Top five reasons to be a Freelancer

Working as a freelancer is not so much a job but a lifestyle choice, and in brutal honesty – it is hard work! BUT in my opinion, it’s also infinitely more rewarding than working for someone else as an employee. Another perk of becoming a freelancer is the opportunity it offers to build your brand. At some point, when your niche takes off, you may require a creative agency to finetune your brand, setting you apart from others in this fast-becoming saturated space. The quicker you go on this tangent, the more advantages you will enjoy as a freelancing professional.

Here are my top five reasons!

You set your own working pattern

Are you a morning person, or a night-owl? Either works when you’re a freelancer, because generally speaking as long as the work gets done, it’s of no consequence to your clients whether it was done at 3 pm or 3 am.

This is 100% my why. As a mum, I am there for the school run in the morning and afternoon and have the flexibility to attend events such as parents’ evenings, assemblies, sports days, etc without having to ask for permission for time off and the pressure of making it up elsewhere.

You can work from anywhere

And I mean literally anywhere. Whether that means from bed on a day when you’re not feeling very ‘people-y’, a coffee shop when you feel the need to be surrounded by some buzz to help you think, or even as so many digital nomads will demonstrate on their Insta – the beach in some exotic location. As long as I have my laptop and wi-fi, then I can work.

Uncapped earnings

The safety net of regular income from employment is of course attractive when you have monthly financial obligations to meet, but you are at the mercy of your employer.

When was the last time you had a pay rise or a bonus? For many, including myself when I was employed, bills and food costs would be increasing but without a salary increase to match so my pay would be squeezed as time went on.

As a freelancer, you set your own fees and can even branch out into creating passive income streams such as online courses, ebooks, blogging, and affiliate schemes. You could even take on staff and expand your portfolio that way.

The sky is literally your limit.

You call the shots

Have you experienced a client that gives you the ‘ick’? You know the ones I mean; the ones when you see their name in your inbox, a cold shudder goes through you and you flinch as you open the email.

Well as a freelancer, you are in control of your contracts and can minimise the work you do for clients that make you feel like this. You didn’t start working for yourself to be tied to certain people as you would be in employment, so set yourself up in a way that suits you.

Whilst some freelancers work on monthly retainers and minimum numbers of hours per month, I have always operated my Virtual Assistant business in a pick up-put down manner with no notice required on either side, so if either of us are not feeling it, then we can easily go our separate ways.

The buzz

You are your business and brand, and whether you choose to do it all or perhaps outsource tasks such as marketing for example when those reviews and recommendations start rolling in, there is no buzz like it.

It is YOU they are recognising, and it is your name personally that is being realised. How many times have you worked your ass off in a job, for the success story to be snatched away by colleagues or higher management?

That is all your hard work, drive, and determination and you should absolutely, individually, bask in its glow!

In conclusion

Whether you are already a freelancer and needed a reminder of why you do it, or are still in employment and thinking about your options, I hope this blog has helped with considering if you are living the type of work-life you want.

About the Author

Jen Taylor is a freelance Virtual Assistant based in the UK.

Jen is from an events background originally, achieving a BA (Hons) in Hospitality Management in 2006 before working in the industry and on high profile events including one for the England Rugby team! She was then a trainer and Curriculum Manager in the hospitality industry for six years prior to starting work as a Virtual Assistant during her second maternity leave in 2015.

Jen has worked for dozens of clients as a Virtual Assistant since starting out, including a dental marketing consultant, a haberdashery and sewing school, a private scanning clinic, parenting and child sleep consultants, a tutoring firm and a well-known scientist!

She now splits her week between a part-time role in Professional Services at a university and running her Virtual Assistant business from home.