Everyone dreams of quitting their full-time jobs and going out on their own. The idea itself of being your own boss is really tempting. But, will starting a freelancing career help you be better than being an employee? How will it help?
There are various pros of freelancing career including flexibility, convenience, or maybe something else. Whatever your reason may be, here are some things that you should consider before starting a freelancing career:
Do have a skill that people will pay for?
Before going freelance, you need to identify if you have any skill that is marketable or something that company’s payroll staff doesn’t have. Know your target market and check if the skill that you have is in demand. Some of the roles require more experience before you can freelance the skills, so before going freelance, make sure that you have the relevant experience.
What is your reason to become a freelancer?
If your answer to this question is “long working hours” or “hating your current job”, do not switch to freelancing. You should have a legit reason like “for earning more money” or “to be your own boss” or “to stay away from office politics”.
Do you have a financial buffer?
If you are expecting to earn straight away after quitting your job, it’s not that easy. You will need time to get your first project, will require proper marketing and selling skills and some financial cushion to support you until then.
Are you afraid of working hard?
There is no doubt that freelancers prepare their own schedule, but they too need to work hard, if they do not want to starve to death. If you are afraid of working hard, better keep your full-time job, because while freelancing sometimes you need to work in the evenings as well as the weekends to finish the assigned tasks.
Do you have a robust network?
Having a strong and wide network is the most important aspect of freelancing. You need to have relevant contacts that can get you some clients. Introverts face a problem as compared to their extrovert counterparts when it comes to building relationships and networking. If you have good relations with your former colleagues and enough contacts to bring you a handful of projects, go ahead. It is not necessary to limit your network to the group of colleagues; you can expand it to family, friends and even neighbours. You never know, someone out of them can be your future client.