Is Freelancing for You?

Whether you want to go into freelancing full-time or you’re looking to tide yourself over until the pandemic ends and the economy’s recovered, here are some realities of being a freelancer.

It might’ve been an idea you’ve been toying for years now, or even a blurry, half-baked solution you came up with as a response to the global Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent recession and recovery. You want to go beyond the usual 9-to-5 grind. The challenge and the thrill call to you. You want to spread your wings and fly.

You want to be a freelancer.

Starting off

Before even stepping onto the freelancing path, check if you have these characteristics and recognise that you may have to completely revamp your present lifestyle.

If you ticked off all the checkboxes and are still thinking of the freedom of setting your own hours, take a look at what the reality of freelancing really is: • Freelancers don’t always have financial security, and benefits are almost non-existent. Evenings with friends and family will be sacrificed, and constant work to beat out the competition may lead to you camping out at home, all day, every day. You might even catch yourself muttering: “Social distancing is my friend.” to yourself one day • You’ll need to pour in a lot of dedication and then some when you start looking for gigs. Ideally, you should network and selfpromote until everyone knows who you are and what you do, and no more introductions are needed • If you’re looking to freelance in order to supplement your income, your gigs will translate to finishing up your work or studies for the day…only to continue working • You’re everything, from the account manager to human resources, CEO, CFO and CTO. You name it, you’re it

Are you curious?

How reliable are you?

Do you like to hustle?

The basics

Constant learning

The moment you step into the freelance world, the first thing you’ll notice is that you don’t know everything you should about your area of work. That’s all right, though. Just keep learning.

But also remember that continuous development is crucial if you want to keep an edge over others and keep up with the competition, and knowledge can also come from additional research or experience.

Finances

You’ll have to handle all financial matters yourself, ranging from daily expenses to monthly utilities. Your taxes won’t pay themselves either, so you’ll have to learn how to deal with all these.

You’ll also have to come up with your own financial plan and targets to figure out what your expenses are and how much you’ll need to live comfortably.

Work to live or live to work?

Clients can come and go very quickly, so you’ll have to keep up a steady stream of income to save for a rainy day.

Aim for at least two steady or high-paying jobs and a few other gigs. But with so many clients and jobs, prepare to forego 40-hour weeks – your hours may even hit up to 70.

Is this the end?

Well, no. Although it sounds like a whole lot of disadvantages have just been dumped on your head, the reverse is true as well. There are many advantages in freelancing you’ll come across. Here are some: • You can work wherever you want, whether on staycation in Sentosa or from the comfort of your own bed • You are your own boss, from working at your own pace to planning your own schedules • You can pick and choose who you want to work with • Running your own finances means that you’ll pick up a solid understanding of all things finance-related

Now it’s the end

Whatever your reasons are to be a freelancer, even if it’s not your first-choice career, embrace it and give it your best! You’ll never know until you try. And for all you know, it could end up being your dream job! But even if it’s a short-term solution until the job economy improves, chances are you’ll gain very valuable experiences and skill sets from this stint.