Pros And Cons of Freelancing

Where Freelance Writing Fits Into Your Financial Plan

When I decided to start blogging again, I spent a long time figuring out the direction we needed to head in. When I used to write the blog, I was a freelance copywriter, and outgrew that. This presented the problem that a lot of people follow me for the copywriting advice, but I’ve moved onto other things, in a lot of ways.

Naturally, I still use my direct response marketing and copywriting skills in the new ventures. And a lot of the skills you learn via freelancing are crucial in developing habits for bigger and better businesses. So it’s worth retreading the ground, but with the new focus.

In this article, we’ll discuss that.

When And Why You Should Freelance

You can freelance at any point in your career, although it’s of most help at the beginning. Freelancing, and freelance writing in particular, (because that’s what I did – no idea how a freelance electrician might operate,) is a great way to learn valuable skills, get a ton of experience and, if you’re professional and operate like a professional, you can make a ton of money doing so.

Now, I won’t be like the average hustler-selling-you-on-a-course, telling you that having a job is for losers and it’s time for you to break free and do your own thing.

With freelancing, you’re building skills and stacking money that you can use later for investments and other enterprises. You can achieve exactly the same goals working a job, getting a career and working your way up, and even as a hybrid of both.

It’s as simple as that. Multiple paths, same end goal.

Why You Should Keep Freelancing

Assuming you work well at freelancing and follow the advice I’ve laid out all over the place, there is a high chance that you’ll gradually be invited to more complex roles and arrangements.

In addition to that, assuming your “career path” is anything like mine, you’re going to have a lot of once in a lifetime opportunities that, in addition to occurring pretty frequently, will also sap and zap your attention and make you less focused and thus less successful at everything.

There’s a line you have to walk in regards to focus, and when you’re your own boss, it can be difficult to know where that line is. I’ve gone both ways; in regards to when you should stay freelancing versus explore other opportunities, the general rule is thus:

If the sun is shining and you’re making hay, any side-business you start should be strictly time and effort monitored and only given real time and effort if it seems viable.

Which is a handful, but I don’t know how to simplify it; don’t quit your day job if it’s making you money on a promise and whim. Only quit if you’ve stumbled upon something lucrative which truly requires more time and effort than you can handle if you’re working full-time as a freelancer, (or in a career.)

Now for the flip side.

When You Should Stop Freelancing

There comes a time where, if you’ve successfully continued to upgrade your skills and learned all aspects of the business and industry you’re in, that you’re making the wrong choice by continuing to work for other people.

Firstly, The reality is you only get paid based on the idea that the cost to hire you is less than the profit you generate, at the end of the day. This is true whether you’re an employee, contractor and/or freelancer.

Secondly, the reality is that if you have a ton of skills and an understanding of business, then there will be opportunities available to you which are lucrative more so than trading time for money. For a freelance writer, the obvious answer is to write and publish various things and earn residual income.

Thirdly, and this is more reality as opposed to dream-pushing; there are a lot of stressful aspects to running a freelance business. Dealing with clients, acquiring clients, managing either your employees or theirs, keeping track of everything, collecting payments; all of these things add up to a bunch of stress in addition to all the other business stuff you have to do anyway.

I’ll never say you shouldn’t freelance or work a job but there comes a point where the equations don’t add up. If you’re like me, you’ll stick at it getting worse off for a couple of years before you realise this.

How I Fit This Into My Plan (And Where I Went Wrong)

I have done very well overall with this. I started as a tiny freelance writer, writing articles for people on Fiverr. I asked for more work, moved up in complexity until I was running campaigns for political parties, big businesses and learning pretty much every aspect of direct response marketing across numerous industries. Due to that, I got the opportunity to build passive income assets that make me money residually, and then a couple of years back I jumped on the new machine learning trend and developed something secret that is entirely unique and invisible to everyone in the world, basically.

That’s where I got it right.

Where I got it wrong was twofold:

• I tried to split my focus between being a Big Time™ Copywriting Guy and having all the other stuff going on
• I stayed with trying to be the Big Time™ Copywriting Guy a lot longer than I should have

Ultimately, everyone’s personality is a fit for certain types of business and to differing extents; I’m very good at systems thinking, writing and a lot of the skills that online business requires. In some skills, I’m far ahead of the curve. In others, I’m not; I’m not suited to people skills, managing soft systems like employees and complex business relationships, and so on aren’t my thing at all.

I’m not terrible because you can’t afford to be, but given the choice between dealing with other people for 20 hours a week or writing a book, I’m much better suited to the latter.

Final Thoughts: How You Can Fit It Into Your Plan

I’m writing this conclusion somewhat unsatisfied with the fact this probably creates more questions than answers. It’s the questions that’ll lead you to the answers that you need to find as an individual though.

To conclude:

• Freelancing, like any other time-for-money job, is good for building a bank balance and learning skills
• You must keep the equation that you’re trading time for money, skills and experience firmly in mind, because there is a tangible opportunity to reward ratio always
• You must assess when the rewards for non-freelancing might be higher than they are for freelancing
• Finally, take into account other factors; your personality is a fit for certain businesses, industries, roles and occupations. These are soft things to put in a risk-to-reward ratio, but they are incredibly important

That’s the final word on such things, and why I’ll be going in the direction I’m going in with the blog and other learning bits; I consider freelancing a great chapter and part of the wider goal, but it is only a part of it.

And we’re going to win the whole game.

Stay tuned.