good piece that gently encourages new freelancers to pay their taxes and operate above-board. A lot of those who deal under-the-table aren’t going to be won over to ethical business operations by shouting in their face; the article explains what’s in it for them and doesn’t advocate illegal operations.
Though I was skeptical at first, I’d never in a million years publish a piece that actually recommends an individual do anything illegal. Perhaps another read of the piece is required?
@Joel, I’m afraid that another read of the article will not change the fact that it, and therefore Freelance Switch, is presenting nothing less than a nod and a wink; “Hey, we’re all unethical, unprofessional folks here, but wow dude, here’s something to think about while you’re being all unethical and unprofessional…”
Advising budding professionals that it’s okay to engage in some illegal and unethical behavior and that getting caught is likely manageable so long as you don’t do it too often is wrong no matter how you slice it. The design profession has already garnered enough problems of integrity and trust without publications like FS being limp and ethically ambiguous on matters of legality and professionalism.
There is no wiggle room here. The fact is Freelance Switch represents itself as a publication for design professionals—emphasis on the “professionals” part, as its articles are not about design, but about business and professionalism. FS had a chance to address a consequential issue here and it chose an irresponsible tack. There is only one way to address issues of legality, ethics, and professionalism (to say nothing of morals) when speaking to budding professionals and when deigning to instruct them. This article represents the wrong way. Shameful.
I suggest that FS either commit to being a stalwart representative of professional values to its readers or stop publishing advice altogether. Our profession does not need this sort of representative publication.
@Joel – Agree with Andy. This is not troubled teenagers we are talking about. No “gentle” approach is needed.
What the article does is basically equate our industry with “domestic workers and restaurant helpers”.
To be honest, I read the article as being aimed at people who are literally just starting out rather than the battle hardened, jaded, cynical “professional” freelancer, who will be established and obviously do everything by the book.
These people need more of a gentle prod in the right direction rather than a holier than thou rant. I don’t believe for a second most of the people here flaming the shit out of FS haven’t accepted a job “under the table” in their past, as a student or whatever. I know I have and have learnt from my mistakes, hopefully the article will encourage others to do the same.
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