Freelancing is one of the best ways to support yourself in the modern business world. Whether you freelance as a web designer, a blogger, or even developer, there’s always a market for talented people with free time and skills. Indeed, freelancing is one of the most popular side hustles for ambitious individuals who want to sharpen their abilities and gain extra income in the process.
However,
freelancing can prove difficult to manage as well. Especially if you don’t have much experience working outside of the office. Indeed, there are a few tell-tale signs that will let you know if your freelancing project isn’t panning out. The good news is, with a little hard work, and some innovative thinking you can get back on task and loving your freelancing venture soon enough.
The Price Is Wrong
One of the quickest ways to tell if your freelancing enterprise is headed south fast is if your work is becoming less and less valuable. Sometimes companies employ multiple freelancers at once and can use the competition between them to drive down the price of labor. However, even if this isn’t the case, you need to find fair compensation for your work.
And this goes double if you’re freelancing to support yourself, and not just for some extra capital. One way to alleviate this problem is by keeping clear and honest lines of communications open with the companies you deal with. To this end, written transactions like email are great to keep track of agreed prices and deals –– but there’s also something to be said for the value of an over-the-phone interaction.
People tend to open up more over the phone, and there’s a level of intimacy there that’s lacking in emails or text messages. Asserting yourself with your own voice has a power to it that’s just not replicable in the text. Indeed, if you’re serious about upping your freelancing game, consider adding a
polycom voip phone to your office –– it’ll add a layer of professionalism and functionality to communications with your partners.
Unrealistic Expectations
Part of the joy of being a freelancer is the freedom and the pleasure to set your own schedule and work at your own pace. After all, the allure of working from home should be that it doesn’t feel like work at all. Plus, as a freelancer, you obviously don’t get to enjoy the benefits or security of a full-time employee.
That’s why it’s vital to have a realistic set of expectations and goals regarding your work as a freelancer. You shouldn’t have to spend sleepless nights trying to finish projects that are taking up an inordinate amount of your time. The best way to deal with this is to examine the way you conduct business. You may also want to take it as an opportunity to learn valuable time-management skills. Or better yet, you can attempt to improve your skills as a freelancer to shorten the amount of time a given task takes.
Reading
books on essay writing can sharpen your skills as a freelance writer, just as taking an online course can improve your abilities as a web designer. Remember, time is money after all in the freelance world.
Feeling Unmotivated
Freelancers under the best of circumstances are passionate, self-driven people. And for many, their freelance work is an expression of a passion they have. So if you’ve started to feel a lack of energy or desire to complete your freelance assignments, you may want to reconsider your career path. Sometimes you can use the freelance experience as a springboard to landing an interview for a full-time job in your industry. In other instances, feeling uninterested in your work can indicate that you need a change –– or perhaps the fix is as simple as taking a vacation for a few weeks. At the end of the day, everyone needs a chance to recharge their batteries every once in a while. Just because you’ve had to endure a bad week or two doesn’t make you a bad freelancer. It may simply indicate that you need a break. Since you don’t get regular time off like a regular employee, make sure to schedule time off when you can relax and let your hair down.
You’re Not Learning Anymore
One of the great elements of freelance work is the opportunity to learn new things about your trade –– and about yourself. Figuring out what you’re good at and what you love is part of the freelancing process. Even if you feel stressed or fatigued from time to time, as long as you can point to tangible results from your work you’re likely doing something right.
But if your work has become stagnant, or if you don’t feel properly challenged and excited by the prospect of more freelance work then you’ll need to determine how to rekindle that passion. One great way to do that is to inspect your work from early days of freelance work and contrast it with your current offerings. If you can see a significant improvement, it shows you’re on the right path. If not, then big changes are in order if you want to freelance seriously in the future.
Conclusion
Freelancing isn’t for everyone, and there’s no shame in that. People are wired differently, and some can handle the more amorphous structure of a freelancer’s schedule better than others. Figuring that out sooner rather than later will help you shape a career path that works best for you.
However, if freelancing is something you want to pursue for years to come, then keep an eye out for the four problems listed above. No profession is easy; however, you shouldn’t have to compromise to do something you love. Stay focused and dedicated to following your passion and everything else is likely to fall into place as a result.
