Benefits of Becoming A Freelancer
We are currently embarking on a time that is considered the “post-Covid” era. Within this new era, there seems to be a disconnect in terms of how the people of our country want to move forward from such a momentous period. One of the main struggles is getting people back to work after a period where they had to find other ways to make ends meet. A lot of folks turned to freelance in different career paths and found success doing so. “According to Upwork’s “Freelancing in America” survey, 56.7 million Americans freelanced in 2018, up 3.7 million from 2014. That’s more than 1 in 3 people freelancing. Younger generations are freelancing more than older groups. In the 18-34 age group, 42% freelanced in 2018, compared to 38% in 2014. The 35-44 age group increased to 35% freelancing in 2018 from 34% in 2014. Older age groups showed a slight decline in freelancing.”
Another struggle that freelancing has solved is for the employees of these traditional jobs, who feel unfulfilled and stagnant due to the lack of freedom to lead their lives in a manner they wish to.
Obviously, like any other profession, there are pros and cons to freelancing however in this article we will highlight the benefits that come with it. Nonetheless, we would be remiss if we did not say that this is not a choice to be made without the proper pre-planning. Freelancing can be very lucrative when the work is put in and you are fully aware of what type of effort is needed ahead.
Growth of Freelancing
As stated prior, freelancing is growing to become more popular than ever in recent years. The most intriguing aspect of it is that people are actively choosing to freelance as opposed to doing so out of necessity. This isn’t surprising considering the freedom that comes with being your boss.
Another beautiful element of freelancing and a major reason for its growth is that you do not have to pursue it full time. Many have taken to freelancing as a form of supplementary income while still working their normal full-time job. Some grow to be OK with it being a side income while others hope to grow their brand to the point where they can leave behind their traditional 9a-5p jobs. There lies the beauty of freelancing because you have that option.
Persona
The world of freelancing can become a bit overwhelming for some people, especially those that are in a fast-paced business. With that being said, there is a platform called Persona that exists solely to assist professionals such as freelancers to be as efficient as they can be running their businesses. Persona can help with time-consuming tasks such as scheduling and booking. Their hassle-free system takes the burden of having to manually sift through that yourself and allows clients to do it themselves without any difficulties. Also, clients can pay you for services through a site generated by the app.
If you’re worried about its legitimacy you should know the app is backed by Stripe Payments and Goldman Sachs so the reliability is never an issue. Persona also offers the ability to build your online store, and offer assistance with taxes, and business analytics amongst other features. Make sure you do yourself a favor and download Persona today.
Freedom
The overarching term that can describe, probably, the biggest benefit of freelancing is freedom. When you work for someone else you have to adhere to their rules and expectations. Whereas working on your own, you get to choose your work hours, which clients you will take on, and your hourly rate, amongst other decisions that are up to you. For example, if you prefer to make your business hours 10a-6p you can or if you would like to price a task of a certain difficulty at a different price than others you could as well because it’s your “show” to run.
You will also not be limited to whom you can work with. There will not be a geographic border that your company cannot reach unless you make it so. You would be surprised how many opportunities you can gain from opening up your business to the world abroad and freelancing gives you the convenience.
Work From Home Life
Coming off the back end of a pandemic that got a lot of our professionals accustomed to working from home. Freelancing, more specifically if done full time, can have you living the same lifestyle and comfortability as you were working at your regular job. Also, if you are still working for a company from home but wish to freelance as well you essentially don’t have to change your location to begin your freelance journey.
Overall, this cuts out your commute (great, considering gas price increases) and allows for you to make anywhere in the world your home office at any time you wish.
Financial Independence
As mentioned earlier, you ultimately have more control over all the aspects of your life. A major piece that you will gain control of is your financial independence. Freelancing gives you the ability to make money for yourself at your rate, you do not have to worry about asking your boss for a raise. For example, a normal position at a company may limit what money you can make based on the projects they are willing to take on and how frequently they take on said projects. However, you will now have the ability to take on as many projects as you want and be able to turn down whatever you do not feel aligns with your vision.
A couple of statistics to back up the sentiment of financial independence are that the average US freelancer makes 45% more than your typical worker. Also, over 60% of freelancers that left a traditional job make more money freelancing with 3 out of every 4 doing so within a year of leaving their prior job.
Job Security
It may seem a little off-putting to see “job security” as a benefit for freelancing especially since you’re not even guaranteed a paycheck weekly. Nonetheless, you must take a broad look at the climate we are currently living in where layoffs are becoming more common and workers are finding success in leaving jobs after 2 years to find better opportunities. Freelancing gives you job security because you do your own adapting to the world. Only you can be the reason that you do not have an income. A little less than half of all freelancers report being unaffected by the recession which speaks to how sturdy you can be financial.
Improving Your Skill Set
A traditional job can become monotonous after a while as you will likely quickly get accustomed to any challenges presented in such a uniform setting. In freelancing, because you have the power to take on whatever projects you choose, you will inevitably garner more skills. When each project brings something new you will expand your knowledge and skills as opposed to traditional jobs where those skills may become stagnant. Even jobs that offer training, do so on their own time while freelancers get to do so whenever.
Becoming A More Understanding Person
A freelancing career can evolve you into a more understanding and overall better human being. The reason this is true is that freelancing, notably in its beginning stages, is a very humbling experience as you start from the bottom and work your way up.
Another reason is that you will rub shoulders with those in your same industry and will be able to share those stories of the ups and downs, difficult clients, crazy months, etc. Once you have experienced those moments you more than likely will not want another person trying to fulfill their dreams to go through the same. Thus, you will provide them with the proper steps to hopefully avoid the pitfall you went through and that’s the quality of a more understanding person.