My Life as a Freelancer

Image by Pixabay

Everyone assumes that it is easy to live the life of a freelancer. They are thinking that you always work at your own convenient time wearing your pyjamas while on your bed. Sounds interesting aren’t it? Well in today’s generation, technology, gadgets and Internet can be used to have a home-based job. There are also lots of websites in which we can find many jobs for freelancers such as Upwork (also known as odesk). While these things are becoming popular in the modern world, you may also be curious and interested in looking for jobs online. Just in case you are planning to quit your day job and turn into a full time freelancer, you should also try to consider some things before making that huge decision.  

I gathered some information about the pros and cons of being a freelancer to help you decide whether it is for you or not.

Let us talk about the pros.

You have the freedom to work any time of the day.

This is the first thing that everyone likes about being a freelancer. Many people are tired of the usual corporate working hours and on being a freelancer, you don’t have to set the alarm as early as 6:00am to prepare for work every week days. If you are a morning person, you can work in the morning and if you want to get more sleep, you can work any time of the day. It depends on your agreement with your clients so it’s up to you which time you are convenient and more productive.

You can work anywhere you want.

Most people like to work in a place wherein they feel so relaxed and comfortable. Working in an office with your boss is different from working at home as a freelancer. They often wish to work on their beds in their pyjamas but being a freelancer, you can also choose to work anywhere. Not all freelancers are working in the same comfortable bed because some of them like to work on the beach in front of their laptops sipping their refreshing drinks.

You will work on the job that you love.

Working with your passion as a freelancer is the best thing ever that you can have. You will never get tired of it and continue working your best to have better results. You have the freedom to choose which project you will work on and enjoy it. This is one of the reasons why people quit their day jobs and become a full time freelancer. Study shows that people who works on their passions are more productive compared to people who work because they need to earn to support their needs.

You can have jobs as much as you want.

Compared to the usual corporate jobs, freelancers can have many jobs as much as they want depending on their free time and skills. They can work on different projects with different clients. More jobs mean more income. It also means that you are in controlled by your income capacity.

Now let us go on and talk about the cons. There is no such thing as perfect career so after you read about the positive parts of being a freelancer, here goes the negative.

You have to look for clients after you’ve finished your job for your first client.

It can be quite stressful because after you’ve finished working for a certain client you have to take time to apply and look again for your new clients in order to have a job and earn. Unlike your day job which you have a fix monthly earnings, freelancers are into ups and downs when it comes to having clients. You need to make sure that you’re hired for a long term freelancing jobs for you to skip this cons of being a freelancer.

You have to build a good portfolio.

This is easy for those who are into this industry for so long but if you’re just a newbie or you are just planning to be a freelancer, you must have a nice portfolio for your clients to see some proof of your skills and past jobs that you’ve done. Having a good portfolio plays an important role when it comes to finding clients while you are just starting to do freelance jobs.

Your monthly income is inconsistent.

Working as a freelancer is like you are in a roller coaster ride. This month you can have the biggest earning and then next month you’ll never even earn good money. This can be because of lack of clients and work. When you are working as a full time employee in a corporate world, you are sure to earn a fix amount of money and on freelancing, you’ll never know what is next for you so you should always be ready. It means no work then no income.

You have to manage your time properly.

You have no specific work schedules and this can lead to time management issues. Since no one is checking on you, Facebook and other social media platforms can interrupt your working time. You can be also distracted by some household chores because you often work at home. You have to manage your time properly to avoid multi-tasking and stressing yourself for your client’s deadline.

You have to make sure that you and your client’s data is safe from online crimes.

Since you are doing your job at home, you are responsible for your Internet security and online privacy. Your clients will entrust you some of their information and you have to keep it confidential. This means you have to pay for your own vpn service provider or other protective software.

You have no one to ask or talk to.

While working alone at the comfort of your home or your chosen place of work, you’ll have no one to ask questions whenever you need it. You’ll have no one to talk to whenever you feel like talking about something related to what you are doing. It can be sad and frustrating. Unlike in most corporate offices and other jobs, there are plenty of people beside you who you can ask questions and share some thoughts with.

You have no benefits unlike most employees.

Most people works for corporate jobs and employees like them have benefits like insurances, pensions, health cards and other government mandated benefits. As a freelancer you are not going to work with the same benefits like them. It means you have to pay for everything. You are also going to be your own Accountant and be responsible with the money that you are earning. Having a good cash flow management is what you are going to need.

Are you ready to be a freelancer? You can now decide whether you want it or not based from all of these pros and cons that we gathered.