Quitting your job and making the leap of faith into freelancing is a huge decision. Giving up the familiarity, structure and regular pay check that a 9-5 job can provide will be challenging. But think about it this way – no more morning commutes, a more relaxed start to your day, no more office politics, and fewer restraints on what you can do with your time during the work day.
Once you actually start freelancing, it is amazing what you will learn about yourself and the work world in general – some will be great lessons, others will be tougher to swallow, and some will take some time to adjust to.
Here are 6 things I learned since becoming a freelancer:
1. The days of paid vacations and holidays no longer exist
I can no longer appreciate holidays, and I don’t have paid vacation days to take. While most people are enjoying an extra day off and looking forward to a 4-day work week – for a freelancer, a holiday is just another day, especially if we work from home. Rather than take the day off, many of us simply work (remember, if you don’t work you don’t get paid).
As a freelancer, when you choose to go on vacation, it’s a week where you won’t be getting paid. Therefore, going on vacation is a big decision – it’s a big financial commitment – paying for the trip and taking unpaid time away from your work.
On the other hand, you can take vacations whenever you want, you don’t have to pre-book time off, and you can work a day off into your schedule pretty easily.
2. Vacations only somewhat exist
Freelancing is not a job, it’s a lifestyle. This can be difficult for many to understand until they actually start doing it. You can’t just shut things off when the work day is done – you don’t have someone to pick up the slack for you – in most instances, you are likely a solo operation.
This also means that vacations only somewhat exist. Sure, you can book a trip down south, but most of us are still dialed into emails, social media, and work-related tasks while vacationing. Welcome to the world of “working vacations” – you know, the ones where you check your email and work about an hour or so each day even though you are supposed to be decompressing.
Let’s not even talk about the extra time many of us have to put in before and after a vacation to ensure everything is covered for our clients before we leave.
3. You can’t take things personally
Business is business. It can be hard to make the distinction between personal and business when the business is yours – but you have to. You can’t take things personally, and you need to remove your emotions and personal feelings from the equation when making business decisions.
For example, sure, you might like Johnny as a person, and you hired him to help out with your clients; but if your clients are not happy with his work, and it’s costing your business, you need to make a tough decision and do what is right for your business – or you could be out of business.
4. Be easy to work with
There is no shortage of freelancers who have similar skill sets and can help companies accomplish their business objectives. However, not everyone is easy to work with. If you are easy to work with, a strong communicator, and can easily fit within a client’s organizational culture, you will be valued.
Companies want freelancers who are flexible, easy to work with and deliver what they promise – do this, and you will have no trouble getting long term clients. They will also be happy to provide you with a strong testimonial and recommend you to others.
5. Some clients are not worth it
This could not be a more true statement. Some clients, even though they are paying you, are not worth the time and the effort. This is why it’s very important to watch out for warning signs that a client is about to be more than you bargained for. Do you really want to deal with a client who tries to barter with you all the time, calls you repeatedly, micromanages the projects you are working on or is not willing to commit? These are the reasons you left your 9-5 job.
Remember, as a freelancer, you have the power to fire a client. If you are not enjoying working with them, cut your losses so it doesn’t become a huge source of stress, frustration and anxiety.
6. Get help
Even though you may have made the transition to freelancing because you were tired of the corporate structure and working with other people, you are still going to need help if you want to succeed and grow your business. Sure, you can do a lot of things yourself, but you can’t do everything; and if you try to do it all yourself, you are only going to wear yourself out, get sloppy, and your quality of work will be impacted.
There are many ways you can get help, from hiring other freelancers to help out when you are busy, using a virtual assistant, hiring a part time employee, or even having a family member help out. When you get help, it allows you to focus on client work, and you may even be able to take on an additional client or two.
You will learn a lot about yourself personally and as a business person once you make the transition to freelancing. What you will probably realize first is that in some ways freelancing is very different, and in other ways, it’s very similar to a traditional job. The great thing is that you can make it what you want it to be. Freelancing is a learning process, and you will learn a lot along the way – that’s what makes the journey so intriguing.
