The Challenges of the Freelance Business

No assessment will be complete without hearing both sides of the story; this includes the life changing career move of freelancing. Now that we have discussed the pros of freelancing, it’s time to get into the juicy parts that will make any freelancer wannabe take a second moment’s hesitation.

Marketing your skills

Marketing and promoting your skills will consume most of your time since you are starting to build up a client database. You should be able to prioritize and schedule your time and projects accordingly. Distractions are a no-no for the independent worker. The freelancer should be disciplined in avoiding television, the internet, music, and other forms of distractions so that he or she can focus on the work at hand. Work should always come first. There is a personal responsibility entailed in the freelancing world, and if you fully embrace this, then this career is for you.

Settling your own taxes

Another great thing about freelancing is that you get your money at net income. But with this set-up, and the various types of contracts involved, you will have to do the necessary paperwork, such as healthcare, taxes, retirement plans, etc. on your own. There will be no HR personnel to cater to your social security needs, or make pension payments for you, because freelancing is what it is: do-it-yourself.

Unstable Compensation

In terms of income, nothing is guaranteed. There will be more than one late client payment, bad credit and financial struggle.

Indefinite work hours

Freelancing has no official end to the workday. Since freelancing involves working from home, many self-employed people suffer stress and anxiety because of poor time management.

No freelancer help and support

Though there are a number of specialist forums available online, when a major problem occurs within the project, the freelancer has no one to turn to in times of need. Take for example this scenario: You just got hired to do a certain project for a start-up company. Everything that you have to work on is online. Then the inevitable happens, the website that you’re working on is temporarily under construction.

What do you do?

This new project that was thrown at you has little or no information. At freelancing, your resourcefulness will be tested. This scenario is not uncommon in the freelancing industry. It’s your attitude to such mishaps that make the life of the freelancer exciting. There is always something new, and you will learn a lot from these mishaps.

With every new challenge, you discover yourself more.

Individual focus

When working from home, it will be very difficult for the freelancer to focus on the task at hand. The home has a lot of distractions that will keep the freelancer busy such as housework, children, animals, etc. All of these distractions will tempt the freelancer to procrastinate more, eventually sacrificing productivity and quality work in the process.

Banks are hesitant in lending money

Independence comes with a price. For freelancers, getting a mortgage or borrowing money will prove to be a struggle with the banks. Although, no one can blame the banks for thinking this way --- as the old saying goes ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss.’ In effect, is also applicable to the freelancing industry. Work, therefore, money is unpredictable.

Tax forms and administration

Since you are your own boss, you get to be responsible for your own tax filing. No HR personnel will do this for you as compared to the corporate environment where mostly everything is spoon-fed by the administration.

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