What if you could choose your own office? What if you could change the dim, fluorescent lights from a cubicle, with a large open space. One where the wind would caress your face gingerly, and you could hear the waves breaking at the shore, not too far away. To make this Mediterranean setting complete, what if you could sip on your drink from a coconut while tapping passionately at your keyboard? Sounds highly idyllical, doesn’t it? Not to twist the knife in the wound, but this is more than feasible. By choosing the path of self-employment, you can pick your own place to work from. And this is just one of the many benefits of freelancing.
The workforce emerges in different directions – are you keeping up?
It’s true, most individuals frown upon the idea of freelancing because aside from the plenty of misconceptions available, it seems to be an unreliable job. Think about it: you are living from paycheck to paycheck, from client to client.
However, it’s highly understandable why most people fear this. After all, freelancing started as an option for income supplementation, and the main idea was not necessarily to find constant projects but to find some when you needed them. Yet in the past years, with millennials entering the workforce, it became a reliable alternative to 9-to-5 jobs. Moreover, because of the traction, it gained in the past years, companies of all sizes – including enterprises are reorienting themselves into hiring freelancers as well, not only full-time employees.
Now, I won’t claim that office jobs will be dead in a certain amount of time, but what I do say instead is that it could be a good option for you to take into the account the idea of going freelance, at some point, especially if you are seeking things such as flexibility, variety, work-life balance and more. Since I do not enjoy making claims without any arguments, here are 5 benefits of freelancing.
- Flexibility – the main keyword when going solo
Keeping all the prejudices aside on how millennials do this, do that, “destroy” industries, one of the highest desire of the upcoming generations is flexibility. Whether we talk about having the option of choosing the time to start working or the amount in one day, flexibility is one of the main benefits of freelancing. Aside from this, freelancing gives you the option to work from anywhere – your own home, a café, another city or another country, as long as you have a stable connection to the Internet.
- Thriving on variety
One of the greatest benefits of freelancing is having the opportunity to dip your toes into a pool of possibilities. Usually, freelancers work on a variety of projects, from several industries. It’s not unheard of working only with one, but that’s usually a matter of choice (and of income).
Thus, going freelance will give you the chance to grow, to expand your horizons and to achieve plenty of knowledge and an impressive portfolio. This way, you will be some sort of Jack of all trades (but better than a master of none), in your own field.
- You choose who to work with
Let’s be honest about something – when having a full-time job, even if you have the chance to work on various projects, choosing which one to work on, is not one of the perks. This way, you might find yourself stuck with a project that goes against your ethical and moral objections, or would stick you in a routine. Even worse, in case your company provides services for other clients, there’s always the option into finding one who is either overly-demanding or aggressive.
On the other hand, one of the benefits of freelancing is this – you get to choose who to work with. If your client comes to you with a project proposal that doesn’t fit you, or his behavior is not one of your likings, you can always refuse. However, if this is the case, you need to have a plan B. Which, usually freelancers do have – and thus we can talk about another benefit.
- Understanding financial security
The idea of living from project to project, without knowing if the income will be enough to pay the bills, is indeed scaring. Yet, history has shown us that having a full-time job, doesn’t necessarily reassure you that you will have the financial security you wish for.
Working as a freelancer makes you aware that maybe, not all the gigs you have are 100% certain. In numerous cases, projects can be cut short for a variety of reasons – budget, style, relationship between the client and the provider and more. Because of this, you will always be prepared to have a Plan B, C or Z, and you won’t leave things to fate.
- There is some cost-cutting involved
Maybe this isn’t the main benefit of freelancing, but it’s worth mentioning – working on your own can help you to reduce some of the costs. For instance, if you choose to work from home, you will cut on gas or any other type of commute. Even more, you might have some cost-cuts on food as well, since you can organize your work as you please and you might squiz in some time to cook. However, working from another place, such as a coworking or a café, might increase the costs. But then again, as a freelancer, you can always pick a place closer to your home.
I want to become a freelancer – where should I start?
Thankfully, in the age of the Internet, it’s easier to go freelance. Aside from having Google at your disposal, there are several available websites designed for freelancers – such as SkillValue. What makes SkillValue different from others, is this:
- We help freelancers focus on their task, by taking the monthly payment responsibility upon us – we make sure that you will receive it
- We offer you the opportunity to certify your skills through our 500+ assessments
- Plenty of opportunities
Without further ado, all I can say is this: there are more benefits of freelancing than what I have illustrated. However, it’s not a lifestyle that can fit everyone, and if you are willing to choose a stable office-job instead of jumping from project to project, it’s more than alright. Even more – if you do plan to take a sabbatical and still to have some income stream, no matter the setting, remember that freelancing is an option worth taking into account.
