Many people think of freelancers as these creative, innovative and keen individuals, living our best lives by working all day in pyjamas or hanging out in quirky co-working spaces in hip cities – and they’re not wrong. But the freelancing world isn’t all fun and games, it has a dark side, and not everyone is cut out for it.
Freelancing has plenty of great upsides and is often well worth the stress and hard work, but there are some serious downsides that all freelancers will have experienced at some point or another.
Business Is Boring
Sure, freelancers work on many exciting projects and for various innovative clients and companies all across the globe. But at the end of the day, we’re running a business, and the mundane business stuff needs doing too. Invoices, taxes, proposals and receipts are all very much real life for us freelancing folk, and it is time-consuming and boring, to say the least.
Luckily, there are plenty of tools and apps out there to help keep these things under control as quickly and simply as possible. It is also always worth scheduling in some time once a week to sit down and complete these task; that way, it won’t all build up when you reach the end of the year.
Freelancing Loneliness
Working for yourself is great. You can work the hours you want, in a place that suits you and on projects that excite you. But the truth is, working for yourself can become very, very lonely. As freelancers, we generally spend all our working hours alone sitting in front of a computer, lacking human contact and conversation. Unlike our nine-to-fiver friends, we have no one to moan to when a client is particularly annoying or no one to celebrate with when a big project comes in.
The great thing is, there are thousands of other freelancers out there just like us, also longing for someone to chat to about they’re working day. Look out for Facebook groups, Instagram hashtags and LinkedIn Profiles to find other freelancers to befriend, chances are they are suffering from freelancing loneliness just the same as you!
No Guaranteed Income
One of the biggest downsides of freelancing is the lack of stability when it comes to your income. We all have bills to pay, and when the amount you earn changes drastically from month to month, it can be very stressful.
Try to keep your income as consistent as possible, and when you do have a particularly good month, try to save some money for a rainy day. Having this back up can help ease the stresses of a quiet month.
