We know the advantages of freelance employment such as flexible working hours, choosing where to work, freedom from bosses, independence and being in control. On the other hand, freelance employment has its own challenges.
First it is true you have flexible hours but you will need a high level of motivation and self-discipline if you want to work on your own. No one is going to wake you in the morning and tell you what has to be completed and by when for you to do your work.
Secondly, if you work from a home office not only are you at risk of being isolated, you also have to deal with distractions such as reading the paper, watching TV, or throwing a load of clothes in the dryer.
It is true that you are the boss but keep in mind that you may have some very demanding clients. You will find there are clients who tend to give you an assignment that needed to be done yesterday and you cannot yell at them because they are your clients.
If you outsource some of the work on a project, you may have hired someone who does not have the skills you need or your outside source cannot stay with the schedule. Instead of helping you with projects, your outside source is causing more work for you.
Eventually you will learn to be a jack of all trades in your freelance business. You will need to find training about public relations and promotion, marketing in general, coaching and business planning to name a few areas.
For instance you may have difficulty communicating well with all your clients. This often takes place soon after you get the job. Never forget you are at risk for losing any client and not getting any more work if you do not have a good dialog. The best thing to do if you find yourself in this situation is to be a good listener. Paraphrase what they tell you to make sure you understand what they are saying. Clients like it when they know you are listening and can answer their questions. This may sound simple but it works.
It is obvious with all the challenges, you will make mistakes especially in the beginning. It is a given. The good thing about mistakes is you can learn from them and get better.
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