You might have heard many people say that shifting to a freelance career changed their lives, usually for the better. Freelancing has given many adults the enviable escape from a monotonous nine-to-five job. Freelancers are mainly in charge of their time, deciding how long their work hours are and where they will fit into their day.
On the surface, freelancing offers plenty of benefits for any busy professional. However, with the freedom it provides comes a significant level of responsibility. While freelancing is a promising career move for others, it is not the best option for everyone.
You might be asking yourself, “How do I know if freelancing is a good fit for me?” Start by asking yourself these questions:
Do you crave more flexibility in your work?
The most apparent advantage to choosing to freelance is the amount of room you have to decide how and when to work on your tasks. If you are juggling work with various other day-to-day responsibilities at home, a flexible schedule could be of great help to you.
Aside from your work hours, freelancing also gives you complete control over the projects you accept and reject. It allows you to forgo accounts you find tedious and uninteresting for ones that give you the chance to hone your skills and gain new ones.
There are many little things freelancing allows you to be in control of, too. You can work practically anywhere where there is a stable Wi-Fi connection. You can also decide the specifics of when and how to receive international payments.
However, it is essential to remember that this flexibility still requires you to sit down and work. There will be times when you will need to take on tasks you do not like, payments get delayed, and client disagreements will occur. Freelancing takes hard work and perseverance still.
Can you manage your own time well?
Freelancing puts you in charge of how to set your schedule for the day. If you are to pursue freelance work, you have to take the initiative in defining your work hours and sticking to what you have established. You also need to manage various timelines if you have multiple clients at once.
There are plenty of tools at your disposal to help you stay on the right track schedule-wise. One example is project management apps that keep track of your meetings and deadlines. You also have time-tracking software or apps to determine how long specific projects will take you to complete, which will also help you price future proposals for potential clients.
Can you focus regardless of the environment?
Some may see this as a minor concern, but your ability to concentrate despite the mess or noise in your surroundings plays a significant role in how well you can manage freelance work.
Freelancing sometimes lets you accomplish tasks in your favorite coffee shop or your home office. Other times, it can bring your work to the oddest of places. It might even mean working during a flight or while in another country.
Ask yourself if you can focus on different kinds of work environments. If it is in the affirmative, then freelancing could be a good option for you.
Do you work better alone or with a team?
Freelance tasks are a largely independent activity. Since you can do most, if not all, of your work remotely, then it usually means working on your own. Freelancing is an ideal setup for working alone if you don’t mind or even prefer accomplishing your deliverables by yourself.
Working as a freelancer does offer opportunities to work with others, though. There are times when you meet with clients, whether in person or virtually, to brainstorm for projects or work with other freelancers to put together campaigns. Still, if you want to freelance, you have to get used to working alone.
Are you comfortable with the risks of being a freelancer?
The reality of taking the leap to freelancing is that not everyone will succeed after they try it. Even once you get into the rhythm of freelance work, you will not always have an abundance of clients at one time. There will even be times when you cannot secure the projects you want to get.
But the most successful freelancers are not just those who are good at what they do. Freelancers who thrive and persevere through the uneventful days and challenging times. Remind yourself that your freelancing career takes time to build, and then continue putting in the work.
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