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Common misconception about freelancing


Kesha

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It’s time to clear the air!

As a freelancer, what are some misconceptions you hear all the time about freelancing or hiring freelancers? Whether it’s people thinking you just sit around in pajamas all day or that it’s not a real job, we are curious to know! 

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48 minutes ago, Kesha said:

It’s time to clear the air!

As a freelancer, what are some misconceptions you hear all the time about freelancing or hiring freelancers? Whether it’s people thinking you just sit around in pajamas all day or that it’s not a real job, we are curious to know! 

'Things will work out' - is perhaps the most common thing I hear.

Sometimes they don't.

Freelancing isn't like a regular job (which I love), but it comes with its own challenges (I think I've even made some posts about this before!). You can't just start up and expect work. You need skills and a little bit of luck! Sometimes, I feel like it's tougher than many other jobs!

(well, actually, freelancing itself is not a job. It's a WAY of working - at least in my opinion! But my point still stands!)

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On 9/16/2024 at 12:05 PM, Kesha said:

It’s time to clear the air!

As a freelancer, what are some misconceptions you hear all the time about freelancing or hiring freelancers? Whether it’s people thinking you just sit around in pajamas all day or that it’s not a real job, we are curious to know! 

Many people assume freelancing is just a side hustle or hobby, not realizing it requires the same level of commitment, skill, and professionalism as a traditional job.

Many think that freelancing is unstable and insecure.

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Many of my friends think I'm always available, as though being in business for myself means I loaf around all day eating Cheetos and watching any movie I want, any time I want (not a bad idea, actually!) 🤣

A big misconception I think many folks have is the "joy and freedom of being your own boss." Sure, it's really nice to not have to worry about annual reviews, HR teams and being locked into a limited-time-off machine where you have to beg for your vacation days every year. But it's much, much more difficult to be THE driving force behind your own success at all times than most who have never done this would think. Being the chief sales officer, chief operations officer, chief [insert whatever] officer of your business means you have to be sharp as a tack and on your toes at all times. No more waiting for the higher ups to spoon-feed you quarterly goals. No more checking out at the end of office hours and leaving your work at work for at least the first few years. You have to keep yourself on task and undistracted. You have to brainstorm the next client group you're going to target. You have to make sure deadlines are being met, even if you delegate those to other freelancers that you hire to take care of them. Nobody is going to care about your business and success as much as you are. You are no longer a piece of the machine; you are the machine. 

Yes, the fruit of self-employment is amazing sweet at times, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Also yes, it takes an unbelievable amount of work to get your business to the point where you can take a second to taste that fruit. It takes a certain type of person to succeed when you're on your own, building your own little empire, and most people I meet truly aren't up to that task. And even if they are they aren't setting realistic expectations for what this is going to look like. I know I didn't before day 1. 

Edited by texvox
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freelancing is easy money. 

it's one of the biggest misconceptions of the people who know me. They believe that I just click a few keys on my laptop's keyboard and I'm given hundreds of thousands of bucks. 

I know a lot of intelligent and highly educated people who were so full of energy and were motivated for this freelancing thingy, but they failed. 

Freelancing needs a specific kind of personality, commitment and the ability to be and remain your own boss for the longer time. 

It feels/seems good to be 'your own boss', but in reality, you need to manage all departments which is a tough ask. 

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17 hours ago, texvox said:

Many of my friends think I'm always available

This! I've been a freelancer for about 25 years, the majority of my adult life! I pay all my family bills with my work. I still have people who believe I can chat, go out, do something for them at any moment. Yes, there is a different level of flexibility with freelance work. That just means I have to control my own time and discipline... and often work 'overtime' at unexpected times.

Another common misconception... anyone can be a successful freelancer. It takes a lot more than a technical, marketable skill to succeed.

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Many think freelancing is just a side hustle. It's far from that. It's more of a business with various departments. The moment I starting treating my freelance hustle as a whole business, everything changed positively. 

My friends, family and neighbours already have this traditional mindset that you must leave the house every morning and return in the evening as with the traditional job. So when they see me working from home at times, they begin to wonder what I actually do. LoL 😅

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  • 2 weeks later...
20 hours ago, imagination7413 said:

"The only skill you need is for the thing you want to sell."

Nope. Because if you're freelancing, that means you have to wear ALL the hats: research, finances, marketing, inventory, tech support, project management, troubleshooting, security, etc.

Spot on! 🎯

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On 9/17/2024 at 1:57 AM, tauseefabbaskhn said:

freelancing is easy money. 

it's one of the biggest misconceptions of the people who know me. They believe that I just click a few keys on my laptop's keyboard and I'm given hundreds of thousands of bucks. 

I know a lot of intelligent and highly educated people who were so full of energy and were motivated for this freelancing thingy, but they failed. 

Freelancing needs a specific kind of personality, commitment and the ability to be and remain your own boss for the longer time. 

It feels/seems good to be 'your own boss', but in reality, you need to manage all departments which is a tough ask. 

I totally agree people think freelancers are just enjoying screen time with laptop or mobile in their hands all the time and getting money. The actual effort behind this so called "easy money" is always unnoticed. 

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Freelancing requires double effort than a regular job as you want to "be your own boss" seems attractive but needs a lot of hard work as you are your own boss and so are you your own employee, you are the whole team and also the members behind the team. Each and every work is to be done just by you in the mention time to deliver it properly.  

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