Are You Trapped In The Wrong Freelancing Profession?
Posted June 19, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle
People often feel trapped in their nine-to-five corporate jobs, but I’ve known that “trapped” feeling to happen to freelancers too.
Feeling trapped can happen to a freelancer when he or she takes on a freelancing career for the wrong reasons. Some of those wrong reasons might include:
- Starting a freelancing career just because someone you know or have heard was successful in that field.
- Starting a freelancing career solely for the money
- Starting a freelancing career based on a single experience that you liked
Whatever the reason, feeling trapped by your freelancing profession is no fun at all.
Fortunately, freelancing is very fluid. If you do feel “trapped,” don’t despair. You have more options than you may realize.
In this post we’ll provide some information to help you decide whether you are really in the wrong profession, or just suffering from burnout. We’ll also discuss what your options are if you truly find that you have chosen the wrong freelancing profession.
Could It Be Burnout?
Burnout can temporarily make you feel as though you have chosen the wrong freelancing profession. You might even start to feel “trapped” by your freelance business if you are getting close to burnout.
The difference is that burnout is often temporary. Frequently, the effects of burnout decrease once you’ve had a good rest and revamped your priorities.
Here are some signs of freelancing burnout:
- You’re way overbooked and you don’t know how you’ll possibly get everything done
- You have so much work that you don’t have enough time to get a proper night’s rest
- You can’t remember the last time you took a day off
- Your healthy eating and exercise habits have been sacrificed to your busy work schedule
- You seem to get every little sickness that comes around
- You work so much that it is taking a toll on your personal relationships
Burnout is serious, but it can often be remedied.
If you find that you’re suffering from freelancing burnout, try loosening up your schedule a bit. This might mean accepting fewer clients, outsourcing projects, or simply negotiating better deadlines for yourself. You might also need to manage your time better.
Are You Really In The Wrong Profession?
However, you might feel “trapped” because you have genuinely selected the wrong freelancing profession for yourself.
Here are some signs that you may be in the wrong freelancing profession:
- You genuinely hate what you do and you dread having to do it
- Even though you have very little work, you can’t bring yourself to complete it
- You don’t want to market your freelance business because you feel that someone who hires you is getting cheated
- Clients are constantly rejecting your work for lack of quality or for missed deadlines
How To Back Out Of Your Profession Gracefully
If you feel that you might be in the wrong freelancing profession, don’t worry. The beauty of freelancing is that you can change what you do for a living. You might even find yourself still wanting to be a freelancer — just one who does something else than what you are currently doing.
Don’t rush when deciding whether or not you are in the wrong freelancing profession. Take your time and wait until you are sure of your decision. You may also need to set aside financial resources for yourself while you switch professions.
If you decide that your freelancing profession really is wrong for you, here are a few suggestions for backing out of your freelancing profession gracefully:
- First of all, try not to leave a client high and dry. Complete your existing commitments and refer your clients to colleagues.
- If you want to continue freelancing and already know what profession you want to work in (and are knowledgeable enough to make the change) tell clients that you are changing your business direction. If you have a business website, announce the change there as well.
- Changing your freelancing profession may also require that you get additional training. Look into taking classes or getting on-the-job training.
- If it is freelancing itself that you dislike, then look for a job in your chosen field. Freelancing is not for everybody, and that’s okay.
Tell Your Story
Has this happened to you? Have you started freelancing, only to realize that your chosen profession isn’t right for you? Has your freelancing business switched gears?
Tell your story in the comments.
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About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.
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29 Comments
Raymond Selda
June 19th, 2009 at 9:57 amI have to say I’m very fortunate with my decision to go freelance and I know that I chose the right profession. I’m just going to focus on my strengths and add skills that I know will be valuable in the long run. With continuous hardwork, I know everything will pay off. Thanks for the inspiration.
Laura Spencer
June 19th, 2009 at 10:04 amRaymond,
I think you probably mirror the opinion of many freelancers. Still, it is possible to go off in a wrong direction as a freelancer.
In my own case, I was considering mystery shopping before I decided to market my writing skills. (For those of you who might not know what mystery shopping is, it’s when you get paid to go into a business and pose as a customer. Afterwards, you write a report rating the business in terms of service, etc. They hire a lot of independent contractors for this.)
Anyway, looking back I’m really glad I didn’t go that route!
Leon Zerleg
June 19th, 2009 at 10:29 amIn my case, I’m always wondering about what direction should I take. I’m good at web designing but I don’t want to reject Photography nor graphic design. I think I want to do lots of things as personal projects and want live thanks to projects like this.
Are this fields incompatible? I think they shouldn’t but, would be a good idea to work primary in one of them and then take jobs from the other time to time?
Laura Spencer
June 19th, 2009 at 10:53 amHi Leon!
Thanks for candor.
I can only say that everyone is different. In general, I wouldn’t think that the fields you mention are incompatible.
It really depends on you and how much time and energy you have. Often, people find that focusing on one area gives them greater experience and faster growth in that area which translates to making them more marketable. However, others do like a variety of projects.
Best wishes for your freelancing career!
Colin Wright
June 19th, 2009 at 11:27 amI’ve definitely experienced burnout in the past, but what’s wonderful about freelancing is that you can fairly easily segue your career in a different direction at the tip of a hat (as opposed to a normal 9 to 5 job where you would have to reapply for a new position to do the same).
I find, too, that usually after doing something else for a while I tend to come back to my primary skill sets. I’ll doing some marketing or consulting for a few months and then eventually start taking design and development work again (as soon as I’m not sick of them :)
Lots of options for those that are fortunate enough to be freelancers!
writersresort
June 19th, 2009 at 11:39 amCurrently, I am having a very bad experience with a client who threw me 10 articles during the first week and another 10 during the second week, uninformed print date or material deadline until just two days before material deadline.
Unfortunately, I said yes, I’ll do it. Since I’m already in the organization, I felt that I could not say no and now I truly regret for not pushing the job away. Initial was I enter the office twice a week but I end up doing up their work almost every day, like a full-time job (I also have other commitments).
I’ve been locking myself in my room (office) for the past three weeks, lunch and dinner asides and my other weekly commitments. Facing the computer made me fall really sick.
Times like this make me feel that freelance writing is really revolting. I’m afraid of getting clients like that and I’m not really good at negotiating. I really want to go back to part-time magazine writing, at least my life is more certain there…
However, I also have other commitments and because of that, this is the reason why I chose freelancing. I’m beginning to miss my full-time job sometimes… At least we get weekends off.
Laura Spencer
June 19th, 2009 at 12:06 pmThanks, Colin, for sharing your experience!
Freelancing is nothing, if not, flexible. You’re fortunate, too, to be talented in several areas.
Wow, writersresort, it sounds like you’re having a really tough time. I am sorry to hear that.
I don’t know the full story, of course, but I will say that negotiating is a critical skill for a freelancer. If you decide to stay freelance, try to negotiate better terms for yourself next time. (It usually gets easier after the first few negotiations.) Otherwise, you might find that a full, or part-time, staff writing position is a better fit for you.
Judith
June 19th, 2009 at 2:52 pmHonestly, freelancing is hard work…i believe its harder than a 9-5 but those who get into for all the wrong reasons will realise this sooner than later in their careers. Kudos for highlighting this…i believe am somehow suffering from burnout but planning on remedying that.
Laura Spencer
June 19th, 2009 at 4:16 pmKudos right back to you Judith for recognizing the symptoms of burnout in yourself and taking steps to remedy the problem!
Too often freelancers and nonfreelancers let the frustration of burnout build up without taking steps to solve the problem.
Mort
June 19th, 2009 at 4:56 pmMy experience is with graphic design, and I frequently become trapped as a freelance due to a lack of opportunities. Either there are no jobs or the jobs available don’t pay as well and require more work. The longer I freelance though (on and off for the last three years), the less I feel trapped by it.
It’s weird, but after a while I feel like I know enough to continue keep a steady flow of projects on a semi-normal schedule. That is of course until my clients start forgetting where they left my invoices. Which is usually when I start looking for a full time job again.
Thanks for the article. I definitely recognize some of those burnout signs.
Brenda Maze
June 21st, 2009 at 6:59 amA few months ago, I felt as if I was getting suffocated from all the work I did as a graphic artist. I love the arts. I always have and I always will. The only thing that made me feel really trapped was everything that I had to do with marketing my services and all that. I love job. The only thing I hated was how to land projects. My forte was never in building a successful business. I just love to draw and be creative. So I decided that I needed help with the business side of freelancing which is why I tried out freedombusinesssystem.com . It made everything simpler. Now I’m back to doing graphic designing and I relish every sec of my work because I don’t have to contend with the business side anymore.
Andrea Moro
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 amNice post. What about me. In 1999 I started as a freelancer for a necessity rather than a personal choice.
I was earning enough, but Italy is not the right ground sole where you can make money and stay in peace just doing the freelancer.
Later in 2002 I converted back myself and started to work as a technical manager. I earn a good salary, but despite this I feel trapped by my country that it seems to doesn’t offer anything new and good to me.
That’s I’m looking for a relocation abroad, but it’s not appearing so easy as I thought. Some idea?
Laura Spencer
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:33 pmGreat points Andrea!
One thing about freelancing is that it is generally location-independent.
I have a few general thoughts that may, or may not, apply to your situation.
If you are getting mainly local clients, then you may wish to spend more time promoting yourself online to see if you can attract some clients from other locations.
On the other hand, if it is the high cost of living at your current location that is making freelancing hard then perhaps you could relocate. Of course, relocation is expensive so you will have to save for the relocation.
Best wishes to you whatever you decide to do!
Andrea Moro
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:40 pmRelocation is the only choice I could see. I’m ready for the “invesment” since relocate means a lot of problems and extra expenses, but I will give me and my family a new chance.
If you know something for a humble and willing Italian SEM, please drop me an e-mail.
Thanks.
Cha
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 pmI do graphic design for print and web service. Freelancing is the best decision I ever made in my entire working career.
My old days:
As one man show I had to be sales person, project manager, designer, accountant, even courier. I use to take every kind of graphic design job – even I wasn’t really comfortable with some projects. I worked more hours and hard to keep up at first – but situation has made me to think beyond just giving a service.
Solution : I only accept the job I capable of doing and give client the best result. I pay experts to help me out with accounting, legal stuff, sometimes I pay graphic designer to do some projects while I do something else I prefer to do.
Thank you for your information, this is great content for us as freelancer. I am twitting this. :)
Cha
http://twitter.com/ChaCahyadi
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