January 18, 2023
If you’ve ever considered freelancing - maybe because you just like the idea of running your own business, but aren’t quite ready to become a full scale company to offer your services like PRWD, or it could be because you’ve recently encountered a life or career change. Whatever your reasons for wanting to freelance, you still may have some questions as to whether this is actually the right choice for you or whether you should just continue working for someone else.
Although there’s certainly no right or wrong, and most definitely not everyone is cut out for freelancing, it does have some real benefits. In this post, we’re going to share with you just what those benefits are so you can see and decide for yourself if it’s really something you want to get into.
Freelancing provides numerous benefits, from flexibility and autonomy to the potential for increased earnings. For those considering this path, it's essential to weigh the advantages against any potential challenges to determine if it's the right fit.
One of the main and obvious benefits of being a freelancer is that you’re going to be your own boss and won’t have to answer to anyone anymore. This is especially a benefit if you’ve had bad experiences with your past bosses or just don’t feel like you really enjoy working for someone else.
Working in an office certainly isn’t all bad, but one of the main downsides is that there can be a lot of drama and office politics to deal with. If this is something you really don’t like to be part of and can’t stand things like gossip and not knowing if your colleagues are being nice to you and then talking about you behind your back, then this could definitely be a reason to consider freelancing since you won’t have to deal with any of this and will be able to focus solely on the work you enjoy doing.
In general as a freelancer you’ll have more control over everything and can design your business in the exact way you want to without having to worry about asking for permission for anything or not being able to make decisions that you think are the right ones.
As much as a 9-5 job may have many benefits, there are also some downsides - especially when it comes to things like working hours and schedules. For example, if you want to take a longer lunch break or book a doctors appointment, 9-5 jobs don’t really make this easy. You may find you’re someone who’s more productive when working at night or really early in the morning, so if you’re able to create a schedule around what suits you then it could make you more productive, and this is definitely a good reason to consider freelancing.
Most freelancers tend to get into it because of the freedom it brings, and one of those freedoms is the ability to work no matter where you are in the world since all you need most of the time is a laptop, phone and internet connection, and that really gives you a lot of freedom to go and do the things you love to do whilst making money at the same time and not being restricted to one particular location.
When you work for a company, you’re bound to only get the work and projects that your boss has arranged, so although you may enjoy your work sometimes, there could be other things you don’t enjoy and when you’re a freelancer you can completely tailor your work around the things you enjoy and not have to take on work you don’t like unlike when you work for someone else.
Although a regular and steady salary is definitely a benefit of working for a company, you’re generally going to have limited earning potential, but when you’re a freelancer you have so much more opportunity to earn more because you get to set the prices and charge what you want or what you think the service is worth. It’s also a myth that freelancers don’t have a steady income because it’s all about how you set your business up and if you’re able to create recurring income streams in your freelance business, which is actually very easy to do, then you’re going to be able to have the same steady income you would have when working for someone else - it’s just that when freelancing you’ll probably be making a lot more.
Working for a company can sometimes feel very thankless and like you’re never seeing the benefits or rewards of the work you’re putting in. When you’re a freelancer, you get far more recognition and will directly see the rewards and results of the work you’re doing, which also makes it all the more satisfying and enjoyable to do and motivates you to continue working harder.
Another big myth around freelancing or owning your own business in general is that there’s no security compared with a salaried job at a company. The thing is, when you work for someone else, they’re giving you a job as long as they have a job to give and you don’t know really how they’re running their company, so if their company were to be closed down tomorrow, you’d be out of a job. As a freelancer, you have full control over this and so you actually have more job security than you would otherwise.
Even if you quite enjoy the job you have working for someone else, it’s never going to be the same as doing something you truly love and are completely passionate about. When you’re freelancing, you’re choosing the industry and niche to focus on so it’s got to be something you love and are good at, which really makes it all the more satisfying and rewarding when you get to do the thing you love each day and get paid for it.
