1. You get to work at irregular hours.
Once you enter the world of freelancing, time becomes relative. It is no longer measured by the days or months, but by the duration of each and every separate project. There is no “time in and time out” in freelancing; no holidays, days off, or weekends either. You no longer work in an office, so the need to watch the clock or count the years (till, say, retirement) becomes frivolous.
It may be your clients who dictate your work schedule, through no fault of theirs but by the unfortunate consequence of time differences. Or the job you chose simply requires that you adjust to a particular time zone. Whatever the case, whether it is by your own decision or due to the job specs, you can guarantee that sleeping, waking and eating hours will be affected.
Can you handle the stress? Freelancing can be quite a challenge, especially when you're just starting out.
2. You have to manage your own time, projects, and finances.
And in answer to the unpredictable nature of online freelancing, one has to practice effective time management. However, time is only one of the many responsibilities you’ll have to reckon with once you start working for yourself. Without the presence of an assistant, accountant, manager, office clerk or even janitor, you’ll naturally be expected to do all the “little things” on your own – in between working on your projects and living your life.
3. You are your own agent, salesman, marketer, promoter, and negotiator.
Oh goody, you are your own boss: no one to tell you when to start work or how to do it, or decide how much you should earn or which contracts to accept. It’s all good, but then you’re also left to advertise your services and open yourself to criticism and scams, sift through the muck of spam projects, sweet-talk your way to your prospects’ hearts, and deal with the BS of crappy clients – all on your own.
4. You run the risk of being scammed if you aren’t smart, and there is not much you can do about it.
So you finally do get scammed – what’s your best recourse? Learn from the experience – that’s the easiest, most convenient thing to do, even if it does leave a bad taste in the mouth. This is not to say that there is nothing at all you can do – there is definitely a way through anything – but time is money, and losing both plus the effort you put in just to make a point and redeem yourself might not all be worth it. As everyone knows, getting burned makes one wary of fire, and this may well be the only value you’ll ever get out of the ordeal.
5. You might have to sacrifice living like a normal person.
As if those odd work habits weren’t enough, on a social level, you’ll most likely find yourself no longer a part of the “ordinary” human race. Freelancers tend to think differently, act differently, sometimes even talk differently, because in the freelancing world, not normal is the norm. They very seldom “go with the flow” and prefer to think “out of the box” most of the time, even in polite conversation.
You may find yourself one day consciously seeking personal interaction, because the virtual world is becoming too much to handle…
Or you’re starting to get confused about what is real and what is not.
Think about it.
