5 more Reasons why you should be a Freelancer
Before we begin...
Alice is a freelance web designer, and Bob is software engineer at Gigo Solutions. Lets compare the lives of Alice and Bob. They have the following lifestyles,
Lets begin with Bob first,
- Wakes up everyday at 7 AM.
- Has a quick breakfast, and heads out to his office at 8 AM.
- Stays on the road for a full hour (rush-hour traffic), and enters his office at 9 AM (luckily on time.)
- He is greeted by emotionless faces.
- Has lunch at 12:30 PM with his colleagues (hates all of them, but has no choice.)
- Works till 8 PM.
- Drives back home, and arrives at 9 PM. Sapped of all energy and enthusiasm, he barely sees the welcoming smiles of his wife and children.
- Watches TV till 1 AM, and then goes to sleep.
- Wakes up at 7 AM, and the cycle repeats.
Lets consider Alice now,
- Wakes up at 9 AM. Well, usually.
- Lazes in the bed for another half an hour, and then leisurely has her breakfast till 10:30 AM.
- Starts her PC, and checks her emails.
- Works on her latest project for an hour.
- Has lunch at 1 PM with her kids.
- Gets back to her project, while her kids play in the same room.
- Stops working at 6 PM and calls it a day.
- Goes out for dinner with her family at 8 PM.
- Returns at 10 PM, watches TV, and then goes to sleep.
- The day ends, and the next day is similar, but the timings and her activities could vary.
Well, I hope you realize whose life is better here. Lets have 5 more reasons why you should decide to be a freelancer,
5. Time should not be the only factor that decides your earnings
Time is important, but the money you earn, should not directly be a factor of the time you spend working. The money you earn should be proportional to the effort you put in. Few companies give importance to this. When you work in a company you are paid a fixed salary, regardless of how hard you have worked.
When you are freelancing, you get paid for exactly how much work you do, regardless of how much time you put into it. This is important, because, if you are really skilled, you can do a lot more work, and hence earn a lot more money.
4. One should work only when one feels like working
The amount of work you can do, and your creativity are not constant every hour of the day and every day of the week. Working for 8 hours, 5 days a week doesn't really make sense. It is more like you are physically present at the office for 8 hours, 5 days a weeks, but you have willingly worked only for a fraction of that duration.
While freelancing, you decide when to accept a project (though the client usually decides when you are supposed to finish working on it.) Well, if you think the project has very strict deadlines, just choose another project.
3. One should get to choose what he/she works on
Working for a large corporation means, you don't really get to choose what project you work on, or what technology you get to use. Yes, you can just quit and join another company, but again, you join a post, not a project, and after an year or so, you might be forced to start working on a project you don't really like.
While freelancing, you have complete control over what projects you bid on. You also get to choose the exact technology you use for your work.
2. One should not be forced to stay in one geographic location
The 'free' in freelancing also means freedom; freedom to be a remote worker. You can be anywhere in the world, and as long as you have access to a computer and an Internet connection, your work can be done and you can earn. Many freelancers are considered to be digital nomads, as their lifestyle involves frequently traveling to exotic locations where cost of living is low.
1. You don't have to deal with pesky colleagues
Working in a cubicle, with so many people at close proximity, most of whom are as depressed and stressed as you are, is not really a very pleasant experience. You get to meet all sorts of people at work, and while some might be good, others might be mildly annoying at best. If you are freelancing, you can stay at home, with your family while working. This might or might not lessen your productivity, but being with the people you like all the time more than makes up for a small loss in productivity.
Conclusion
Freelancing is always preferred over working at a company. (Starting a start up is even better.) However, you need to be aware of the risks involved. There are a lot of freelancers out there bidding on the same projects as you are, and unless you are really good at your work, freelancing is not for you. Do not quit your job without having a firm foot-hold in the world of freelancing. This means, you need to have enough experience and a sufficiently good portfolio of your previous works.
