I’m not going to tell you that quitting your job and starting a business is easy. It’s hard. I know; in my life, I’ve hated my job so much that I turned down promotions to avoid having even more responsibility.
When the idea of being self-employed popped into my head, it was like a lightbulb went off: This is what I had been working towards all along!
However, the transition from salaried employee to business owner wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. But at least I got started on my journey towards becoming an entrepreneur. So many of us are held back by lies we tell ourselves about why we can’t start our businesses. These are some of them:
| Takeaways |
|---|
| Freelancing can be challenging, but it’s not because of the reasons commonly believed. |
| Difficulty in freelancing can stem from impostor syndrome and the need for self-discipline and motivation. |
| Building a support system and finding mentorship can help navigate the challenges of freelancing. |
| Embracing continuous learning and adapting to market demands are key for freelancers to succeed. |
| Freelancing offers opportunities for flexibility, autonomy, and higher earnings, but it also requires financial management and self-motivation. |
You’re Afraid You’ll Fail
The fear of failure is a common one among freelancers, but it’s also one of the most unfounded. If you try and don’t succeed, at least you know what didn’t work.
If you never get past your comfort zone, though, you’ll never find out what could have been or even if there was something worth sticking with in the first place. You can’t succeed unless you try and sometimes even if you fail miserably (or just not as well as hoped).
As long as there are no lives at stake or other truly dire consequences to consider, go for it! Make mistakes! Learn from them and improve on them next time around!
Building a successful freelance career while maintaining a full-time job requires careful planning and balancing. Check out our article on 6 Reasons to Be a Freelancer in Addition to Having a Full-Time Job to discover the benefits and strategies behind this dual approach.
You Don’t Like Your Job
You don’t like your job. You hate your boss. You’re not getting paid enough or getting enough recognition or learning enough, or maybe you’re just unhappy with your career and/or life in general.
Freelancing is hard because it’s a constant balancing act between working productively, creating meaningful relationships with clients (or clients’ customers), and making sure to have fun along the way.
If you have a bad attitude about work in general and if freelancing is one of those jobs that makes up most of your income then it might be hard for you to find a way to enjoy yourself while also earning money from your freelance business.
Nobody Else Is Doing It
You might think that freelancing is a lonely activity since there aren’t many people who do it. But in reality, there are plenty of freelancers out there and you probably know one or two (If not, why not?) If someone else is doing what you’re trying to do, that means you can do it too.
Just because other people are doing something doesn’t mean it’s straightforward but knowing that others have done the same thing before can help ease your worries about whether or not giving up a full-time job and working for yourself is even worth the risk.
You can learn from their experiences and avoid some common pitfalls along the way by taking note of what has worked well for them and what hasn’t worked so well.
You Don’t Have Any Skills Yet
What if you’re not a designer? or a writer? or a programmer? What if you don’t have any skills that people want to pay for?. That doesn’t mean freelancing isn’t for you. If anything, it means the opposite: freelancing can be an amazing way to learn new skills and grow as an artist.
It all comes down to how much work and time you put into this pursuit. Maybe you won’t become the next great graphic designer on your first try but do better with each project and eventually, before long, you’ll be able to achieve results that blow away what most people could manage after years of school practice (or without it).
Avoiding financial pitfalls is crucial for freelancers. Learn about the common mistakes to avoid in order to protect your earnings by reading our comprehensive guide on 10 Reasons Why People End Up Losing Money Freelancing.
Your Hobby Isn’t Profitable
You may think you have a profitable hobby, but let’s be honest: it probably isn’t. Not right now, anyway. That’s because a hobby is something that you do for fun and pleasure and if you’re having fun and getting pleasure out of the thing you do, why would you ever want to stop?
The truth is that most hobbies aren’t profitable unless they’re done on a large scale or by an entire team of people.
And even then, there are still plenty of challenges: for example, if your hobby involves selling products online (as many do), then before you begin selling anything at all, chances are good that there will be some research involved in figuring out how exactly this whole e-commerce thing works.
Once everything is set up and ready to go, however… there may still be marketing involved! Granted not everyone who owns an online store does any marketing at all, but if we’re talking about making money from your small business then yes: marketing will probably come into play at some point down the line (and likely soon).
Finally then comes finding ways around those tricky things like taxes… You might also need permits or licenses depending on where in America (or elsewhere) it falls under as well as whether or not local laws allow such businesses within city limits.”
You Don’t Have A Passion
You don’t have to love what you do. You can be good at something and not love it, and that’s okay! You don’t have to be passionate about your work to excel at it. If you’re passionate about something else like your family, or arts and crafts that will take up some of the time that might otherwise go toward your freelancing business.
And there’s nothing wrong with that! It’s important to have hobbies and interests outside of work; if you never had any non-work activities in your life, then working would feel like a prison sentence instead of an opportunity for growth and development.
The point here is: You don’t need a passion for everything for things to work out well for yourself and the people around you.
The other thing is that sometimes we change our minds about what we love; maybe once upon a time, I thought I wanted one thing above all others…and now I know better. So keep an open mind as time goes on; no matter how old or young we are right now (or how old or young our friends might be), there will always be more experiences ahead!
The freelance industry has revolutionized the way we work and opened up new opportunities. Explore the transformative power of freelancing in our in-depth analysis, How Freelancing Is Changing the Way We Work, and discover the future of work.
Your Idea Is Terrible
The idea you have is the single most important aspect of your business. Unfortunately, it’s also the part that can fail to launch you into success.
If your idea is terrible, then no amount of hard work or focus will help you succeed. It doesn’t matter if you have a great team, excellent marketing skills, and a solid work ethic if your product or service isn’t good enough for people to pay for it then you won’t be successful.
Even if your idea isn’t terrible and is pretty good (or even great) there’s still no guarantee that it will bring in enough revenue to sustain itself with only one person doing all the work behind it (you).
You Can’t Talk To People
Let me get this out of the way: freelancing is hard. It’s a lot of work, and it can be super lonely. You have to do all the things yourself, and you don’t get any benefits like health insurance or paid vacation days.
I know that feeling well I always feel like I should be working harder than I am. But here’s the thing: if you want to succeed as a freelancer, it’s important not to let self-doubt overwhelm you at every turn and prevent you from doing the thing that matters most talking (and listening) with your clients and partners for those relationships to grow over time.
This one is hard because there are no boundaries between your personal life and professional life; instead of having coworkers who understand what pressures come with being in charge of something big (like a team), all eyes are on just you.
You Don’t Know Where To Start
If you’re a new freelancer, it can be hard to know where to start. Should you pick something simple and low-risk like designing business cards? Or should you go further afield and try something harder like building an app?
The answer is neither. You should start with something that makes sense for your skillset and experience and also something that excites you enough to keep working on it even when the going gets tough. So don’t think about what others would do; think about what makes sense for you.
You’re Too Busy For Side Gigs
If you’re like most people, you’re probably already working full time. And if you aren’t already working full time, maybe you have too many other commitments to take on a side gig or two. You might feel like your plate is already pretty full with family obligations, hobbies, and interests that are important to you.
Any of these could be the reason why freelancing or any kind of independent work just isn’t an option for you right now.
You Don’t Have Enough Time In The Day
If you’re like me, you probably have a full-time job and maybe even a side gig or two. You may also have family, friends, and other responsibilities. With all of this going on, it’s hard to remember that you want to start something else!
With so many demands on our time and attention, it is important to find ways to make room for our side hustles, and making time for them means setting priorities.
It means being realistic about what we can do each day or week. And sometimes it means saying no when necessary.
Freelancing can be challenging, but understanding the difficulties and learning how to overcome them is essential for success. Dive into our insightful article, Why Freelancing Is Surprisingly Difficult and How to Deal With It, to gain valuable insights and practical tips.
Nobody Wants What You Have To Offer
If you’re a freelancer, chances are you have some sort of service or product that you can offer to others. And if that’s the case, then it’s likely that people will want what you have to offer but this doesn’t necessarily mean they know how valuable your service is!
If nobody knows how valuable your services are, they won’t pay top dollar for them. This means that while they might make good initial offers, there’s no room for negotiation if the client becomes unhappy with the quality of your work. You could end up losing money on every project as clients try to get out of paying for services rendered.
Your Niche Is Oversaturated
This is a frustrating one for many freelancers. You’ve found a subject you love, and you want to make it your life’s work, but there are just far too many people doing what you want to do and doing it better than you. You need to find a niche that is not oversaturated with talent!
If this sounds familiar and you’re having trouble finding an audience for your content because of it, here’s a tip: don’t be afraid to play around with different formats! If the current format isn’t working, try something new and see if that works better for you.
It Seems Impossible To Get Started
If you’re in a rut, there’s a good chance you’re feeling like you don’t know where to start. You might not have the time or money to learn new skills or put things into action.
Maybe you’re afraid of failing or of not succeeding fast enough. You might also be lacking passion for your work, after all, it’s hard to get excited about something that doesn’t make sense for your life right now.
These are all common issues freelancers face when starting on their own. But fear not! The good news is that these problems can be overcome with some creativity and determination (and maybe even some help from your friends).
Overcoming impostor syndrome is crucial for freelancers to thrive in their careers. Explore our thought-provoking piece, Freelancing Is Hard, Impostor Syndrome Is Harder, to gain a deeper understanding of this common challenge and discover strategies to combat it effectively.
Final Thoughts
I hope that this post has helped you decide whether or not to try freelancing as a career, but I also understand if you still aren’t sure. Freelancing successfully is a truly challenging task but luckily, it’s something that can be accomplished by anyone who takes the time to educate themselves and prepare.
The key is to be realistic while still being confident in your abilities. If you think freelancing might be right for you, then by all means give it a chance! But if it doesn’t seem like something worth pursuing right now, don’t force it. You can always pursue another path at some later point in life (sooner rather than later!), and there are plenty of other opportunities out there too!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to explore the topic of freelancing:
Reasons Why a Freelancer Career May Not Be for You: Discover common challenges and considerations that might make freelancing unsuitable for certain individuals.
5 Lessons I Learned as a Freelancer: Gain insights from a freelancer’s personal experiences and discover valuable lessons that can help navigate the freelance journey.
Why Is Freelancing So Hard?: Explore the inherent difficulties associated with freelancing and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges you might encounter.
People Also Ask
I Don’t Have Any Experience. What Should I Do?
Don’t worry! You can get paid to learn new skills by taking on projects that require them, so you can build up your portfolio and eventually charge more for your work.
How Do I Know If I’m Ready To Freelance?
You might be ready to freelance if you have a few skills that you can use to make money, and enough time available in your schedule for you to work on projects at home or in your office.
You could also be ready if you feel like your current job isn’t meeting your needs anymore, and you want the freedom of being able to pick and choose what projects you take on.
How Do I Know When It’s Time To Stop Freelancing?
Freelancing is great for many people because it gives them the freedom to choose what they work on, how much they work, and when they work.
But there are some downsides too freelancers don’t get paid as much as employees (and often even less than contractors), they don’t get benefits or insurance coverage through their jobs, and many people find that freelancing doesn’t pay off financially unless they’re working full-time hours (or more).
If any of these things start happening for you, it might be time to rethink whether freelancing is right for you!
How Much Should I Charge?
This is a tough question. It’s difficult to answer because it depends on so many factors: what you’re offering, how much experience you have, how much time you can dedicate to the job, and more.
The best way to figure out what you should charge is to research the market and see what other freelancers are charging for similar work. If you don’t want to spend the time doing this research, try asking your friends who are freelancers what they charge for similar services.
Then add 20% to that number as an estimate of your expenses (this includes things like insurance and taxes).
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Freelancing?
Freelancing has its ups and downs, but the biggest pro is that you can work in a flexible way that works for you. You’re not constrained by office hours, dress codes, or other rules that come with working for someone else. You can take time off whenever you need it and still get paid.
The biggest con is that freelancing can be hard to get started with. It’s important to have a strong portfolio and an established network before you start applying for jobs.
What Are The Most Common Misconceptions About Freelancing?
Freelancing is often misunderstood. People think that it’s just like having a regular job, but with less structure, more freedom, and more money. That’s not entirely accurate.
First of all, the freelancing doesn’t mean you’re going to make more money than if you were working for someone else it may mean you have to work harder to keep up with all the duties of running your business (which is why it’s so important to get organized and find ways to save time).
Also, while you do have more freedom in terms of when and where you work, there are still deadlines and deliverables that need to be met on time!
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.