For some, being a freelancer is their dream job. Other think that having a regular job means more stability and room for growth. The truth is somewhere in-between, as both kinds of jobs have their ups and downs. But with freelancing gaining more popularity in recent years, it’s become apparent that it’s not as constraining as many have made out to be.
The choice is yours
You not only choose if you accept a project or not, but you also choose when and where you work. You can freely say no to a project if you think it doesn’t suit you for whatever reason, but you may also want to work in pajamas – and you can completely do that, without having someone from management screaming at you. Being a freelancer is all about choice, something that having a regular job doesn’t really allow for, or at least not as much.
The profit is fully yours
There’s both a positive and a negative side to this. You fully reap the rewards for your hard-earned work, as the project has been yours to do since the beginning. It hasn’t been assigned by someone in management that in the end will receive a bonus for delivering while you’re paid only your standard salary. The negative side is that sometimes you have to wrestle with clients. Some of them genuinely want to pay you but can’t, maybe because of budgetary constraints, but sometimes you’ll have clients that will try to con you out of your hard-earned money.
You make all the business plans
This means no more business meetings in the morning with people that don’t really understand your work. When working freelance you’ll get to fully create the business plans that in the end you’ll be proposing to clients, or in contrast, you don’t have to ask permission to change something in the project because that decision falls unto you. It might get more stressful, especially if you have to make a complex and detailed plan, or if the client is picky, but overall you have much more control over how a project will be done.
You’ll have passion for doing your thing
Unless you enjoy the perks of a corporate job, you’ll have more fun and feel more passionate when you’re doing the thing that makes you happy, as well make a living out of it. Freelancing is all about choice, yes, but in the end it means you’ve chosen a field that brings you joy, which can’t really be said about most corporate jobs. You’ll be doing your thing your way, and for many people that’s a much larger positive than any other positive from any other type of job.
You might not get a cushy office or be part of a team, but when freelancing you’ll be making your own mark on the world individually. That’s usually much more thrilling and personal, and it’s a type of liberation that only a freelancer knows. Most, if not all, freelancers wouldn’t never go back to a regular job – for a reason.
