freelancing Pros and cons of freelancing

[gajuseidi]

Hey guys,

Recently I have been thinking about freelancing in general and comparing it to regular jobs. As with most things, it doesn't seem to be only black and white and I would like to discuss the differences and subtle nuances between these two types of career paths and hear your opinion.

To me, freelancing is more of a business model than a job. You've got branding, marketing, service, customer support, and all the things required to run a successful business. I've realized early on that if I wanted to earn money doing what I enjoy, I have to exercise and understand these different elements of business. And while this journey is seemingly daunting at first, it can also be really fun and exciting.

While there are many pros and cons of freelancing, I picked the ones that stood out to me:

Pro: Mobility. This one might not be universal for everyone, as I know many of you have studios and dedicated workspaces. But for me personally, it has been one of the biggest pros as I can travel and work at the same time.

Con: No set work hours. While there are semi-effective ways around it, I've had plenty of orders come in at 2 AM on the weekend, which makes it a con for me personally. I might want to utilize the availability function more in the future, but at least for now it seems wise to be available on the weekends.

What are your biggest pros and cons of freelancing? Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

[mariashtelle1]

5 minutes ago, gajuseidi said:

Con: No set work hours.

There are much more cons to it 🙈

there is no sick leave or paid holidays, if you take days off it comes out of your pocket. There is not paid insurance and you have to cover it by yourself including your personal medical and business insurance. 
Income can vary a lot from one month to another and you have to plan for that if you have lower or bigger income in a month 

[gajuseidi]

31 minutes ago, mariashtelle1 said:

there is no sick leave or paid holidays, if you take days off it comes out of your pocket.

While it is true for paid holidays, there is compensation for sick leave, at least here in Lithuania. Although the first two days are not compensated and it does involve some paper work.

1 hour ago, mariashtelle1 said:

There is not paid insurance and you have to cover it by yourself including your personal medical and business insurance. 

This is true, but I also pay less taxes than I would when working a regular job, which almost fully cover those expenses.

1 hour ago, mariashtelle1 said:

Income can vary a lot from one month to another and you have to plan for that if you have lower or bigger income in a month 

inconsistent income is definitely a part of it. But for me personally, the absence of income ceiling is part of what makes freelancing exciting. It can be quite stressful at times, but I think it becomes less of an issue once one gets more established.

[gongor32]

Pro - More time to spend for myself and family. Because I live in very busy city road congestion used to take 2-3 hours of my life.  Freelancing from home means same as extending my life 😛 

Pro- Low stress. Since I decide my schedule I could plan ahead. Working on more interesting projects. 

Pro-I can improve myself more. My day job was monotonous at the same time stressful and wasn't something I wanted to do. I think just working on various random projects I have improved my illustration skill so much. 😛 And there isn't any full time job that illustrate DND characters or fantasy landscape in my city. 

Con-Earning less compared to full time job. I am hoping to increase it 🤔

Con-Inconsistent. I am not talking about how sometimes there is less clients but too much client at the same time. For some reason everyone active at start of the month. I got like 10 orders same time. Then too much free time during end of the month.🤪

[gajuseidi]

On 4/9/2022 at 4:16 PM, gongor32 said:

Pro-I can improve myself more. My day job was monotonous at the same time stressful and wasn't something I wanted to do. I think just working on various random projects I have improved my illustration skill so much. 😛 And there isn't any full time job that illustrate DND characters or fantasy landscape in my city. 

I can relate to this as well. You get to chose exactly what type of service you want to provide and improve your skills in that particular area at the same time.

For example, if you're a graphic designer and you get hired by a company, you might be assigned to design social media posts, posters and brochures, but if you're really into book cover or music album cover designs, you might not even get the chance to exercise your skills in these particular niches. Of course, a graphic designer should be versatile, but it might hinder your true potential if you're really passionate about a specific field of work.

[Guest lloydsolutions]

On 4/9/2022 at 10:28 AM, gajuseidi said:

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

2 minutes ago, mahbub240 said:

Thanks for sharing!

If you like something then use the emoji.

The above can only be considered as a spam reply.

[vickiespencer]

37 minutes ago, lloydsolutions said:

On 4/9/2022 at 3:28 AM, gajuseidi said:

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

41 minutes ago, mahbub240 said:

Thanks for sharing!

I have reported @mahbub240 at least twice for this type of SPAM post. His comments are off topic and ad nothing to the conversation.

 

[olyasr]

Cons: 1) no clear schedule, and I personally often work until late at night, and sometimes until morning. 2) I also agree about vacation and sick pay

Pros: Now I am in Ukraine, where the situation is quite bad, and I completely overestimated the very model of freelance work. In a country where there is a war, I still HAVE a job and have income. That is, I can work in any situation. If there is internet, I will work and earn an income. There is nothing more valuable than this.

[gongor32]

4 hours ago, gajuseidi said:

I can relate to this as well. You get to chose exactly what type of service you want to provide and improve your skills in that particular area at the same time.

For example, if you're a graphic designer and you get hired by a company, you might be assigned to design social media posts, posters and brochures, but if you're really into book cover or music album cover designs, you might not even get the chance to exercise your skills in these particular niches. Of course, a graphic designer should be versatile, but it might hinder your true potential if you're really passionate about a specific field of work.

 

37 minutes ago, olyasr said:

Pros: Now I am in Ukraine, where the situation is quite bad, and I completely overestimated the very model of freelance work. In a country where there is a war, I still HAVE a job and have income. That is, I can work in any situation. If there is internet, I will work and earn an income. There is nothing more valuable than this.

Yeah these two pros might out weight all other cons. 

One more pro from me: Traveling and choosing location to live in. I don't have financial way to travel around the world with ticket prices sky-rocketing from Covid and war. But I could choose better place to live, away from busy city and still have job. I am thinking about moving into bigger house away from city with maybe cheaper price.  Before that I have to get full grasp of Fiverr yet. 🙂 I think I just have to find enough regulars to make it consistent

[ewangraphics]

This is very similar to what others are saying but I'll reiterate... 😆

Pros

• You're your own boss, [for the most part].
• Unlimited 🚽 breaks 😂
• Higher sense of achievement and fulfilment working for yourself (at least for me).
• You can decline work for any reason.

Cons

• No fixed income, no guarantees of work tomorrow.
• You're relying heavily on algorithms and robots, and hoping they work in your favor, which is a daunting thought.
• Some buyers may ask for free extras and take advantage, knowing you want to do everything you can to satisfy their needs. Fortunately, most people are not like this.
• Having to do your own taxes (here in the UK, your employer does it for you).

 

[katakatica]

Personally, I wish there was someone sitting at my desk telling me to work: so for me, having a schedule that's not set in stone is a bit of a con when it comes to freelancing (but that's a very personal thing.) I can go without work for a couple days, grind for 3 days after that without stopping and then burn out...

THAT being said, being able to walk away from the laptop whenever things get 'too much' IS a pro in a way as well. I can alter my schedule in a way that I work whenever I want to, which is great when you live abroad and want a social life (or have to fly home for whatever reason.)

The main pro for me though is being able to do what I like AND get paid for it. I don't think I'd ever be able to do it here (here being my home country, not my current 'base'). I love the fact that I get to write, even if it's not always 'fun' work. 

[zeus777]

Hmm, I think pretty much everything has been already said...but here's mine.

Pros: If I am making enough, I can refuse to work on certain gigs/work simply based on the fact that I don't like the client for whatever reason.
I know it sounds unprofessional, but I've done this before.

Cons: The inconsistency.

 

And oh, I can munch on any snack as much as I want when I want to, and nobody will complain while I am working at home.
I don't think I can enjoy my garlic chips at the office, my boss will kill me.

[gajuseidi]

On 4/10/2022 at 10:28 PM, olyasr said:

Pros: Now I am in Ukraine, where the situation is quite bad, and I completely overestimated the very model of freelance work. In a country where there is a war, I still HAVE a job and have income. That is, I can work in any situation. If there is internet, I will work and earn an income. There is nothing more valuable than this.

I'm glad to hear you're doing okay. That is definitely one of the biggest strengths of freelancing.

On 4/10/2022 at 11:40 PM, ewangraphics said:

Higher sense of achievement and fulfilment working for yourself (at least for me).

There may be exceptions if you can find work at a great company, but for the most part, freelancing does feel more meaningful. The responsibility is solely on your own shoulders, which makes success that much more satisfying.

On 4/10/2022 at 11:43 PM, katakatica said:

Personally, I wish there was someone sitting at my desk telling me to work: so for me, having a schedule that's not set in stone is a bit of a con when it comes to freelancing (but that's a very personal thing.) I can go without work for a couple days, grind for 3 days after that without stopping and then burn out...

Just recently I had to leave a party early, because I had an order with extra delivery. I think this sort of thing needs a bit of getting used to. I do find strict deadlines motivating though.

On 4/11/2022 at 11:09 AM, zeus777 said:

And oh, I can munch on any snack as much as I want when I want to, and nobody will complain while I am working at home.

This is probably my favorite one 😄 I also enjoy cooking at home, which is a lot healthier and cheaper than say, a takeout at a lunch brake. I know many people like to bring their own food to work, but I am yet to reach this level of planning 😄

[lebraz_digital]

On 4/9/2022 at 10:28 AM, gajuseidi said:

Hey guys,

Recently I have been thinking about freelancing in general and comparing it to regular jobs. As with most things, it doesn't seem to be only black and white and I would like to discuss the differences and subtle nuances between these two types of career paths and hear your opinion.

To me, freelancing is more of a business model than a job. You've got branding, marketing, service, customer support, and all the things required to run a successful business. I've realized early on that if I wanted to earn money doing what I enjoy, I have to exercise and understand these different elements of business. And while this journey is seemingly daunting at first, it can also be really fun and exciting.

While there are many pros and cons of freelancing, I picked the ones that stood out to me:

Pro: Mobility. This one might not be universal for everyone, as I know many of you have studios and dedicated workspaces. But for me personally, it has been one of the biggest pros as I can travel and work at the same time.

Con: No set work hours. While there are semi-effective ways around it, I've had plenty of orders come in at 2 AM on the weekend, which makes it a con for me personally. I might want to utilize the availability function more in the future, but at least for now it seems wise to be available on the weekends.

What are your biggest pros and cons of freelancing? Would love to hear your thoughts on thi

 pros and cons are relative; depends on personality, culture, level of a seller and whatnot. A Top Rated Seller may have 'weekend orders' as cons, while to a new seller, it is an 'answered prayer' (pros) . however, just like freelancing, every profession has it pros and cons and i recommend GOOD MANAGEMENT as a fuel, to your freelancing career. 

[avgustinashoshu]

I believe that freelancing is done by more free and independent people. A successful person for me is one who has his own business and loves his job. Of course, any job has it's pros and cons, but I prefer freelancing and don't depend on anyone.🙃

Edited April 17, 2022 by avgustinashoshu

[Guest mailchimp_jak]

What is the best part of working at Fiverr?

[alifshah01]

19 minutes ago, mailchimp_jak said:

What is the best part of working at Fiverr?

You can work from home. There is no pressure that you have to come office at 9 am. In my opinion That's the best thing of freelancing 

[mikavirtanen]

pros: you can make living for the things you can do the best

cons: unless you live in a wrong state