10 Advantages of Being a Freelancer 2021
The pandemic has changed our lives in ways indescribable. Aside from the notorious consequences of the disease, the world also saw a huge change in employer-employee relationship. Not only did the lockdown force many companies to switch to remote work, but it also increased the demand for freelance workers. If you consider starting a freelance career, there could not be a better time to give it a go. Freelancers comprise about 36% of the global workforce as of 2020. The number of freelancer workers grew from 57 million in 2019 to 1.1 billion in 2020. With a 3.5 billion global workforce in total, this is a huge number.
Freelancing has a ton of advantages and if you are still in two minds whether it’s worth a try or not, keep reading to find out more on how you’d benefit from your career as a freelancer.
Here are the main advantages of freelancing:
1. Sense of Ownership and More Freedom
Gone are the days when working from 9 to 5 and having to comply with various office rules had no alternatives. Freelancing has come to replace that. As a freelancer, you are pretty much your own boss. You have the freedom to make your own work schedule based on whether you are an early bird or a night owl. If you have children, you can freely choose your working hours according to their sleeping or kindergarten times. In other words, you manage your time fully with no strict obligations as long as you deliver the work on time and meet the deadlines.
As a freelancer you are also free to choose the project you like. You don’t have to work on projects that are not interesting or important to you. To cut it short, freelancing gives you the opportunity to work with more freedom and an incomparably higher sense of ownership.
2. Broader Opportunity to Increase Income
If you think of freelancing as simply a side hustle, an additional source of income besides your full-time job, we are here to change this stereotype. Freelancing can turn into your only “full-time” job bringing you more cash than many office jobs do. How can that be true, you may ask?
Many freelancing newbies don’t know how to start off correctly and manage their hourly rates properly in order to make good money. However, once you figure out the dos and don’ts in this business, you can earn your living.
The first and foremost factor for a successful freelancing career is following your passion. You should do what you actually love doing, otherwise freelancing won’t work out. Besides, it’s a good point to start out in your favourite field.
For example, if you want to become a web developer, many freelance platforms can be a good place to hone your skills, gain expertise and build a reputation among employers as a demanded specialist.
You can work at an office job for years and get close to no pay rise. However, as a freelancer you decide your own rates, and can increase them as you gain more experience. Here are some pro tips to help you increase your income:
- Refine your skills. All the time. Quality always pays back.
- Negotiate your rates fearlessly. Don’t let clients take your work for granted. Appreciate your work and others will appreciate it too.
- Try out various freelancing platforms and gather referrals and repeat customers.
If you follow these principles genuinely and never concede, you will see a steady income rise in your every other freelancing project.
3. Location Flexibility
As a freelancer, you can choose to work from anywhere convenient to you. No need to go to an office every day. This comes in handy especially for people who like travelling and are rarely in the same place for too long. Just make sure to take your laptop and have a strong internet connection.
4. Security
Being a freelancer means that you are self-employed. This releases you from worrying about the possibility of losing your job or being fired, or your company going bankrupt. To put it simply, you no longer feel like walking on eggshells and being in a constantly vulnerable situation.
You will always have a job as there are multiple online job boards with millions of employers offering good deals.
5. International Exposure
When working freelance jobs, you are not limited geographically. You can collaborate with clients around the world, getting international exposure and building a solid reputation for better opportunities in the future.
6. No More Daily Commute
It goes without saying that freelancers don’t have to deal with the daily commute to and from the office. This way you save your energy, time and money.
7. A More Balanced Lifestyle
As you have more control over your workload and the number of projects you do at a time, you are able to preserve a better work-life balance. You have enough free time to dedicate to your family, friends, relaxation and other interests or hobbies you may have.
8. Skill Improvement
Working on projects of various sizes and complexity, you are able to expand your knowledge, learn, and improve your skills as you go. At a full-time office job you don’t always have a chance to learn and grow, sometimes you even feel stagnant which prevents you from climbing the career ladder.
9. Opportunity to Build a Startup
Once you master the use of freelancing platforms and build loyalty among employers, you can try starting your business. Think of your own freelancing agency, sounds enticing, doesn’t it?
10. Full Credit
As a freelancer, you do your work, you get the full credit for it. No need to worry about your colleagues’ mistakes or compromises for the team. You have full responsibility and full credit for whatever you do.
The above-listed benefits should help you make up your mind about becoming a freelancer. Slowly, but steadily, freelancers are taking over the job market – don’t miss your chance to acquire your unique place in the diverse freelancing ecosystem.
