To be honest, almost everyone wants to be their own boss. You know why? Because you have the unique opportunity to choose who you work with and manage your time. Being your own boss is one of the keys to enjoying financial freedom. Among the different ways to accomplish this is through freelancing. However, the typical freelancing day differs from what we all imagine. Let me guess:
You imagined the life of a freelancer to be like this:
Wake up at 9 a.m. ( because you are your own boss, you know), and make a quick breakfast. Get dressed and go to the nearest beach or coffee shop. Start working while enjoying the surreal nature of the beach or enthusiastic baristas in love with their jobs. After completing your task of the day, hit send. Pack up and go home. Then give yourself a good treat of a nice dinner with a glass of your favorite wine. After this, doze peacefully into a nightly slumber with an open book in your hand.
Sound great, right?
Except that, this is an ideal day that rarely happens in the life of a freelancer.
I have worked closely with freelancers, and as much as I love the freedom they enjoy, their ideal day hardly looks any better than that of a traditional 9-5 worker. Not everyone can be a freelancer, but everyone has the potential to be one. Is freelancing great? Yes. But before you settle for this, here are some things to keep in mind.
1. A freelancer is not someone who lives behind the beach or a sociopath.
There are different images people have constructed about freelancing. If waking up in the morning, strolling to the beach, and working while enjoying the beautiful serenity of the beach is one of your images of the career, you might be surprised that when you become one, you don’t get to experience this. Like working in an office, freelancing requires hard work, especially if you want to excel at it. Freelancing requires daily grinding. You might find out that you work more hours than the person who goes to the office.
If you want to go into freelancing, ensure you set a high accountability structure that keeps you on your toes. Without this, you might struggle with prioritizing tasks and meeting deadlines.
2. Freelancing requires discipline and coordination.
Have you seen someone who owns a bakery and is the only employer there? This is how most freelancers are. You have no manager to manage your clients and gigs. You handle everything from negotiations to doing the actual work and discussing further plans. According to Franka J. Haddley, most freelancers attest that the first year is the hardest.
Also, discipline is an essential part of succeeding in your freelancing career. This is because you will constantly be under the illusion that you have all the time and can start your tasks at any time. Because you work for no one, you can easily become overindulgent and constantly procrastinate. The solution is simple, upscale your level of discipline and coordination.
3. Freelancing is inconsistent
Freelancing is like the stock or crypto market; you cannot exactly predict how much you’ll make in a month. Some months are good, some are not so good, and some can be disappointing. You don’t have a fixed salary.
As such, if you are considering freelancing, prepare ahead for days like this.
Freelancing is for risk-takers. It is a wonderful career line, and successful freelancers enjoy their freedom.
If you are just starting your freelance career and struggling with getting gigs, Kominiti is for you. The platform is designed to connect business owners, freelancers, and job seekers to get clients/gigs, grow their businesses, and build successful professional networks.
ALSO READ: How Freelancing Can Pay You on Kominiti
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