Working from Home Starter Pack: Freelancing 101

freelance

From millennials to working adults, freelancing has become a phenomenon in today’s career landscape. It’s, in fact, approachable. Picture this, at 9 or 10, you wake up after feeling well-rested. Stretch yourself a bit and shake your drowsy head away. The air is thick with the scent of brewing coffee; you take an immediate gulp. Liberating sense of freedom overwhelms you. Slowly, you saunter your way to the living room, eye on the fuzzy armchair by the window where sunlight has no problem penetrating through. You turn on your laptop, ready to kick off the day. That’s how a decently good day should start like, and that could be your reality if being a freelancer is what you hanker for, a more flexible work schedule and many other perks await.

Further reading:  20 Working From Home Tips From Visme’s Remote Team

Freelancing, like SOHO or piecework, offers freedom and flexibility. You’re your own boss, everything is in your control. You get to say enough is enough. Unlike typical desk jobs, freelancing allows you to choose the type of work you do, who you work with, what your workflow is like, where you prefer to work and how much workload you take on. But, every rose has its thorns, how would you know whether freelancing is your cup of tea? Well, here are a few pros and cons to help you see clearer and dissect freelancing a little better.

freelance
Pros & Cons of Freelancing

What you can Expect from Freelancing, All the Fun Parts

1. Salute to All Sorts of Freedom

Seen this workplace commonality or you’ve been stranded in a similar scenario? Frustration and stagnation have become the norm of your desk job. Passively, desperately, day after day, you sigh your life away. Working from home gives an alternative. No longer do you have to set 5 alarms in the morning. Bid farewell to rigid corporate values, traffic jam, and long-hour commute. Rather, you’ll have more time in the morning to do seemingly trivial actives but will help you regroup, reboot, and set the tone for your day.

One of the biggest perks is to steer forward without any restrictions. You can choose your clients, projects that best suit you, control workload, say no to monkey work, and sustain your concentration on the utmost important tasks. What’s more, you no longer need to fit into a company culture. Physical and mental stress, therefore, can be alleviated or prevented. Take a nap when needed, sip a cup of freshly made espresso when tired. A tad bit of freedom here and there makes you the happiest person in the world. Besides, immense flexibility of choosing where to work allows you to work somewhere outside the typical office with monotonous, clinical layout. Creating your own working atmosphere or hitting a nearby chic cafe can as well speed up productivity. Yearn for a short break? On-the-go work and becoming a digital nomad is not beyond your reach. 


2. An Opportunity to Earn More

Secure financial stability might be a problem if you first start as a freelancer since large networks are yet to build. But with the convenience of the internet, you can attract clients beyond any geographic barriers, be it different states in the country or overseas locations. Freelancing, no doubt, opens the gateway for a global workforce. Your clients might have diverse backgrounds and you can work on what rewards your strong suit the best. It all implies extra money in your pocket. Better yet, you keep all the profits to yourself. You don’t need to share credits with others. This gives you the freedom to allocate and use the money to further improve and invest in yourself. 

3. Multi-Faceted Exposure

Self-employed entails you have to take control of your work. It is bittersweet, and there’s also no better way to dip toes into various jobs and foster comprehensive skills, such as interpersonal skills, crisis management, self-discipline and self-management. A one-man job requires freelancers exposing simultaneously to various fields and domains, be it marketing, advertising, and sales. You have to wear many hats. At the end of the day, you’re able to accumulate cross-disciplinary knowledge.

Besides, the chance to truly experiment with your skill set is another thrilling pro of freelancing: you’re able to explore what kind of person you want to be, broaden your horizon, as well as finding the lifestyle you find suitable for you. Gone are the days of waking up for no reason and slogging it out at your desk job. You should know what you sign up for when becoming a freelancer. 

Further reading : Qualities/Tips For a Successful Freelancer

The Reality About Freelancing. Beware!

1. Lack of Productivity 

Freelancing is not a bed of roses though, with great flexibility comes strict self-discipline and self-control. Working at home or anywhere you want makes you more relaxed but it could also drain out your focus, making you less productive and more distracted. Without pressure from supervisors or colleagues, chances are you’ll be derping around to enjoy the day instead of being self-motivated on what should be done. Therefore, great time management is needed.

2. Reputation Risks 

Freelancers may find it hard to build a steady clientele to start out. That’s why detailed resumes and online portfolios are often needed in the hope of making you more visible to potential clients. In that case, CakeResume is a good choice through which you can be exposed to various channels and opportunities, and therefore build your networking, which is of paramount importance. Through creating portfolios and resumes, you can prove your skills and quality work you have in store. With CakeResume, customization can be easily done. After all, you need to show clients what distinguishes you from other freelancers. 

So, things get trickier if you mess up your reputation. If you left your customers with a bad impression, bad review, complaints… these negative feedback can engulf you, leaving you harder to rebuild your image. The worst part is you have no one to blame. 

3. Becoming a Lone Wolf

A bustling office environment can sometimes be annoying, after all, not every office can be as dope as Google’s. Working at home means you’re no longer stuck in boxy cubicles. But it also deprives you of connectivity and networking with co-workers, not to mention short talks between colleagues can save you from mundane work routine and perk you up better than a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Not to mention, the lack of work culture can leave you feeling a little isolated from the rest of the world. But it doesn’t mean freelancers are shut out of networking. Co-working space, Meetup, and CakeResume allow you to broaden network. This way, you can also develop more clients and find people to collaborate with. 

Further reading : Freelancers in 2021: Top 8 Most Lucrative Industries

Takeaways From Being a Freelancer

With all that said, freelancing sounds like an ebb and flow option. There sure is a lot to be gained by going freelance, but you should also take into account the whole kit and caboodle coming along with it. You don’t want to go in blindly. Now, CakeResume has put everything under the sun, what are the preparations you should make? If you’re a salaried employee now, invest some time in networking and build up a solid client base, meanwhile start saving! You’d better be prepared for the worst case scenario, as an emergency fund can help you survive the unstable workflow at the beginning of a new career. The more prepared you are, the more you can enjoy the aforementioned perks. The above information is just a starter pack to unveil the industry. Stay tuned for more detailed information on CakeResume.

Further reading : 6 Best Freelance Sites to Land on a Job in 2021

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