The Harsh Reality of Becoming a Freelancer
Leaving the corporate world to start a freelance career was probably one of my abrupt decisions ever. My life sure changed but it certainly didn’t become easier.
It has been challenging, yet rewarding. But let me share with you a simple yet honest insight on what I’ve struggled with once I started to freelance.
From 9-to-5 to 8-to-10
Much like building a business, being financially sustainable freelance takes time. Even if you take time to create the most successful strategy, chances are you’ll take a few months to get some stable income.
Therefore, working 14 hours a day has become a standard when I have to acquire clients, schedule meetings, work on projects, make revisions, manage my budget, and many other things, all by myself.
I am my own boss
Probably the best, yet also the worst. Mostly because the pressure resides solely on me to keep my business alive.
Allowing myself too many days off will hinder my monthly income and force me to double my efforts to balance the shortcomings of the prior month.
Those around me don’t always believe me
Since I live in a small town, the reality my family is accustomed to is far from different from starting a business or being self-employed. Anything that strays from their status quo is possibly life-threatening.
This being said, until I did get some solid income and proved them wrong, I wasn’t shown much support from them. Even to this day, after 2 years, if I have a bad month, they make sure to state their discredit.
The “no” to “yes” ratio is uneven
If one thing that I was expecting was rejection, but the amount of “nos” I got in the beginning where discouraging. It all became a matter of addressing them properly in order to change them into “maybes” and then “yeses”. Until this day the ratio is uneven, with more nos on the board than yeses.
Luckily, in most cases all it takes is the right “yes!” and all is well — at least for the time of the project.
Even though I go through these struggles each day, I can assure you that the freedom I allowed myself to, by becoming a freelancer, makes this one of the best decisions of my life.
Also, if you want a more insightful view of my freelance experience you can read these:
Inspired by a fellow creator, I decided to challenge myself to publish 100 short-form articles within January. This is article number 11.
