Of course, it seems like there are a lot of benefits to being self-employed – no boss to report to, you can set your own hours, the credit for your hard work belongs to you and so does all of the money that you earn.
Advantages of Self-Employment
Taking a further look at the advantages of self-employment makes the endeavor all the more appealing.
- Capacity to set your own hours so the rush hour traffic commutes may not be a part of your life anymore.
- Freedom to take vacation time or sick time.
- No boss or supervisor to answer to. You get to set the rules.
- Freedom to create your own work environment.
- You choose the projects to work on.
- Ability to directly determine the value of your own work.
- As a self-employed person, other than freelancers looking for clients, you don’t have to worry about searching for a job. You already have one!
- With the exception of face-to-face interactions with clients and customers, you can work in your pajamas if feel like it.
Negative Side of Being Self-Employed
But there is a flip side to self-employment that many people aren’t aware of, and prior to heading toward this type of endeavor, armor yourself with a little information.
- When you chose to become self-employed, you are taking a substantial financial risk and you assume ALL the liabilities.
- You lose the safety net of a guaranteed paycheck and benefits such as health insurance.
- If you need start up capital, you may need collateral such as your home.
- If you are used to living “large,” you’d better be prepared to change your spending habits.
- If you are not working, you are not making money. If you are working by yourself there is zero money coming in when you take vacation or sick days.
- You have the freedom to set your own hours, but it is almost certain that your work hours will increase, possibly dramatically.
- Because you’re working for yourself, you’re going to have to take care of everything yourself!
- If anything goes awry, it’s your complete responsibility. The buck stops with you!
So what is the bottom line? Discipline and commitment! If you are disciplined enough to work long hours, able to tolerate risk, cope with the stress, handle the potential of failure, work well alone and figure out all of it on your own, then self-employment may be right for you. Take time to look at all the pros and cons of self-employment. If you find the cons outweigh the benefits, then maybe you should consider keeping your current job or continuing your search to work for someone else.
Finding Freelance Jobs Online
As a freelance professional, finding jobs online is the way to go. Here’s where to look.
There are several different kinds of freelance careers you can have. Some choose to become freelance writers. This allows them to do some of their own personal projects and also take on clients. Other freelance careers include graphic designers, web designers, and data entry professionals.
If you freelance as your main source of income, chances are you need to find jobs. There are several options for you. Some of these options are free and others require that you pay a membership fee. All of them, however, have the potential of helping you find freelance jobs.
Freelancing Websites
- Fiverr (You can full review and is It worth starting on Fiverr)
- Upwork
- People Per Hour (Is PeoplePerHour A Good option)
- Freelancer.com
All of these sites have listings for freelance jobs in several categories. They also don’t require a fee to use the site. However, once you get a job, they both take a commission out. The trick is to bid slightly higher than you normally would so that you don’t feel the affect of the commission fee.
Craigslist.com
Craigslist is a great place to find freelance work. There are job listings posted daily. This is a free service. However, there is no way to know if the person who is posting the job will actually come through. After a while, you will learn how to separate the good opportunities from the bad ones.
Other Classified Sites
There are several other classified sites and job posting sites that post jobs. Even places like monster.com occasionally have freelance listings. Each freelance career, such as freelance writing, has certain job boards that always seem to have the best listings.
Join a Team
There are some companies out there that focus on building a team of writers or other freelance professionals. They screen freelance applications and find only the best. Some companies, such as Aquent.com, have been around for a while and have a steady client base.
Finding a Routine
As you first set out to find freelance jobs, you may find that you are doing a lot of work bidding for jobs answering the questions about the gig you offer and applying to classified ads for jobs on places like Craigslist.com. After a while, you will learn which methods work best for you and concentrate your efforts to only those things.