Freelancing means living your best life, working from a beach while having a flexible schedule, right? Well, yes, and more frequently, no. Working as a freelancer, you are usually in contact with clients from different countries. Hence you must have an additional account in your bank and be ready to be informed as much as you can about currency exchange, fees that come with having an account that is not connected to any bank, but goes through atm, etc. Let’s sum up precisely the pros and cons of being a freelancer.
Pros
- You decide when you are open for business
If you are already a freelancer, you’ve probably stacked up some cash and decided to take a break. Now, it’s time to start making that money again, so you can put on various freelance websites (or the one you’re a regular member of), that you are open for business! In the beginning, it takes some time to build up a resume so you can up your price and like any other job, working on your portfolio will make you more knowledgeable in the meantime, so you can just be more ahead of the game
2. You get regular customers over time
The better the results, the more satisfied your customers are! That builds your “reputation” on the internet and makes you a wanted freelancer. If people can see the results and the work you put in so everything can work out both for you and your client, they will come back to you and bring new clients with them as well.
3. You decide your price.
Yes! There is nobody who decided except for you! You are your boss, and you determine your worth. If you know that you are great at your job, some people will recognize and appreciate it. You can raise your price over time and work towards your money goals while improving your portfolio with every job well done. Then you are the one who decides whether you are going to open a separate account for your earnings via freelancing, or having everything in one place.
4. You create valuable connections.
The connections you create on the internet are equally meaningful as the ones you create in real life. Like we said above, if the client is happy with the outcome, the word will go out, and new clients will pour in. Also, consider marketing yourself on social media, whatever your qualifications are. Nowadays, everything is about how you present yourself and how willing you are to invest in your appearance online (hopefully as much as in your constant education). This always pays off significantly at the end, when you least expect it.
5. There is no set office.
Indeed, you can work from wherever in the world, as long as you have a stable connection and proper time management. Your client won’t check if you are working from your bed or at a beach bar. What matters is constant feedback and the result. So that is a big plus – you don’t have to ask anyone to take a day off if you have to go somewhere else. You should just make sure you have a stable internet connection.
Cons
- There is no set contract
Yes, there is a policy that protects you as a freelancer if you work from a particular freelance-based website. Still, they charge bigger and bigger fees every year, leading many people to shift to off-site agreements. This doesn’t mean that it will end badly, but if someone doesn’t want to pay you if a client is paying you through the website, you will get a refund if something goes wrong. If you agreed with your website, you’d stay without money for the work you’ve done. We recommend being careful and checking reviews even on your clients and experiences that other freelancers share about them, before starting work.
2. The problem with credit cards
Usually, you have to set up an online account with no physical institution so that you can be paid like that. This means you will have to transfer that money to your card automatically, which automatically brings a certain fee, which can be big if you have significant earnings. The right solution would be to check online banks that offer an account where you can receive this type of payment, and then you can stick to paying online and take cash only if you have to.
3.Clients can change their opinion every minute.
Well, this is not just a freelance problem, but we had to put it here. If you are a designer, a marketing expert, etc. clients will always complain about it. This can be exhausting, so take your time to adapt to the fact it’s their business, you are there to help, and if they are always insisting on a solution that you know won’t work out, you can either decide to oblige to their opinion or say to them it’s not going to work. This can be a double-edged sword, but it will also weed out bad clients from the good ones. And your mental health will thank you.
In conclusion, enjoy working by your standards and schedule, be careful about where and how you are making money transactions and with which clients, and try to enjoy this type of work as much as you can! Good luck!
