You may be wondering if you’re cut out for freelancing. There’s really no easy answer to this. Each of us finds our own way in the job market regardless of whether that means working for someone else or for ourselves.
It’s really important if you are making a decision that is going to impact your future like freelancing, that you understand all the possible repercussions. While the idea of working at home, for yourself may sound glamorous, there are pitfalls you have not even begun to think about.
Some of those pitfalls can be avoided if you do your research, get useful advice, and generally make a solid decision taste on good advice. The fact of the matter is that the freelancing, entrepreneurship, whatever you’d like to call it is simply not for everyone.
Statistically, there were more people working for themselves today than ever before. Factually, that does not mean that all of these people are succeeding. Working for yourself does not necessarily mean you will work better hours, or get higher pay. In fact, sometimes it means that you will work longer hours for less pay.
That’s not to say that every freelancer works long hours, or works for pennies on the dollar. What it does mean, is that you have to understand the time, energy, and investment it takes to get your business off the ground.
One of the first things you need to remember, is that getting started is the hardest part of freelancing. Fortunately, the Internet has provided unparalleled opportunity to get started in small steps, part-time while you work another job. For many people, this may not be possible.
In fact, all too often attempting to freelance part-time can result in failure. You must make a commitment to doing everything you can to promote yourself. For freelance writers, this may be easier than for other fields. There are a wealth of websites, that allow you the opportunity to write, publish immediately, and even monetize to ensure that you will at least have a “trickle” of income to get yourself started.
Just because freelancing is not the easiest thing to do, does not mean that it is not profitable, fun, and rewarding in other ways than monetary. If you set up a solid plan to get started, you could easily launch a very successful career inside of the year.
This should not discourage you. In fact, if anything it should energize you. Wouldn’t you be willing to sacrifice a few nights out, a few television shows, and even sometimes that you might spend doing other things to launch your own business?
You first need to remember that success does not come overnight. You will spend hundreds of lonely hours, you will encounter plenty of frustration and you may even trip a time or two. That doesn’t mean you should give up. If you can seriously make the commitment to working for yourself, you will find that there are plenty of ways to establish yourself as a freelancer.
Most of this blog will focus on freelance writing. The reason for that is simple that’s what I do. I’m not a programmer, I’m not a coder, I don’t have any unusual skills-I just like to write. As you read my posts, you’ll find plain talk, not a lot of “fluff”, and some suggestions for getting started. Just because some of these things work for me, does not mean they will work for you.
It’s important to remember, when you’re freelancing that every person is different. What works for one person may not work for another. What I may find as an effective tool you may scratch your head and wonder what I was thinking. The fact remains, you will find the tools that work best for you.
I hope to be able to provide you with resources that will help you launch your own successful freelancing. Any resource I provide to you will be something I have researched, have used, or am currently using. As with anything else, over time I have changed some of my strategies. This is just good business sense.
If you find my posts helpful, I hope that you will share them with others. I sincerely believe that each freelancer owes it to others to help them get started. Like reinventing the wheel nor should it be. Many of the things I’ve learned I’ve learned the hard way. You shouldn’t have to.
I welcome your comments, and I hope to see you as a regular active participant. I have Twitter accounts, multiple blogs, a Facebook account, and the LinkedIn account. On each of them, you will find different information. However, you will always find the same type of information. My posts focus on how to get started, how to succeed, and how to use the tools available to you.
About Doreen Martel
Well-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.
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