The freelancing thing is actually different for each of us. Professionally I have been freelancing for about eight years, something I have learned on my own. There was no training anywhere in my life, so the number of mistakes was probably much higher, I tried to learn from my mistakes. Alhamdulillah, I have been able to convert personal freelancing to a business. You should all have this target. The reason for saying a personal paragraph is that since the freelancing thing is very popular in our country, naturally there are many misconceptions about it, there are positive misconceptions as well as many negative misconceptions. Today I will talk about some of the most common misconceptions among us about freelancing.
# 1 – Freelancing is very easy
Especially newcomers or many of us who look at other people’s income (often greedily) are interested in freelancing; their idea is freelancing is very easy to do! Just sit down with mobile or buy a computer and start earning. If you are sitting with such an idea, I would say, forget it right now. There is no such thing as an easy business or profession in the world. Every business requires you to work hard, follow the right strategy, and even after a lot of hard work many businesses do not survive. The freelancing industry is no different. Yes, there is a lot of work here but millions of boys and girls like you are eager to do it, many of whom are probably more skilled than you. Being established here and making a good income (I don’t want to disappoint you) is a very difficult thing to do. But if you have the skills, the passion, and follow the right path, hopefully, you can win it.
# 2 – Freelancing is a temporary business!
Most people think that freelancing is a temporary business! It can go away at any time!! . I will say, it will depend on what kind of freelancer you are, what kind of work you do. There are many regular types of jobs where you can be fired within 5 minutes’ notice!. I know some freelancers who have been working in this industry for over 10 years and are living very successful life. Then, I know a lot of people who have lost everything in a few days. This is because all online work is freelancing, but not all work is legal. I’d suggest, start working in a reputable marketplace. Of course, there are some limitations in working in the marketplace. That’s why I would say that if you can start your own business or set up an agency while working in the marketplace, there is nothing better than this in your life.
What happens in the regular job is that you work for a company, they can fire you at any time. Then you have to find a new job because your source of income will be 100% closed. In freelancing, if you work with a lot of clients, even if one of your clients leaves, your source of income will not be shut down. Finding a new client is not very difficult, but getting a new job is very difficult. Another thing is that many companies are leaning towards freelancing without hiring newcomers. Big companies now outsource a lot of their work. If you can build a proper business model, you will be able to run your business for more than 30 years and I think steady income will always come.
# 3 – The pressure on freelancing is much higher than a normal job
Okay, that’s a dependable thing too. When you build your freelancing career in the beginning, that is, when you have foundation time, you have to take a lot of pressure. Finding new clients is a very difficult task, again on a platform like Upwork you have to bid on different types of projects every day. When you stand in a good position, the pressure will automatically decrease a lot. If you have a thousand good feedback (let’s assume!) then you do not have to find a client, the client will find you. There is an economic issue, the income will be very low in the beginning. You may think, I am working so much, I am not getting money that way! . Knowing this, you need to keep your project prices relatively low at the beginning of your career, so you are more likely to get a job. But also keep in mind, do not keep the price unusually low, keep it in terms of reality. Over time, when you can hire some people, the pressure will go down a lot. You can run your business in relaxation. But if you want to survive, there is no chance of laziness in any business in the world.
# 4 – You are your own boss
You have no boss in freelancing! This is actually a misconception. There is no object on earth that does not have a boss. We are all trapped in a big chain, called the chain of command. Yes, you don’t have a boss here like a normal job, but you have a ‘near level’ boss. Honestly, you have actually two bosses – your client and yourself. The advantage here is that just as your client can exclude you from the project, you can also ‘fire’ a client if you don’t like them! . But yes, 90% of the traditional bosses are not here. The more skills and experience you have, the easier it will be for you to manage the clients.
# 5 – Freelancing is not a real business
Like any other business, freelancing is a stable, real business. However, if you want to work in the marketplace for a lifetime, in that sense it may not be that type of business. In my opinion, one should set up one’s own business or agency as soon as possible. That will be the real business, where your freedom is much more than the marketplace, you are really your boss, but you will always have a responsibility with your client. The biggest problem with freelancing is the identity crisis, our social condition is (what you want to do mentally, the family never wants to understand it, everyone knows two professions, they will always push you towards it!), when you talk about freelancing here, they think it’s a temporary, unstable profession. They also think, it has no validity, and your income can be cut off at any time. That’s why when you tell them, you don’t just do freelancing, you also have a personal business; Then the matter becomes much easier.
