Freelancing is some people’s dream because they’ve always wanted to be their own boss and enjoy some level of freedom. Nonetheless, some people see freelancing as a stressful and tedious profession. The truth is, there are always two sides to everything that you can think of, which is the negative and the positive aspect?
In today’s post, we will discuss some of the negative sides of freelancing. Just the same way it can be rewarding, it can also be demanding. Maybe at a point in time, you must have heard from a colleague who quit his 9-5 job about how exciting it is to be a freelancer. You must have been confused about either quitting your job or proceeding to freelance. Chill and read this post till the end before you make that choice.
Freelancing has its positive side. However, below are some of the negative sides of freelancing.
Working from home can be isolating
Some people don’t like staying in isolation. They don’t like being alone with no one to chat or interact with. If you are among those groups of people, freelancing is not for you unless you have employees, which is rare. A study has shown that isolation is often associated with health challenges such as depression and other diseases. Poor health is something every individual should fight to avoid because good health is everything. Those who are socially isolated lack friends, loved ones and colleagues. It is easy for them to feel lonely and depressed. At one point, some freelancers find it challenging to go out and mix with other people. They prefer their own enclosed space because it probably makes them feel safe and secure. If you are interested in freelancing, are you ready to encounter lone times?
You have to hold yourself accountable for everything
If you are a freelancer, you have to become an individual contractor responsible for yourself. What am I trying to say? Here is a breakdown of what I mean by accountability. Freelancers are responsible for both their success stories and failures. The bottom line is that there will be no one for you to blame when things are not going well with you. In addition, when things are going exceedingly excellent, you get to enjoy all the praise. In addition, you are responsible for your motivation and discipline. No one is going to talk you into doing your task. You are all alone in deciding whether to work or sleep.
Meeting up with deadlines
As a freelancer working on numerous projects, you will face the challenges of meeting up with tight deadlines. The client for project A wants you to put his project first and meet the deadline. Similarly, the client with project B also expects you to focus on his task and deliver an accurate result. The timelines for some projects are short and demanding. This can lead to the freelancer being stressed. As simple as the word “stress” sounds, it can affect our psychology. In the long run, it leads to health problems. For instance, when an individual is constantly under stress, it could cause high blood pressure and continuous headache.
Lack of employee bonus and other benefits
Those being recruited to work in an organisation are more open to enjoying some benefits than those who prefer to work on their terms and condition of services. If you love the idea of promotion and bonuses, freelancing is not for you because only permanent jobs can offer you that. As a freelancer, your client cannot promote you. The best they can do is leave a good review or feedback. However, if you enjoy your own company, the best you can do is to reward yourself for every excellent task completed successfully.
Risk of not getting paid
Risk of not getting paidIn freelancing, the risk of not getting paid is something every freelancer fears the most. Most significantly, if you are not working with third-party freelancing sites like Fiverr and Upwork. No business is entirely free from risk. It becomes solely your responsibility to decide if a project is worth the risk or not. Lots of pain and regret come from not getting paid after spending hours doing a task successfully. We often hear that no investment is needed to work as a freelancer; that is true. However, if a project demands some software and other equipment before it is completed, you will have to use your money to buy them first. Now, think of how you would feel if you did not get paid in the end.
At this point, we would like to appreciate our patient readers with a bonus point. This is a form of thank you because you stayed with us till the end. Please enjoy!
Bonus point
You need to be highly organised
A freelancing lifestyle allows you to work on multiple projects at a time. This is interesting and fun. Notwithstanding, it becomes mentally disturbing when you have projects whose delivery time is clashing. Freelancers can’t succeed without time management skills. You need the ability to manage your time effectively. It will help if you know how to plan yourself, especially if you have kids that need your attention from time to time. Your clients won’t pay you if your work is below the agreed quality. You can’t rush the job and not do what is expected of you. Truthfully, freelancing is demanding, it requires you to work under pressure, and you will need to learn how to adapt quickly.
The competition in the freelancing industry is relatively high. Only those who are outstanding will be recognised. Being at the top will help you get noticed in the crowd. How much you earn as a freelancer depends on how many projects you can successfully deliver. There will be distractions, especially if you are not staying alone. Can you handle that much? This is left for you to decide.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please share and like. You can check out also our related post like “5 unique advantages of being a freelancer“. In the section below, leave a comment for us about what you think when you hear of freelancing.
Ebooks:
https://lifestyletipsbyantoaneta.com/ebooks/
Seminar:
https://lifestyletipsbyantoaneta.com/business-online-masterclasses/
Recommended books for further reading:
- Traction; get a grip of your business by Gino Wickman
- Social Media Marketing Workbook: How to Use Social Media for Business
- Everybody Writes: Your Go-to Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
- Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can
- The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses
