The Money
The biggest excuse. Maybe "excuse" is the wrong word. Perhaps I should say "the biggest legitimate concern." It's not easy just to walk away from paying clients for the uncertainty of entrepreneurship. Even worse is the possibility that there is not a clearly defined market for the things you would like to make. I won't even bother discussing the hurdles for those interested in pursuing some sort of as-of-yet-unexplored-holy-grail art+design hybrid.

The Time
Here's the rub. When I started picking up more freelance work I always thought about it as a way to eventually finance my more personal design projects. Somewhere in the past couple of years it feels more and more like the means to an end has become the end itself. Don't get me wrong—I love the client work I do. This work keeps me sharp and makes me feel like I am doing something "real". Perhaps most important is that it provides deadlines that are essential to maximizing my productivity.

The Balance
I don't think I will ever leave the client-based sector entirely. I don't want to—the challenges are ever-changing, the pay is good, and I simply love designing and problem solving. If I went all out into personal work I would likely burn out quickly. I also fear that making a business out of my personal interests would make them lose that special something that makes them appealing to me know. 

It's all about balance. I know that the day will come (hopefully sooner than later) that I will slow down the freelance and start to balance my personal/professional design scale. When I strike this balance it will allow me to have the best of both worlds without being consumed by either. Teaching will pay the bills, freelance will pay for personal work, and personal work will enrich every aspect of my life as a designer/husband/teacher/peer.

I am not quite sure what I would be doing for my personal work, but I have plenty of nagging thoughts. My wife and some friends have talked about starting a greeting card business. I have thought about submitting some of my experimental poster/interactive work to juried exhibitions. We have considered traveling to the south of France and developing a contemporary typeface based on the distinct letterforms of my ancestors. The list is eclectic indeed and priorities shift from week to week.

The Question
So what would you do to balance your personal/professional creative scale?

If you had more time, more money, fewer, better clients what would you do? It doesn't even have to do with design but creativity in general. Perhaps by sharing our secret creative/entrepreneurial daydreams we can start down the road to accomplishment.