It’s hard to tell apart things that matter versus things that don’t while sitting in our comfort zones. Anything can seem unreal, almost too manageable. Corporate pressures may be shrugged off after project endings, while some jobs don’t require much continuity or responsibility. At the end of the day, a job is a job – you’ll get the same paycheck you got last month. Move to another job if you don’t like the one you’re at now…
Unless, of course, you’re a freelancer.
I recently found Freelanceswitch.com, a blog about freelancing, that reminded me how much I hated the bad parts about freelancing, and how people still do it because it really puts you in control. I don’t often subscribe to RSS feeds on the first impression, but this one was a keeper. You don’t even have to be freelancing to realize how valuable the articles are. And the reason is simple – freelancing takes so much out of you that it forces you to be good in pretty much everything.
There are tons of freelancing roles out there – copywriters, designers, artists, software developers – all vying for a piece of the pie. I’ve done at least one or two types of these jobs, and I’ve had good and bad experiences about them.
The good part is that you get paid, sometimes, for things that takes you an hour to do, and a few minutes to talk. The bad part is that you’re never really in control of what you’ll get. And so, in order to get a grip on life, most freelancers have to stick to their guns and keep going at it again and again, upon the waves of uncertainty.
This basically creates a sort of accelerated view of potentially your entire career, which forces you to pick up skills you would otherwise avoid in a typical job. These skills can be extremely valuable, like managing projects, budgeting, selling, public relations, and so on. At the same time, you have absolute freedom in investing in any skill you want, and fine tune it for your own purposes.
I believe some freelancers see corporate jobs like a cop out – the idea of constantly working with people excel at a few things and talk about it like they own the world. Freelancing is humbling, and for a good reason – it takes a lot out of you. But the benefits can be extremely rewarding in the long run, if you can weather the storm.
Anyway, just to show you what I mean, here’s a snippet from Freelanceswitch:
Launching a freelance business is no easy feat—regardless of whether you’re looking to go full-time or part-time. And if you’re trying to build the business while holding down a regular job or taking care of the kids, you have it harder than most.
There are only so many hours in a day! You can’t expect to do it all. And if you try, you’ll burn out sooner or later.
The secret lies in outsourcing tasks you’re not fond of, especially if someone else can do them for less.
source: link
Here’s another great post referenced from the same site: link – great advice for anyone, freelancer or otherwise.
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