Freelancing, as dreamy and rewarding as it seems, has its ups and downs. Although freelancing gives you the liberty to work for different individuals and organizations at the same time without being employed under them, it is still necessary to give it some consideration before quitting your full-time job. Here are some Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming a Freelancer.
Everyone wants to go freelance; the question is why shouldn’t anyone want to work in an environment where there is freedom? As a freelancer, you determine where to work, when to work, and who to work for.
Working for yourself sounds amazing, so everyone wants to delve into freelance, either because they have a nagging boss who complains all the time, or because they believe freelancing is a piece of cake and anyone can do it.
However, before making any rash decisions, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself. Below are some of the questions you must ask yourself before becoming a freelancer.
Table of Contents
1. Why do I Want to do Freelance?
A lot of workers quit their jobs every day for reasons best known to them. If we begin to ask all these people to state reasons why they quit their job, you’d be surprised to know that a lot of the reasons are not valid. The same applies in this situation.
You should have a legitimate reason as to why you want to do freelance. If the reason why you want to be a freelancer is that you want to be free to do whatever you want without supervision or because you want to be able to travel the world, I’m sorry but that might not be a legitimate reason for you to do freelance.
However, if you want to work as a freelancer because you want to have more control over your work, or you want to pay more attention to projects that align with your passion, then that is more like it. You might be on the right track.
2. Am I Familiar with the Necessary Tools?
Working as a freelancer means that you are going fully remote. In other words, everything you have to do is online and for you to effectively carry out tasks, you would need some tech tools.
You might be in the US while your client is in the UK therefore, you need tools that would make working for and communicating with your clients possible.
Some of the necessary tools you will be needing are smartphones, sim-only deals, chargers, a laptop, Wi-Fi, or a router among other things.
Now if you do not know how to handle any of these tools or you still struggle to set them up, then you want to take your time to get familiar with them before going into freelance.
3. How Do I Get My Clients?
Now, this is a very important question that a lot of people do not ask themselves before deciding to become a freelancer. The freelancing market is extremely competitive.
Remember, before you decided to do freelance, a lot of people were already active in the scene and these people also struggled to get clients. Are you willing to join the hustle for clients?
Although some freelancing platforms like Freelancer, Flexjobs, Fiverr, and Upwork have made it easier for freelancers around the world to connect with clients who need their services, still the hustle to get clients is not as easy as you think it is.
However, if you are resilient and you believe you have what it takes to thrive in this competitive market then you have nothing to worry about.
4. What Resources Do I Need?
As a freelancer, you need certain resources to thrive in the freelance market. Every freelancer has a special resource that they use for work. For example, if you are a freelance writer, you would need resources that help you check for grammar errors, spelling errors, and plagiarism.
Freelance graphic designers also have special resources which they use to verify their works before submitting them to the client. It would help if you found out about the resources you need before entering the scene.
The resources within your reach will then help you ease the process as a newbie in the freelance market.
5. How Confident Am I in My Skills?
While working as a freelancer, you will realize that some of the people who you are competing with for a client have more skills or are better than you in your craft.
But if you are not confident in your skill, there is a limit to how far you can go in the freelance market. As a freelancer, you have to believe that you are the best at what you do and that nobody can do it better than you.
This doesn’t mean that you have to remain stagnant, the best freelancers build up their skills every day by taking courses and going for training. You should also do this too, but you have to be confident in your skills and be willing to learn.
6. Do I Have Enough Experience?
Most clients would rather choose to work with a freelancer who has a few years of experience in their field rather than someone who is just starting.
Although there are clients who give opportunities to newbies, most clients want to be sure that their task is being handled by a professional.
However, if you do not have enough experience in your craft, it is better you pay more attention to developing your experience and then try going freelance when you have more experience in your field.
Working as a freelancer provides you with so many opportunities, it also gives you the freedom to decide where and how you work. However, the freelance market is not as rosy as it seems.
Therefore, for you not to make any decision that you would regret eventually, it is important to ask yourself the above questions before deciding to go into the freelance scene.
If you’ve asked yourself the questions and you are confident that you have all it takes then you are ready to make your decision.
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