Why Freelancing beats any 9 to 5 jobs.
Daily challenges
There are a lot of reasons why I enjoy what I do, but one of them has to be the fact that I get to do new stuff almost daily. My day could start with a logo design, continue with working on a brochure design and get a call to do a 3D rendering, meanwhile a modification has to be made to yesterday’s advertising for another client. Some days, I just shut everything off and go to gym for couple of hours.
I think freelancers are able to work on various projects and so it helps us to continue what we do. Because let’s face it, it’s simple but it’s not easy. Anybody could be a freelancer, but not everybody’s good at it.
Invest
As a freelancer you must invest enormous amount of time and energy into your business. Just couple of days ago, I suddenly look at the time, and it was 11 pm. And I said to myself, “I better get some sleep, if I want to be productive tomorrow”. I wasn’t working on any paying projects, but I was preparing my marketing materials and testing the new Newsletter and Survey that I’m putting up for my clients. So the time wasn’t billable per say, but it is investment. Like anything else in life, we’ll savor our effort later.
Responsibilities
Also you have to be more responsible, and for that reason, your clients keep calling you back and they count on you. The deadline now has a new meaning. You can’t simply switch off at 5 p.m. because your “shift” is over. Although some freelancers say that you HAVE to keep regular office hours, but I beg the differ. For instance, if all week I haven’t done much billable work, or very little, when a client sends an email on Friday afternoon and asks me to do a rendering for Monday morning, I can’t and I won’t turn them down simply because it’s the weekend. You have to understand that freelancing is not a job, it is a passion.
Be hungry!
Most of us are not in it for the money or the glory. Don’t get me wrong, if I wasn’t making enough I would have started looking for a regular job, like I did ten years ago. But what I mean by “it’s not about the money” is that it is the kick you get out of signing your own checks, being your own boss.
And so this time, I’m hanging on a little bit longer. This time around the technology is there to support what I want to do. This time, the resources are there. This time around I’m hungry, as I remember the words of Les Brown: “You Gotta Be Hungry“.
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The biggest perk for me is having the choice to work or not work on a project. If a client comes to me with a project that I am not to hyped about, i can simply decline it or refer them to a friend. Try doing that with your boss at a 9-5 job
I completely disagree with your view on working through the weekend. My free time is as valuable as my work time, if not more so, and I keep weekends for me. If you don’t have proper work boundaries, your freelancing job (and it is a job) will consume your life.
I try and work standard hours in the week, as if it were a normal 9-5 office job, and the weekend is mine and mine alone.
If your clients being to understand that you are available “on call” at any time, I think you are eventually going to be taken advantage of.
You’re right to be passionate about it, but don’t forget that it’s still only a job at the end of the day. There are far more important things in this short life than work.
Thanks for your comments guys. We don’t have to agree on everything, but we all agree that freelancing is WAY better than a regular job, despite all the challenges and difficulties.
I agree with Matt about keeping studio hours.
Years ago I used to answer the phone and client’s emails all hours of the day and that gave my client’s the idea that I would do something for them immediately.
So, I posted my studio hours on my Web site and on my voicemail and if a call or email comes in after business hours, I deal with it the next day during studio hours.
However, if I feel the need to work on a project after hours or on the weekend, I NEVER tell the client this info. This is between me and my Mac.
Hi Reza Tehranian
I have read all the above comments.
My review are whether freelancing or 9-5 jobs – I guess each individual has to make a decision if we are “hungry” & “passionate” in that moment of time in that particular project.
Ultimately, freelancing or 9-5 jobs if is a high pay activities, everyone will go for it.
Freelancing = Personal Business = Unlimited $
Job = Other people Business = Limited $
For me I am into Freelancing + Job .
Thanks for the comment guys!
@Stacy,
Everybody has a different take on this. My situation allow me to work 7 days a week, where as someone else’s life is more family oriented. Both are fine, and one doesn’t hurt the other.
@Don,
I’ve done that for the past 10 years, full time job, part time freelance. You know what I realized? I never advanced in neither. Both complemented each other, when the regular job got boring, the freelancing kept me going. But I don’t regret any of it, and now I see a bigger picture I couldn’t see before. It sure is scary, and from time to time you ask yourself, how am I going to make it, but you will not only survive, you’ll achieve what you thought wasn’t possible!
Cheers