Being a successful freelancer is an incredibly enabling experience. The choice of job is a hit especially amongst women who prefer working part time, or are simply on the look-out for flexible job options. To get to the part where you are a “successful freelancer”, however, you also need to be aware of risks of freelancing. Well of course in every job, we make our own mistakes and learn from them. Freelancing, however, has comparatively lesser margin for error, as compared to other more stable job options. Which is why considering the following risks is maybe a good idea!
Risk #1: Inconsistent and unstable pay – Making money solely depends on the kind of projects you are able to score. Being a freelancer means to compromise with the secure feeling of knowing a fixed sum of money is going to hit account at the end of the month. Windfalls and dry spells kind of become a way of life which you will need to make your peace with.
Risk #2: Being your own everything – You will have to be a one-woman/man army. There won’t be hardware professional around to help when your printer crashes. You won’t have the luxury of an accountant who does your tax work. And the list goes on. You either need to become a Jane of all trades, or be ready to make certain investments to help make your job easier.
(Also Read - How To Create An Impressive Freelancer Profile)
Risk #3: Work-life balance – Time will become money for you. You will realize the more time you accord to work, the more you can earn. The fear that you may miss out on the current opportunities if you wait for a next time, may start to govern your life. This, obviously, will take a toll on your work-life balance. Before setting out as a freelancer, you may need to lay down some ground rules for yourself with regards to your work-life balance.
Risk #4: Lack of employee benefits – Since you are on your own, there will be no comfort of paid leaves, bonus, insurance, or the many benefits one is entitled to when associated with an organization.
Risk #5: No linear growth curve – You need to keep in mind your future career plans before starting off as a freelancer. Showing a linear growth curve may be tough as a freelancer. You are more dependent on the market, and the kind of projects you get, more than anything else. This could become a problem later, if you want to switch to something more stable. Having a linear growth curve aids the transition.
The motive of this post is not to demotivate you from exploring the incredibly satisfying world of freelancing. On the contrary, it is only to encourage you to go ahead once you have weighed and considered the disadvantages of being a freelancer. If you are someone who’s had a stint at freelancing, and have faced these or similar risks, we would love to hear about it.
Comment below about what these risks were and how you’ve been able to deal with them. Interacting with SHEROES out there has always been our favourite thing to do!