Why Freelancing Sucks
This is intended as a response piece to my article Why Freelancing Is Great! I do love being an online freelancer, however it’s not for everyone. I’m nothing if not even handed so I thought I would present the flip side of the coin. Here are my reasons why freelancing sucks.
Lack of Social Interaction
If you are working from home it can be a pretty lonely experience. I am something of an introvert so I’m generally happy being by myself. Even so, I feel the need to be around other people from time to time. Luckily I have friends that I see regularly and nice cafes or co working spaces that I can use to be in a more social environment. For me this is fine and I’m happy with the lifestyle.
Some people really need the interaction that comes from a typical office environment and that can make being an online freelancer hard. Agi needs this more than I do but she has a lot of hobbies that keep her extrovert fires stoked outside of work.
Variability
The flexibility which is so great goes hand in hand with a lack of security. If your client suffers a setback or chooses to change their business then your hours and earnings can change very quickly. This has happened to both Agi and me so we know what it’s like.
In all cases we have bounced back stronger but the knowledge that you don’t have guarantees can be a source of stress. I encourage you to look for a range of clients rather than relying on just one. That one client may be great but there’s an old saying about amounts of eggs and numbers of baskets.
Long Lead Time
It can take a while to make the transition from being a 9 to 5 office worker to online freelancing. I took about 6 months to get to the point where I was feeling happy and comfortable. The stages before that were:
- 1-3 months: living off my savings
- 3-5 months: living hand to mouth but not touching savings (yay!)
- 6 months: earning enough money to be back at the level I was as an office worker
- 7 months+: earning more money than I did before
There were points during the initial 6 months where things dipped as you can see on the chart. At times like this I considered giving up. In the end I’m glad that I stuck with it but I know that not everyone has the savings to make it through this process.
Agi and I learned a lot along the way that we would do differently in future. Hindsight is 20-20! I think the lead time can be cut down to 1 or 2 months if you know what you’re doing. Get in contact with us and we can help make the transition easy for you.