Freelancing is not only a dream job for people, but it also represents a fantasy world. The world where you wake up in your mansion ready to conquer the problems ahead of you. People assume a lot of things when it comes to freelancing. They say you get to be your own boss and you have your freedom. And most of all they tell you that sky is the limit and once you start freelancing, there will be no draught on the lands of your income. The money plant will keep growing.
But in general, is all this really true? Can freelancing take you to the stars no matter who you are?
In reality, there is nothing like a fantasy job. You have to work hard to become successful, and the sad part is that not everyone is meant to be a freelancer. If you are facing the following problems, there are chances that freelancing is not working for you.
No More Clients
You find it really hard to get clients. No matter how good you think your pitch is, sometimes you cannot satisfy the expectation of a client. It is essential to write the pitch considering the client’s needs and requirements.
You don’t usually get great projects, and when you do, you don’t receive a good response. Although it is important not to assume that there can be no pitfalls but if the number of clients you are getting is meager and you are earning very low even after a lot of hard work and time, there is a chance that freelancing is not working for you.
All Alone?
Being teenagers or small children we socialized in our colleges or schools. When we grow up, we move to office buildings and find ways to communicate there. It is an obvious statement that human beings thrive through communication. Communication with others helps us survive.
When someone decides to become a freelancer they give up a huge part of communication that comes from workplaces. You have to spend a lot of time alone working on projects by yourself, and there might come the moment when you get frustrated.
All the cases of depression come from one major center point which is feeling that you are alone. If working alone (by yourself ) is not your cup of tea then freelancing might not be the best career option.
Awkward Self-Promotion
When there is no company or boss to bring projects to you on a daily basis, you need to resort to self-promotion. This is a very crucial step in freelancing. You have to put your name in the market to get noticed and get good gigs. And to do so you have to promote yourself, if you feel uncomfortable while promoting yourself there is a chance freelancing is not going to work for you.
During self-promotion, you have to talk about your skills, abilities, work ethics and present your work to a broad audience.
No Time
You have been so focused on your projects that you are not able to give time to anything else in your life. Your family, hobbies and your health might be at stake just because of this career choice. When you freelance, you are boss and you are the employee. You have to manage your finances, reach out to clients on your own and work on projects all by yourself too. It becomes very frustrating to handle all this at a time.
If all these responsibilities are taking a toll on you emotionally and physically, you should think again about the way you manage your responsibilities as a freelancer.
Personal Life
You are not able to separate your personal and professional life. You are not able to give your family and friends any time. Although in the beginning, you have to spend a lot of time focusing on your work. But it is essential to focus on your personal life as well. You cannot take your laptop to a family dinner or be on call throughout your friend’s birthday party.
Motivation
Most freelancers are very career driven. If you can’t motivate yourself, so that you can work better, freelancing is going to be tough for you.
Even though all these factors indicate that freelancing is not working for you, it is important not to give up easily. It is challenging to make a switch between a salaried job to freelancing and back to a salaried job. So you should take your time to analyze the situation and come to a solution.
