Freelance work while building a product
Check what the project pays and which hours it leaves you.
Take on enough freelance work to cover the cash you need, and leave enough time to test the product with users. Before you accept a project, check when the money will arrive and which hours the work will leave in your week.
How much freelance work do you need?
Start with the date you need money in the bank. Add up what you need to pay by then and subtract the cash you already have available and payments you expect to receive by that date. The difference is the gap the work needs to cover. A project can pay well and still leave that gap open if the invoice falls due later.
Suppose you need £3,000 more by the end of the month. You have an offer for a £8,000 project, with £4,000 due at the start. If that first payment arrives in time and covers the gap after any project costs, you can decide what the work will do to your calendar. If the client pays the whole amount after delivery, you still need to cover this month.
How much time does the product need?
Decide what you need to learn from users in the next few weeks. If you want to see whether people can use the prototype on their own, set aside time for the sessions and to fix what stops them. Put that time in your calendar before you commit to a start date. Give the client a delivery date that allows for calls, feedback and revisions as well as the work itself.
In the same example, say the project leaves Tuesday mornings free for two user sessions but fills the time you would use to fix the prototype. You can ask the client for a later start or reduce the first delivery to a smaller piece of work. If you accept it as offered, decide what the delay means for the next product test.
When can you take a second project?
Wait until you know what the first project takes to deliver and when the client actually pays. Use that experience to update your weekly plan. If a second project fits around the next product test and covers a cash need or serves another purpose you can name, you have a reason to take it. If either condition fails, change the scope, timing or payment terms before saying yes.
If the choice is still hard after you have the numbers and the calendar in front of you, a coaching conversation can help you decide what to protect and what you are willing to put off.