Is Freelancing For You? | Freelance Work, Freelance Jobs, Freelancing, Work from Home
tender4work.com Article: 12th November 2008
Is Freelancing for You?
There can be no doubt that working as a freelancer suits many people, however it should be noted that for every individual who builds a successful freelance business there are many more that try and fail. There are many reasons why certain people are incapable of building a profitable business as a freelancer although, the primary one is that they were simply never suited to being freelancer in the first place. Below we will try to outline some of the qualities required to become an established freelance worker, and provide a set of questions you can use to decide if freelance work suits you.
Are you well organised and motivated? For many people the largest problem faced when working as a freelancer is the fact they are not monitored or managed in any way. This means that they will have to plan their own work day, ensure that deadlines are met, and generally motivate themselves. Most freelancers work from home, and for many this means that they must learn to juggle their home life with their work life. Although this may sound simple, anyone who works from home will tell you that often it is impossible to segregate the two fully, which can lead to problems.
Do you have heavy financial responsibilities? Although freelancers will often earn income above the industry average for an equivalent salaried position, freelance income can be sporadic. Unlike working for a company you will not have a regular pay cheque arrive on the same day every month. Instead you will find that there will be periods of feast and periods of famine as you wait for projects to complete and customers to pay. If you are the kind of person who already lives on a tight budget you will need to make sure that you have enough money in the bank to see you through the tight spots. In effect, cash flow becomes much more of a problem for a freelancer.
Are you a people person? This might sound like a strange question especially if you work in technical field such as software development. Consider the fact that you will need to deal with your own customers, you will need to win new work and you will need to liaise with your clients throughout the project life cycle. Some people are just incapable of this; they lack the basic social skills to communicate effectively with their clients. If you are one of these people then you will need to learn how to communicate effectively or hire an assistant to take care of this for you.
Can you take criticism? When working as a freelancer there will often be times that your client is unhappy with the work you have produced. This may not be due to any deficit on your part, and is most frequently caused by misunderstandings over the project brief and the scope of the project in general. You must be ready to accept this criticism and address any problems that have arisen. Remember, the customer is always right.
If you answered no to several of these questions above then it is strongly recommended that you reconsider your plan to make a move into the freelance arena. If you answered no to one or two of these questions then it could be that you can hire an assistant to cover the shortfall. It is far better to be prepared and equipped than to fail in your new freelance business venture.
