Introduction
Over the recent years, freelancing has evolved in notable ways as an alternative to the traditional white collar employment. This evolution has been fueled positively mainly by advancements in technology. Such include internet connectivity, changes in work culture such as changing attitudes towards work-life and balance. All this is in addition to flexible working arrangements, and globalization that has made the world a small village. Advancement in communication technology, as well as entrepreneurial mindsets have facilitated this. In this article we are going to go through the The Pros and Cons of Freelancing to determine if it is right for you.
The result of this globalization has become the emergence of job opportunities that allow one to work remotely. Either from home or from any other location, including a cafe, as long as there is internet connectivity. These jobs are characterized by flexible working schedules as well as a wide range of choices of tasks to work on. Therefore providing consistent passive sources of incomes. As as freelancer, you can get involved in graphics design, authoring of e-books or creation of monetized tutorials. Moreover you can also do digital marketing, digital content creation among others. It is just about what you can be, or you can get good at, that you get to sell in form skills, as Quora articles point out.
In today’s world, freelancing is becoming increasingly the option to run to. This is in addition to being the alternative to the white collar jobs. And like many new trends that come, freelancing comes with its own set of pros as well as cons. Any one with any unique skill can participate in freelancing. While some people consider freelancing as a side gig, you can turn it into a full-time job and enjoy being self-employed. The question is, is freelancing the right career path for you?
The Pros of Freelancing
Freelancing is increasingly becoming attractive because of the following pros:
1. Freedom to work remotely.
Freelancing allows one to work remotely, either from the comfort or your home or any other locations. That is not the traditional formal office setting, provided there is internet accessibility. You can work from the serenity of the apartments balcony. You can sit with your laptop in a cafe and complete your tasks and assignments online. All this as you sip a cup of tea or a steaming, creamy cup of latte. Else, you can be holidaying your time around the world while working from the comfort of your hotel room. Companies like MillionFormula, Freelancer and Upwork offer freelancers with opportunities to work from any where around the globe. At the same time for clients residing any where around the globe.
2. Flexible work schedule.
Freelancing relieves one from the fixed routines of traditional office working hours. In additional to allowing one to work remotely, freelancing also allows one to decide how and when he/she will work. This is because, it gives the freedom to choose the tasks you want to work on based on your time. You also get the freedom to manage your workload, as well as well as prioritize some tasks over the others. You can choose to work in the traditional office hours. Or choose very early in the morning, in the evening or even at night. It essentially allows you to become the master of your own schedule. Freelancing sites like People Per Hour and MillionFormula offer a lot or job opportunities. You can pick to work on any time according to your availability and schedule.
3. Better work-life balance.
Freelancing does not constrain you to work with circumstances that typical traditional formal employees face. It allows remote working and is characterized by flexible working schedule. Thereby providing adaptability to new life changes, such as starting a family, pursuing further education. Or even relocate to a new city, all this while working. This results in the freelancer being able to integrate their work lives with their professional lives in ways that best suit them. Thereby reducing stress related to coordinating work, personal life and social life. Forbes has published several articles on work-life balance and its management.
4. Opportunity to earn more.
Freelancing does not restrain one to work with only people that he/she can interact or reach physically. This is because it allows one to get remote work from any where in the world without being affected by any geographical barrier. This is provided that there is internet connection between the two end points. This gives the freelancer a wide range of choice of job tasks he/she can work on to get paid. Therefore, freelancing enables you to work on what best rewards your skill set. Major online freelancing platforms like MillionFormula, Fiver and Toptal offer freelancers all around the globe with a large pool of varying job opportunities. Freelancers can select to work on any of these jobs to maximize their income flow.
5. Networking opportunities.
Freelancing provides one with extensive network opportunities. Working for clients from different parts of the world creates a healthy network with potential clients and other freelancers. The extensive network opportunities will likely result directly to more clients that the freelancer can work for. He/she will also have partnerships and collaborations with other freelancers. This is in addition to a network of other freelances you can subcontract to. Major social media platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit have professionals with opportunities to network through the internet.
6. Low cost of operation.
The freedom to work from home or any other convenient location that is not confined to the traditional office lowers the potential costs the freelancer incurs in the process of working. Freelancing jobs cut the costs of commuting as the freelancer is not tied to taking public transport. The freelancer also avoids costs like driving to an office. It does not require the one to have a formal typical office infrastructure. Thus there are no mandatory costs of building or hiring office spaces. You can easily manage your financial accounts for using some of the online accounting platforms such as Quickbooks and Freshbooks.
The Cons of Freelancing
Freelancing, however, does not come without it own set of drawbacks. The following are some of the cons of freelancing.
1. Irregular income.
Although the freelancing offers an opportunity to earn more in terms of income, the freelancer may not be able to fulfill his/her goals all the times. This is a situation in which the possible expected income will be less than expected. Income from freelancing is tightly dependent on availability of work. It is also dependent on task and projects that one can work on to get paid. Therefore, if you fail to get enough freelancing work that align with your skills, your expected income will certainly be lower. Investopedia offers excellent financial advice that freelancers can read to manage themselves.
2. No guarantee of job security.
Freelancing jobs are not usually secured with contracts of work. Your clients can cancel projects or even refuse to pay. They can stop accepting you work on their projects as well. There is also nothing or no one to cushion you as against any possible economic down times. Except perhaps for your savings and personal investments. You can use Backrate and many other similar platforms to get professional expert financial analysis. This is to help you make better financial decisions.
3. Possible lonely working life.
Freelancers working individually often spent most of their times working in isolation from the social life. They may spend a lot of time in their own rooms alone. If this practice is continued, it becomes detrimental to the freelancers social skills. Social meets sites like EventBrite and Meetup provide freelancers with opportunities for meeting and therefore create new networking opportunities.
4. No employee benefits.
Freelancing does not offer benefits of traditional employment. Such benefits you forfeit include health insurance, paid leaves, pay increase perks or even retirement fund.
5. Jack of all trade who plays multiple roles.
As much as you have increased freedom to choose work from a wide range of choices, the whole business of completing the work rests on you. Not just the tasks your clients are paying you to do for them, but also the accounting, sales and stationery. Also remember office for your working environment will also be on you.
Conclusion
Decision on whether you should engage in freelancing or not can probably be a challenging decision to make. It depends on the individual factors. One of Forbes article on income streams search gives a list of ideas that can earn you passive income today. Whether you intend to take freelancing as a side gig or a full-time self-employment is an important choice you need to make. This is because as advisers like Business New Daily inform, you will need to manage your work-life balance. This is in addition to other aspects your life as a freelancer. You don’t want to fall into depression. This is because if you do, you will probably need to check Brightside Health platform to get psychiatric help. Otherwise you visit your nearest psychiatric hospital.
Our advise, is that if freelancing is the only best thing you can engage in to make a living in today’s world, you should take and participate in it with all your heart. Do it regardless of the drawbacks you may face. It might be the only best thing you can do to yourself. Just find something interesting you can work on. Even if you do not have any skills, you can develop some within no time. For things like graphics development using platforms like Adobe graphics and photography software suits.