The Pros and Cons of Freelancing: Is it Right for you?

Freelancing gives you the freedom to choice and flexibility, bit it comes with risk of failure and no insurance. So people looking for a more stable career and remuneration and may consider becoming of virtual assistant instead. 

Many professionals around the world are considering giving up their traditional jobs and transitioning to freelancing instead. If you are in the same boat and considering freelancing as you next career choice-welcome to the club.

But how do you know if freelancing is the right fit for you? After all, you'd rather not cast off only to the realize your boat is capsizing. How can you decide whether you should become of freelancer? 

When I am trying to make an important decision, I always make a pros and cons list to help me understand both sides of an argument. I hop this breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing freelancing will help you decide  whether it's the right choice for you.

In this article, I will discuss:

The pros of freelancing

The cons of freelancing

Is freelancing right for you?

How to start freelancing

Pros of freelancing:

Flexibility: With such freedom over clients and work load, freelancers have the flexibility that most people dream of. If you went to work full-time most of the year and only part- time during the summer, you have the flexibility and control to make that decision. 

Independence:

Freelance jobs offer independence. Not only are you free of  the cubicle and 9-to-5 work life. You also have the ability to work alone, and for the most part. Where you are most comfortable doing so.
Exposure:

Cons of Freelancing:

Taxes:

Uncle Sam a share of income whether you are a freelancer or an employee. Freelancers, though, have the responsibility of paying self-employment taxes, and making to sure pay them quarterly. Taxes can be a disadvantage of freelancing, so be sure to carefully consider regulations and laws when setting your rates.

Pay up:

Furthermore, freelancers will want to ask prospective clients about their expectations for the role and whether it's simply project-based, seasonal, or going.
Isolation:

Freedom of Clients:

Freelancers have the unique ability to choose the silent they work with. They also have the ability to work with many clients or only of few select clients. Flex Jobs ' survey of over 1,000 freelancers found the working (56%) and job sits like flex job (47%) are the two most common ways that freelancers find clients.

With such freedom over clients and work load, freelancers have the flexibility that most people dream of. If you went to work full-time most of the year and only part- time during the summer, you have the flexibility and control to make that decision.

Exposure:

A lot of jobs offer employees variety; however , working a freelance jobs opens up the ability to work on a variety of project and topics. Working for one companies in-house many not provide experience in other industry and career  areas. Freelancing is a way to broaden horizons. This variety can help create and environment that is less redundant and boring.

Another common downfall to being a freelancer is that you will ultimately be isolated from a team or company. Unless you have people close to you to work with, more often then not, you will work alone.

When weighing the pros and cons of freelancing, one of the more worrisome issues revolves around cash flow. While freelancers set their own fees to meet their income needs, they are also responsible for collecting payment.     Unfortunately, there are some freelancers that have been faced with clients that don't pay up.

Lack of Benefits:

Whereas an employee is (for the most part) eligible for benefits, freelancers rarely receive benefits. Since freelancers are self -employed, they are typically responsible for finding and funding there own insurance.

IS Freelancing Right For You:

To freelance or not freelance?   What's it going to be. No one can make this decision except you, of course. However, after going through our extensive prose and cons list, you may have a better idea of whether freelancing is the right choice for you.

It may also be comforting for you to know that in a post-pandemic world, freelancing is being seen in a completely different light. 

According to UPWORK'S is great work Teardown report, business scrambling to add skills and finding that existing way of  hiring and managing talent are no longer effective. 

There's a breakdown of the traditional workplace, workforce, and work-life. And independent  professionals are powering the rebuild.

As a result, more businesses are open to remote work and hiring talent irrespective of there proximity to a corporate office. According to the research, 38% of businesses plan to significantly increase their use of remote freelancers in the next to years.

As UPWORK CEO HAYDEN BROWN said in her opening keynote for the Work without limits summit,  "The future has never been brighter for freelancing."

Above all, use your common sense and gut feeling and do what works for you.