I&#x27;m late to the conversation here, but I think the real elephant in the room is the short shelf life of the average independent contractor&#x2F;freelancer&#x2F;consultant. Unfortunately, and all too often on this site, the meme of the happy-go-lucky, working-on-a-beach independent contractor is paraded out and extolled as some wondrous opportunity that will net your average &quot;web developer&quot; enough riches and leisure time to live the dream lifestyle. In reality, this couldn&#x27;t be further from the truth. Being an independent contractor means you are a business, full stop. You are the CEO, the marketer, the HR department and the worker. Like any other business, a few will make it, but most will fizzle out, go bankrupt or be replaced by ruthless competitors. Unless you are able to find and acquire those in-demand, niche skill sets or product offerings (of which &quot;web design&quot; and&#x2F;or &quot;web development&quot; are no longer in this set), your business will suffer a significantly short shelf life, just as any other business.