More and more people worldwide are going remote, and if you want to become one of them, it’s good to know what it takes to become a freelancer. There are some obvious signs that might be telling you that it’s still not time to become a freelancer.
A freelance career is risky
Working 9 to 5 may sound boring to many, but if you’re not someone who is willing to take risks, freelancing may not be your best option. A freelance career is risky because of many things, but mostly because you often won’t have a regular workflow, and therefore – regular payments. Everyone who is not okay with uncertain financial stability shouldn’t think of going remote. Yet, that’s still not all related to freelance risk. For example, there may appear, clients who won’t pay you at all for completed tasks and projects, and there are breaching contracts as well. Still not okay with the risks, but want to become a freelancer? Search for full-time remote work, rather than for one-time short gigs.
Remote work requires great communication skills
If you have thought that freelancers don’t need to have amazing communication skills, let us reassess your beliefs about that. Conversation in freelancing is literally non-stop. There are all types of communication, starting with chatting on freelancing platforms where you talk about the project, the client, and of course – yourself and your work, then there are calls, video calls, meetings, and more. Clients truly appreciate freelancers who are always available and who can quickly respond. If that’s not you, maybe freelancing shouldn’t be your first choice.
Successful freelancers know how to market themselves
Displaying your freelance employability is of crucial value. All freelancers know how to market themselves in the best possible manner. Clients that are searching for remote workers want people whom they can trust. How to represent yourself online and build your digital self-image? The best would be to start collecting different recommendations from people with whom you’ve worked in the past. LinkedIn may be a great place to achieve that. An online portfolio can show clients who you are and what your online business looks like, which will make it easier for them to trust you, and first of all – choose you instead of some other freelancer to work for the company.
Negotiation is a big part of every freelance contract
Don’t know how to negotiate? Well, that may cause many problems in your new remote business. People who don’t know how to negotiate cannot represent the value of their work to the clients. Every freelancer will give you the same advice – always look at things from the client’s perspective. First of all, you must let them know why hiring you, as a freelancer, is a better idea than hiring some other employee in their own city. After that, a freelancer should let the client know if they would need constant support and guidance, or can they work completely on their own – independently. Talking about money is also a must, so it’s highly recommended that the freelancer talks about how often they will send invoices. Flexibility within the terms of service is another great topic worth mentioning.
So, if you are not good with negotiation, but can follow and learn the steps we have mentioned – then yes, there’s a chance that you can become a successful freelancer. If you still cannot negotiate even after completing those steps – a freelance career is not for you.
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Freelance and remote workers are always self-motivated
Being self-motivated is of huge importance in the freelancing world. There won’t be many out there who will try to motivate you, so you’re all on your own. Freelancers need to motivate themselves for so many things, from waking up in the morning and starting to work, through keeping concentration even if there are dozens of distractions in their home environment, to completing all tasks on time. Yes, sometimes it’s hard, but everyone who is naturally self-motivated won’t have problems with this.
With motivation, another thing that comes with it is definitely organization. A freelancer must not only organize their work and projects but their entire life. And although many believe that freelancers can live, do, and work in ways they want, it’s not always like that. Sometimes, clients will need something to be done urgently. As a freelancer, you also need a schedule. Your days won’t look like a vacation.
Can’t motivate yourself? Does your motivation come from others? Not so good with organizing your workday or free time? In that case, a freelancing career shouldn’t be your option. It would be a better option to work for someone remotely, but full-time.
Online workers manage numerous projects on their own
Remember how it all went in school days – you get a project, and then you have to work on it. Did you enjoy doing it all alone, or was it easier for you to complete tasks in a group? Freelancers most often must manage numerous projects on their own. Sometimes, it’s very hard to even start, and sometimes, when a hard part appears, it’s hard to continue. Those who are not good at managing projects on their own, and who are not self-motivated to overcome difficulties will usually quit, which is not what a successful freelancer does.
It’s always a good idea to prioritize projects as a freelancer, starting from urgency, then going to necessity and scalability. As we have mentioned above already, don’t forget to exaggerate the number of clients and workload, so you won’t end up in a situation to lose it all.
People who think about going freelance instead of their regular jobs should also think about the reasons which made them think that way. For example, many are just tired of their regular jobs and want to change something. If that’s the case, a vacation may sound better. Of course, if you have not recognized yourself in what we talked about in this article, freelancing may still be for you.
Everyone who wants to become a freelancer should also think about their workplace. Do you have enough space to work from your home? Is the room you would work in quiet and peaceful? How many other daily obligations do you have? Can you financially survive the transit from your regular job to freelancing?
It’s important to know that transiting to freelancing may require time, so be ready that you are literally without any salary for quite a while (usually a month or two). People who start freelancing also suddenly realize that they still have to learn a lot of things, although they have thought they have it all and that they are ready.
Being a successful freelancer should mean that you are very good at something. Not to say that you are an expert, but it’s important to offer something to your future clients. Think about why would someone choose you, instead of some other online worker? Not sure? That means how you should still learn and improve your skills.
Freelancing requires constant learning, and if you are fine with that, and the idea that the entire world is your competition, then go for it.
If you have recognized yourself in some of the facts we have written about in this article, you are not ready for a freelance career. Yet, if you still want to become a freelancer, you should work on overcoming these mentioned difficulties. For example, there are many online courses that can help you with that.
Besides that, a gradual transition may sound like an ideal option – start with freelance as an additional job, aside from doing your regular job. Slowly increase your share of freelance work until you feel ready for full-time freelancing only. If you do not feel the need to completely switch to a freelance lifestyle, you still have your permanent job.
Good luck!
