A few years ago I watched Stockard Channing on Inside the Actors Studio. One of the students asked her at the end, “How do you evaluate whether you should take a part?” Her answer, and I’m paraphrasing from memory here because I can’t find it on the Tubes), was roughly this:
There are three good reasons to take a part. Because you love the part. Because it will help your career. And the money. Look for two out of three.
Of course, Channing was speaking about acting, but it’s a pretty good way to look at freelancing jobs too.
Working on projects with Mary, I’ve always thought of those three things. Some jobs we take because it will help our career (in the sense of adding work to our portfolio or entering a new market niche). Some because we love the client or the idea of the project. And some because we just need the work.
It’s an interesting blend, but Channing is right: when you can get a project that fulfills two out of three of those goals, it’s particularly rewarding.
If you’re running your own business, this is a good lens with which to look at prospective clients and projects.
I agree with Channing about these three criteria, and they’ve worked for me in my freelance career. Fulfilling two out of three criteria is better than just one, but sometimes you take something just for the money, as you noted. Some ongoing projects fall into this category; they’ve become routine and dull and add nothing more to your career, but oh well. I think the other two criteria often go hand in hand. If something is interesting to you, it will probably add to your career as well; and something that will add to career is probably also interesting to you. If not, maybe your career is not going in a good direction.