If you are considering to start freelancing as a career, you should be aware of the problems of freelancing. Freelancing is a type of work where the freelancer works for one or more clients without any long-term commitment. There are many freelancing websites for starting your freelancing career. Two of the most popular ones are: fiverr and upwork. Although freelancing has many problems, it also has a few advantages. We will first discuss the advantages of freelancing and then discuss the problems.
Advantages of Freelancing
Freelancing is getting popular across the globe every year. Because it offers several advantages over traditional jobs. For example,
- No Age Limit: There is no age limit for a freelancer. A person can start freelancing from 18 years of age. If he wants to start earlier, he can also do so under his parent or guardian’s supervision. It is necessary for binding to a contract. And there is no upper limit of age. If a person is competent, he can freelance at the age of 100!
- No Fixed Location: There is no fixed location in freelancing. A freelancer can work from anywhere in the world. Most of the time, he only needs a computer and internet.
- No Fixed Time: There is no fixed time. A freelancer can work in the day or at night. It is the preference of the freelancer when he wants to work. He can work anytime.
- No Fixed Client: There is no fixed client. A freelancer can choose any client or more than 1 client. He can choose a new client any time.
- No Fixed Work Load: There is no fixed work load. A freelancer can choose to work less or more. If he wants to work less, he can choose or apply for less work. If he wants to work more, he can choose large projects or multiple clients at the same time.
- No Fixed Salary: There is no fixed salary. A freelancer can earn more by choosing large projects or working for multiple clients. If he wants, he can earn less by working only on a few projects per month.
- Leave Anytime: A freelancer can take leave at any time. If he wants, he can work for 6 months and take leave for 6 months.
For these advantages, more and more people are getting interested in freelancing. But don’t get excited with the advantages. There are many problems of freelancing which you should be aware of.
Problems of Freelancing
Don’t be overwhelmed with excitement considering only the advantages of freelancing. Freelancing also has several disadvantages which you should consider before starting your career as a freelancer. These are:
1. Random Routine
In traditional jobs, you have a fixed time. For example, from 9 am to 5 pm. Although it may sound difficult to a freelancer, it is actually not. If you follow a certain routine, you get accustomed to it mentally and physically. For example, you then have a fixed time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You also have a fixed time for sleep. With this regular routine, you can stay fit and healthy. Your family and friends also get accustomed to your office routine. Your whole life gets accustomed to it.
But the main problem with freelancing is that you will never get a fixed routine. One client may have an online meeting with you in the morning and another client may have an online meeting with you at midnight. Because your clients will live around the whole world in different time zones. So, you have to adjust your daily routine, your sleep, and your work schedule according to the client’s time zone. For example, you may become accustomed to a certain client. But when the project ends and a new client comes in, your routine will change again. If you work for multiple clients at the same time, you will not have any daily routine. Your health, sleep, and other work will be disturbed severely.
2. Lack of Socialization
In a traditional job, you will have an office where you can do your work with other colleagues. You can socialize and collaborate with others. You can also talk and have fun in the breaks. At least, you will be in a society, even in the office. It is extremely necessary for any human because, after all, we are social beings. But in freelancing, you work alone unless you have an agency or a team which is another topic that I will discuss later. So, when you are getting clients and getting the projects completed successfully, it is true that you are earning dollars but at the same time, you are missing the opportunities to socialize. When you continue doing this for a long time, you may have mental issues like depression and sleep disorders.
3. Multiple Bosses
In a traditional job, you will only have one boss to whom you have to report your work. But in freelancing, there are multiple bosses. Each boss will have different requirements and different milestones to complete. Although freelancing means having freedom in your work, it will actually take your freedom completely. You may think that you will only work for one client. But in reality, it is not possible. Because to survive in the real world with your family, you have to work for multiple clients every day. So, instead of managing one boss, you have to manage multiple bosses.
4. No Holiday for Busy Freelancers
In traditional jobs, you get weekly holidays and become free after office hours. But it is not possible in freelancing. In freelancing, there is no holiday or free time. The more you work, the more you earn. So, you will get involved in multiple projects at the same time to get the required amount of money monthly or annually.
5. Health and Sleep Problems
In traditional jobs, you can maintain your health and sleep. But in freelancing, you always have to be running. When a project ends in freelancing, you have to find a new client. You will always be involved in finding clients. There is no end here. By doing this repeatedly, it is really hard to maintain your health and sleep.
6. No Promotion & No Commitment
In a traditional job, you can get promotions or bonuses based on your performance in the past. But in freelancing, your client changes continuously and more freelancers are joining the market. So, you have to continuously compete with other freelancers to get a job rather than getting a promotion. Because to get a promotion, you have to work for several years. But in freelancing, most of the works end within a year. So, there is no commitment to freelancing which is a severe drawback. It may not seem true. But commitment is necessary to become successful in life.
7. No Insurance
In a traditional job, a person gets many side benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, and others. But in freelancing, who will give you these benefits? Because you are free! You do not have any commitment to anyone for a long time. You only have short contracts. So, you have to manage it yourself. But managing it personally is also difficult. Because you don’t know in advance whether you will have clients after 1 year or not. So, you cannot invest in any long-term retirement plan or health insurance.
8. Irregular Income
It is one of the biggest problems in freelancing. You may be earning 5,000 USD this year. But you can never be sure that your income will increase in the next year. You may get big clients or no clients at all. So, there is no certainty that you will have a consistent income.
9. Always Find Clients
Most of the freelancing work is for short terms. Even long-term contracts are for 2 to 3 years. So you always have to run to find clients. Even if you have a freelancing career for 20 years, you still have to run!
These are the main problems of freelancing you should be aware of if you are planning to choose freelancing as your career.
Will I never try Freelancing?
You may be already thinking that you will never try freelancing. But don’t do that. You should try freelancing if you have the skill. Because in freelancing, you will have real clients and real problems to work with. You can get hands-on experience in completing small and/or large projects. Try to earn as much money as you can within 2 to 3 years. Then stop freelancing by yourself.
What will I do next after leaving freelancing?
You have two options after you leave freelancing. These are:
- Option 1: You can now try for a full-time job based on your experience as a freelancer. You can enrich your CV by putting in the work experience which you have earned through freelancing. Thus it will help you to find better full-time jobs.
- Option 2: You can form your own company or agency where you will have a team like a traditional office. Instead of doing the freelancing alone, you will now do it as a team where you will become the boss. Then you will find clients and distribute the work to your team members. You can run this office like a regular office maintaining a routine. You can hire more members if the workload increases.
Summary
According to our suggestion, you should always go for option 2, if you can. Because Option 1 is a regular job. But Option 2 is a digital business. If you have a growth mindset, you can go for Option 2. Here, you can expand your business and become a digital business entrepreneur.