If you are considering to opt for freelancing to get a feel of the real work, it is very important to know the Pros and Cons of the Freelance Business. Just, as most things in life, there are risks and there are benefits so is the case with freelancing. Before making any decision you must make sure that you think through the advantages and disadvantages of being a freelancer.
5 Advantages of being a freelancer:
Flexible Work Hours:
Hate the 9-5 routine? Then you might love being a freelancer – you can work whenever you want and from wherever you want. Choose your most productive hours, be it day or night. If your work permits, you won’t have to postpone your dentist or doctor’s appointment every week. Simply, schedule them during the not-so-busy time of the day. In fact, this is one of the reasons why certain employees request for work-from-home opportunities.
Become your own master:
When you are an employee of some company you do not have the choice of selecting your project or work. On the other hand as a freelancer, you have all the control. You do what you want, as you want, for whom you want and when you want. There is no one micromanaging or supervising you. You are the one taking charge of everything which helps in building confidence and self-reliance. Our Internship website Let’s Intern ran an infographic on how to do this effectively.
Choose your place of work:
You enjoy full independence to choose the place of your work. It can be a local coffee shop down the street, a park, a library or your living room. You just have to choose a place in which you work best and you are sorted.
Choose your clients:
As a freelancer, you choose your projects and clients. If you dislike a client’s behaviour, business, work nature or payment methods, you are free to just let it go which is not the case when you are working for someone else.
Reap your worth, keep it all:
As a freelancer, you get to charge the worth of your work and also keep all the profits to yourself. The more effort you put into getting new projects and clients, the more money you make. It’s all up to you and your potential. And starting young is often the best way.
5 Disadvantages of being a freelancer:
Do it all: Find and do all your work
As a freelancer you do not enjoy the luxury of work coming to you, which happens with a regular job. In fact, till you’re established, you will need to hunt for work with legwork and patience. Experience and networking will bring clients for business in the long run.
Till then, you could also look for work online on an assignment basis. Our sister website, Let’s Intern has a selection of such jobs for you.
Unstable Income:
You have to pay your bills on time, buy food every week, pay debts and an inconsistent cash flow makes all of it difficult. There could be days when you many projects and sail through; there could be others when you have nothing at all.
The degree of dependence on any project, income or client is more when compared to your regular 9 to 5 job, where you get a regular pay cheque. Then there are also horror tales – when clients don’t pay at all. Avoiding these in an exercise learned with experience.
Wear all hats, be completely responsible:
As a freelancer you have to be it all and do it all. Be it business activities, administrative work, sales, marketing, advertising, social media presence or accounting matters, it’s your show, unlike a regular job, which has different departments to do these things.
Remain on the move:
You do the work which you’re able to find – and that involves a lot of leg work. There can be days when you have to visit a large number of clients and end up getting no work at all. Since, you are responsible for every single thing you have to take care of all the footwork. It needs a lot of determination and strength.
No employer benefits:
Freelancing means that there are no more paid sick or vacation leaves, medical insurance, travel benefits, allowances or other perks. The day you don’t work you do not earn. Smart freelancers build extra fee into their pricing, but the bottomline remains the same.
Freelancing brings independence but it also brings instability and other risks. It is entirely up to you to choose what sort of professional life you want but always keep in mind the pros and cons associated with it. Think twice before stepping into anything so that you do not regret tomorrow.
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