Thing number 172 that I miss from working for a large corporation in a salaried, benefit-ful job: Free trips to conferences.

Ah, those were the good ol’ days. Jet off on the company’s dime… heck, most of the time I wasn’t even allowed to make my own travel arrangements. They had people to take care of that, you know. All I had to do was show up and check in. Then there were the hotels—lovely, most of the time. And the food! I never ate better than I did on a business trip. Everyone was on an expense account and each meal was a culinary experience. Why, I once had an elaborate (and expensive) sushi dinner in Panama with colleagues. We later looked up the restaurant in a guidebook (because it had been quite good) only to discover the recommendation that no raw fish be consumed in the area we were in, due to contamination concerns. Whoops! Well, at least it was all expenses paid.

As a freelancer, I’m on my own for business travel. I am the company. If I want to go to a conference, I have to pay for it myself or figure out if I can afford it. Figuring out if I can afford it has to do with the costs involved, the potential benefits, and how I think a business expense of that size will help or hinder my tax return.

And here’s the thing about conferences: They’re about 10% about whatever’s being presented and 90% networking. Networking = double plus excellent, particularly when you’re self-employed. Do you know how most freelancers get new work? Networking.

Occasionally I apply for a position, sure. But most of my work comes in the form of “Hi Mir, I was talking to so-and-so about such-and-such, and they suggested I give you a call….”

So when a conference comes up that I think might be a good networking opportunity, I do a quick pros and cons rundown in my head. It typically looks something like this:

Pros: Conferences are good places to network, and networking leads to more work! Ergo, going to a conference will probably get me more work. Also, it’s nice to leave the house occasionally. And, oh yeah, there’s that whole learning thing. That’s good, too.

Cons: Conferences are often filled with annoying drunk people, and sometimes those people put a hand on my ass. Getting to the conference and registering and feeding myself while I’m there is expensive. I might get more work but I’m pretty sure I’m already working too much.

As you can see, it can be quite the conundrum. I often need to eat some chocolate while I figure it out.

And then I put on my big girl panties and go, because the bottom line is that I consider it part and parcel of this kind of work. I don’t go to a lot of conferences, but my policy thus far has been that I should be attending at least one conference each year.

Last year I went to BlogHer Business. I didn’t live too far from NYC (travel costs were minimal), I shared a hotel room with a couple of other people, and I volunteered at the conference, which meant that my registration fees were comped. It still ended up costing me more than I felt comfortable with, at the time, because I am a country bumpkin and just feeding myself in Manhattan caused me to hyperventilate from the smoke rising off my credit card, but I was really glad I went. I learned a lot, I made some important connections, and yes, I got some new work out of it.

I’m going again this year. In fact, I booked my plane tickets yesterday. (Will you be there, too? Let me know!) True to form, I’ve been working on some ways to whittle down the costs involved… but this is Manhattan we’re talking about. No matter how many of those complimentary Aveda soaps I tuck into my suitcase, it’s still going to cost more than I recoup. At least on the surface. What I’ll reap from it in the following year… well, that’s harder to measure.

And you know, I think a couple of days of someone else making my bed and fluffing my pillow is probably worth the cost of admission, too. (Shhhh, do not tell.)