It’s important to know why we freelance. Knowing what’s good and what’s bad helps you decide if this crummy world is where you want to be.
First, the reasons I love freelancing. Pros:
- No alarm clocks
- No commute
- Make your own schedule
- Choose your assignments
- Writing off part of rent, utilities and other expenses
- Learn to challenge and motive oneself
- Develop a richer collection of sources
- The value of developing small-business skills
- Working for various publications
- Work on side projects
- I always look forward to the next day
Below, see some of the reasons I’ve found someone might not want to freelance.
Cons:
- No regular salary
- No regular salary
- No editor challenging you to improve your writing
- No regular salary
- No traditional access to health benefits
- Investigative or otherwise involved, longer-form pieces can become cost-prohibitive
- Learning basic tax code, statuses and such
- Having to keep organized business records
- No regular salary
- Marketing yourself, directing yourself, motivating yourself
- No 5 p.m. whistle; where does the work day stop?
- Cabin fever
- A personal e-mail and cell phone doesn’t always carry a sense of authenticity
- Lonely office
- No regular salary
This list helps make me certain this is where I want to be, hope they help you.
What am I missing, though? What makes you like it, or keep you from doing it? I want this list to grow.
Graphic from CDC.gov.
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