Why Freelancing is Awesome
Posted February 4, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 29 Comments »
If you know a lot about freelancing, then you know that there are a lot of things that can make freelancing really hard. But that isn’t the whole story — freelancing is one of the best things on earth, despite any of the difficulties there may be.
Why is freelancing so awesome?
- Control over your own destiny
- Freedom to choose when and how to work
- You can’t be fired or laid off by anyone
- Work on the things you love to do
- Nearly unlimited opportunity
As a freelancer, it’s so easy to get caught up in the daily worries that you can forget why you wanted to freelance to start with. When you’re in the midst of this daily stress, it can be a great help to remember the good side of freelancing. This list will help.
For those of you who are considering freelancing, or are freelancing part-time, this article will show you the massive benefits you can have as a freelancer. Read on for more.
Control over your own destiny
As a freelancer you have the ability to completely control your own destiny. Your effort and your abilities determine your success, and you have control over both.
Freelancers who are willing to work hard and put in the effort can reap massive benefits. Your income doesn’t depend on the decision or whim of a boss, it depends on you — freelancing is the ultimate in merit-based compensation. For people who are independent and self-reliant, freelancing can be a dream come true.
Freedom to choose when and how to work
One of the biggest benefits of freelancing is the freedom to do things the way you want. You still need to follow some basic guidelines, and your success will depend on your efforts, but when it comes to how or when you want to do something, it’s entirely up to you.
Prefer working late at night? Go for it. Want to work at a coffee shop, or in your pajamas? Either will work. With freelancing, all of these decisions are entirely in your hands.
You can’t be fired or laid off by anyone
With the global economy being what it is, and layoffs being extremely common, many freelancers are in the enviable position of not needing to worry about their jobs. There are certainly economic ramifications that make running a business more difficult, and many freelancers will have to work harder in order to maintain their current income, but there is no one person that controls your fate. Most freelancers don’t have to worry about loosing 100% of their income in two weeks.
This benefit is so great that many people actually start freelancing after loosing another job. With freelancing they can earn a living based on their own merits, and not the whim of a corporation.
Work on the things you love to do
There is perhaps nothing more important in life than your personal happiness, and becoming a freelancer is one of the best ways to increase that happiness. Working in a job you don’t like can be miserable, stressful, and worse. As a freelancer, you have the ability to decide what you want to focus on, decide what you want to do for a living, and essentially decide what kind of job you have.
I don’t know that I can fully explain the wonder that comes from doing something you love all day and getting paid for it. Freelancing can give you that opportunity.
Nearly unlimited opportunity
Although you will have to work hard for it, freelancing offers a nearly unlimited amount of opportunity. I know dozens of freelancers who make much more now than they could have at their old jobs, and I know some who have gone on to create big and incredibly successful businesses. When it comes to your limits as a freelancer, the only person that can stop you is yourself.
Dealing with real world difficulties
Sadly, freelancing isn’t only these wonderful things, and it doesn’t always work out perfectly. Along with these benefits comes a number of real world difficulties that we all have to face in order to become successful freelancers. Facing these challenges can be made a lot easier by working with mentors, visiting freelance blogs, and reading books like The Unlimited Freelancer. Learning from these resources will help you avoid some of the common difficulties and realize these amazing benefits much faster.
Now it’s your turn:
What freelance benefits are the most important to you? What difficulties have you had to face to get to them?
About the author: Mason Hipp is an entrepreneur, marketing guru, and writer. He blogs about life and business at FreelanceFolder.com and is co-author of the Book The Unlimited Freelancer. Follow him on twitter @MasonHipp
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29 Comments
Max
February 4th, 2009 at 12:31 pmVery motivating article in my opinion. For me, the most important benefits of freelancing definitely are that I can do what I really love to do and that is creative work. I don’t have to leave home every morning or have to struggle with colleagues or an employer which is a great freedom in my opinion.
On the other hand freelancing often means significally more work compared with a regular job and I’m entirely responsible for myself even if times aren’t easy – but I don’t mind working more sometimes because I usually know why I’m doing this.
Colin Wright
February 4th, 2009 at 12:43 pmAmen! Especially in the current economic situation, just the idea that I don’t have to worry about being laid off is a HUGE benefit.
Another big plus, in my mind, is that I don’t become a one-sided individual. When you work at a studio or some such, you tend to be forced into a specialization, keeping you from constantly developing new skill sets. As a freelancer, however, it’s absolutely necessary to keep a wide variety of skills honed and ready to use, which keeps us marketable.
Great post, keep it up!
-Colin
Nikhil
February 4th, 2009 at 2:06 pmAwesome article….
According to me, the toughest challenge for the beginners in the freelancing business is finding the clients. For starting the business not more but few clients are necessary which helps to improve the confidence and look for the other clients. So don’t get panic if are not having good initial start, just Believe in Yourself and start for the work
Mitesh
February 4th, 2009 at 2:39 pmRight on the money Mason!
I started off as a freelance designer > moved into a sole proprietorship > and now into a corporation. It was built from the ground up, but had I never freelanced I would not be in this position today. I agree with you about nearly unlimited opportunities just as long as you know how to find them. Great Post!
Erica DeWolf
February 4th, 2009 at 3:58 pmI love the fact that I can pick up and go to florida for a week just because. I can work on my material while laying out by the pool!
Andy
February 4th, 2009 at 9:47 pmYou know, another thing that I like about freelancing, and this relates to not worrying about getting fired, it’s the fact that you have to face reality and stay ‘close to the ground’. It’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security when working for a larger company. You become one of the companies ‘pets’ and you sort of lose the connection between your work and the money that comes from it. Work turns into a place you just ‘go’…not a place where you go to earn money. Many people are completely blindsided by losing their job and cannot handle it.
crazywabbit
February 4th, 2009 at 11:06 pmSure it is awesome but it is misleading. Many and most designers think it is a piece of cake to jump into running your own business. It is even harder when you got a full time design job plus doing freelancing on the side.
Sure the freedom and all the bonuses are great but you only get there with many years of experience, hard work and trials.
liz
February 5th, 2009 at 1:18 amand how
Mason Hipp
February 5th, 2009 at 9:39 am@crazywabbit — I wouldn’t say it’s misleading. Freelancing is obviously difficult and requires hard work to be successful, as I mentioned in the article. It’s important to know the prize though, to know how awesome freelancing can be, so that you will stay motivated and work harder.
crazywabbit
February 5th, 2009 at 9:43 am@manson I agree, but I also don’t like how designers who just graduate off school without any working experience sell their work for peanuts and this makes more experienced designers market very bad. Reason why everywhere you look junior designers are willing to work for nothing, thinking freelancing is heavenly, without any overhead, mortgage, family to feed and etc…
Sure being in your 20’s living at parents has its benefits and doing a logo for $50 is great money to go on a night out with friends.
Mason Hipp
February 5th, 2009 at 9:51 am@crazywabbit — Point taken, there are definitely a lot of different freelancers in many different situations.
In the example you describe, and this is slightly off topic, I would say the responsibility falls to the experienced freelancer to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. No freelancer is entitled to charge a certain amount of money, and there will always be younger or off-shore freelancers charging practically nothing. It’s up to the experienced freelancers to show why they are better and why their work is worth more. There are many companies that simply will not work with new or inexperienced freelancers, companies that know the price required for high quality work and service, so the high paying work is out there — you just have to find it :-)
Devon Ellington
February 5th, 2009 at 10:08 amI am very, very productive in unstructured time. I love it. I love waking up in the morning and creating my day. In fact, in order to be truly creative and productive, I need huge swaths of uninterrupted work time. I have it in my contract that I don’t pick up the phone when I”m working. I check messages twice a day and return calls — but when I’m working, the phone is OFF.
The minute I try to add too much structure to my day, the productivity drops.
One of the hard things is sometimes to hold firm on rates when I’m worried about meeting bills and exchanging self-respect and value for quick cash. If we don’t value our work and time, why should anyone else? Besides, I learned the hard way that the minute the client says, “This shouldn’t take long” — tack on at least 20%, because it will take MUCH longer, and there will be much more aggravation involved!
Melek
February 5th, 2009 at 10:51 amHere’s an example of why freelancing is so great…. I met with a potential new client this week. His idea was a bit over the top. and he told me he doesn’t use email or a computer…that he does everything via phone and meetings. I turned down the job seeing tons of hand-holding and extensive changes down the road. And I was able to do that because I’m a freelancer and nobody can tell me I have to take a job I don’t want! :)
Joann Sondy
February 5th, 2009 at 5:17 pm“Freelancing” can be awesome. But take that one step further and become your own company. Yes, you can manage your own schedule and projects, head off on vacations when it suits… ah, the freedoms.
I’ve been on my own for eight years now; being the major financial support for a family of four. The same challenges other corporations face (ie new business, marketing, accounting, taxes, upgrading tech, etc) I also face every day.
Don’t fool yourself. If you’re serious about owning your own business it requires hard work, investment of time & money, and more importantly passion.
Here’s to prosperity.
Joann
ray
February 7th, 2009 at 3:10 amI love freelancing because it gives me the ability to spend a whole lot more time with my family. Yes, it takes a lot of work to run a business, but I think if you can make it work, and you enjoy what your doing I don’t know how anyone would not prefer to freelance.
seosoeasy
February 7th, 2009 at 4:38 amAwesome article and it leads a great motivation for me.I have a little experience in freelance but i had gained lot of tips and tricks in developing a websites .Moreover iam sure that when we are working out in a organisation we would come across small amount of people, doing the same work repeatedly and i feel there is a less chance of grasping knowledge.But in freelance we come across more people and learning some new information from day to day that develops both our knowledge and skills.I hope it gives more responsability since we are the founder.Thanks.
Ricky C
February 8th, 2009 at 12:58 pmThat is so true but you forgot that being a freelance doesn’t mean that you’ll have the constant job. Also you will always and always depend on the offer that the companies will giving to you if there isn’t, then no money especially at this recession time. Plus the experience that you gain from Freelance will not make it enough if you seeking for a permanent job instead
krish
March 1st, 2009 at 12:09 amyour content is copied by someone . look at this blog http://basantamoharana.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/why-freelancing-is-awesome/
Basanta
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:27 amThere is also link for the same.
Robbie Vasquez
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:34 pmThanks for the article!
It confirmed a lot of things I saw coming. I’m planning to freelance, hopefully soon…. but it’s a risky business and I have learned that in the past….
I bet that no matter what direction I go, it will be worth the fight and the experience, success or otherwise, as long as I do it right.
Thanks again.
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