freelancing: the joys and pains
Being a freelancer requires not only hard work but also patience and persistence, especially if you are just starting out. There will be times when there wouldn't be work for you for several months and then suddenly assignments come in heaps for a day.
The process of searching for a job is a separate exercise from actually finding one and negotiating the price and delivery terms and from the process of working on the job and having it approved and waiting to close the whole business deal after receiving payment. And it does not even end at that yet. There's the follow-up for more work, sending business greetings during holidays to remind them you still exist, showing gratitude for the client's trust in your work ethic, and the list goes on.
There is also this constant revision of your CV to tailor-fit it to the needs of particular job descriptions and writing emails and proposals for the jobs you are interested in. Aside from that, there's the online portfolio that you must update to remain interesting for perusers.
Then there's the administrative side of it where you need to keep notes of your financial spendings and earnings. At the year end, you need to at least make a clear report on all of this comings and goings to find out if you actually made or lost money. Finally, there's the annual filling out of the income tax return. In the meantime, another cycle of the year has started all over again.
If a freelancer does it just for the money then it I am afraid it wouldn't be enough to sustain you for a long period of time. There has to be a deep love for your craft, a level of maturity to be able to handle disappointments, some basic business acumen, an understanding of the true value of your work in the market place, pride for your output, and most of all courage to put yourself out there.
The process of searching for a job is a separate exercise from actually finding one and negotiating the price and delivery terms and from the process of working on the job and having it approved and waiting to close the whole business deal after receiving payment. And it does not even end at that yet. There's the follow-up for more work, sending business greetings during holidays to remind them you still exist, showing gratitude for the client's trust in your work ethic, and the list goes on.
There is also this constant revision of your CV to tailor-fit it to the needs of particular job descriptions and writing emails and proposals for the jobs you are interested in. Aside from that, there's the online portfolio that you must update to remain interesting for perusers.
Then there's the administrative side of it where you need to keep notes of your financial spendings and earnings. At the year end, you need to at least make a clear report on all of this comings and goings to find out if you actually made or lost money. Finally, there's the annual filling out of the income tax return. In the meantime, another cycle of the year has started all over again.
If a freelancer does it just for the money then it I am afraid it wouldn't be enough to sustain you for a long period of time. There has to be a deep love for your craft, a level of maturity to be able to handle disappointments, some basic business acumen, an understanding of the true value of your work in the market place, pride for your output, and most of all courage to put yourself out there.
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