There's a common misconception that freelancing is something you

do if you're in between jobs or can't find a real job.

On the contrary, freelancing is a legitimate career.

And if you're good at it, you can make more than a regular nine to five.

But like every job, there are things that are wonderful and

there are other things that aren't so great.

Let's start with the [SOUND] pros first.

You have a lot of [SOUND] freedom in freelancing.

You're your own boss and if you don't want to do something, you don't do it.

You can pick and choose the work you do.

Now, you don't have to work on mundane,

boring projects that a boss may force on you.

You can blend your passions and hobbies into your work.

With freelancing, you can seek out clients in industries that excite you or

take on projects that further your skill set.

You can work whenever and wherever you want.

You can work ten hours a week or 80 hours a week.

It is all up to you.

As a freelancer, you can also set up [SOUND] multiple income streams.

You don't have to restrict yourself to one paycheck.

You can get paid from client work or for

blogging, speaking, or even writing a book.

There's plenty of options.

Freelancing also [SOUND] gives you the time to develop and enhance your

knowledge and to make it a priority where before, you were doing it on the side.

Freelancing essentially gives you the freedom to do whatever you want in

many aspects of your career, but

before we get too excited, [SOUND] let's look at the cons as well.

Now, [SOUND] freelancing is very different from being an employee.

The biggest difference, and one that takes a little bit of getting used to,

is that you don't have a steady paycheck.

As an employee, you have a regular wage.

And even if you do only half as good a job as you usually do,

you can count on getting paid.

When you are a freelancer, however, you have to make sure you have money coming in

by consistently producing top notch work, seeking out clients and

handling all the admin stuff as well.

On [SOUND] top of that, there's business development.

Business development is hard, and

as a freelancer, you will have to wear many hats.

You're good at web design?

That's great, but you also have to be good at networking, bookkeeping, invoicing, and

client services.

Expect a good portion of your week to be devoted to such tasks.

There are other things that come with being an employee that you

will quickly miss.

You're not [SOUND] going to have basic benefits like health insurance.

That will be your responsibility to account for.

You also won't have any software or hardware paid for, and

you know how expensive it can get.

You also won't have someone else paying for you to go to that conference and

learn all those new things.

It all falls on you to plan and set aside resources for these things.

If you want to freelance,

you have to be [SOUND] okay with working on your own as well.

As a freelancer, you won't have coworkers to bounce your ideas off of and

you won't really have anyone to get feedback from.

Working in isolation will be a big part of your life, and

to some people, that's okay.

They work best that way.

Deciding whether you want to freelance means deciding which of

those factors are more important to you.

To lots of people, the desire to be in charge of their own livelihoods far

exceeds the stability of their everyday job.

If you do decide to freelance, you will have to be determined and disciplined.

It's easy to get distracted and not have people or

a boss to remind you to do things.

You will have to force yourself to stick to deadlines that you set and

get out of bed to work every day.

It's hard, but

sticking to a routine is essential if you want to succeed on your own.

Now, I read somewhere that the key to getting started in freelancing is

planning, then planning some more, and then once you're done planning,

you plan even more.

Now, I'm sure you get the picture.

If you're just thinking about freelancing, take your time and

seriously go over the points we just discussed.

Freelancing sounds great, but it can get difficult and it's not for everyone.

Don't just dive into it.

Let's plan for it.