The Positives and Negatives of Freelancing Full-time

Me Working in My Studio

A lot of people go into freelancing not knowing what they’re signing up for. I’ve been freelancing full-time for 5 years now, and a lot of things are much different than I thought they would be when I first started. If anyone out there is thinking about freelancing full-time, I hope to offer you a real world view on what it’s like. It’s not The negatives can actually outweigh the positives, depending on what’s important to you.

Just to give you some context of my freelance situation - I worked as a corporate graphic designer for 4 years, before going out on my own. I work from home full-time. I’m 32, no kids, one dog. I make the majority of my income on client graphic design projects. I make the rest on illustration projects, selling on Etsy and selling on my website, Creative Market, and Minted.

The Positives (we’ll start here, since I’m an optimist haha!)

• You can pursue many different business ventures and income streams. As someone who has WAY too many passions, this is probably my favorite thing about freelancing. I get to work on graphic design projects, illustration projects, run my Etsy shop, write blog posts, sell graphics online. I incorporate pretty much anything that interests me into by business model.

• Freelancing supports personal growth. Since starting my own business, I've developed such a passion for learning. I think it's because I feel more in control of my schedule. I can’t use the excuse that I don’t have time, because I’m my own boss. I make the effort to read a lot of books, listen to podcasts, and take online courses. I also find that I have healthier habits, since I can set up my environment to work for me. I keep healthy good in the house, and make sure I take lots of yoga and walking breaks.

• Freelancing allows for a flexible schedule. Building on my last point - I own my schedule. If I need to take a day off, I take it. If I’m sick, I rest. If I start my day late, I can work in the evenings. Because of this, I don’t really ever have a case of the Mondays. I look forward to starting the week, knowing I have the flexibility to adapt my schedule to my needs.

• You can work from anywhere. Coffee Shop. The Beach. Paris. I can literally work from anywhere I want. I always tag along on business trips with my husband because we love being together, and I can work from the hotel. Another positive of this is that you can wear what you want. I get a real kick out of working in full pajama sets. It makes me feel pretty boss.

• You are in control of your success. What you put in is exactly what you get out. When you hustle, business is good. Where you want to be in ten years is completely up to you. This is one of the main reasons I started freelancing. I love being in control of my own success.

The Negatives (wahwah….)

• You never know when the money is coming in (and from where). This can be the biggest challenge for most people, so I’m going to be completely honest on this one. I think freelancing works best when you either have a spouse with a steady gig, a part-time job, or you are completely debt free. Client work is never a sure thing, so you really have to be comfortable with your financial situation to succeed. Some months I’ve quadrupled what I used to make in corporate. Other months, I’ve made barely anything. You need to be okay with uncertainty. Clients can sense desperation, so worrying about money can actually hinder the number of projects you have. Its not a good look if you are always demanding that accounting your process invoices immediately. I’ve had invoices take weeks (or even months) to go through, so you cannot be living paycheck to paycheck. After freelancing for a few years, you may get more comfortable with the ebbs and flows, but I would hold off on quitting your day job, until you are financially secure to do so. If freelancing full-time is something you absolutely must do right now, then I would reevaluate your lifestyle. See how you can live the cheapest life possible, in order to minimize your stress.

• You never really turn off. I have to close my office door at the end of the day, or else I will sneak back in there and work all night. I can’t really describe the feeling of always having work to do, and living in the same place I work. It’s hard to find peace, to be honest. Even when you don’t have a lot of client work, you will feel like you should be working on your website, or doing more to promote your business. You have to be able to relax, while always having loose ends to tie up. if you are an uptight person, freelancing might be your own personal nightmare!

• Freelancing can be isolating. If you work from home, as many of us freelancers do, it can be easy to loose touch with the world. Luckily, my husband works from home too, so I have company. We go on walks together and eat lunch together. When I started out freelancing, it was just me and my dog, and he was a huge comfort. I would highly recommend getting a pet if you plan on working from home alone all day.

• You aren’t really your own boss. Yes, I’m in control of my schedule, but the clients are the boss. They say when projects need to get done, and how many changes they have. You need to be okay with being told what to do, and being extremely nice about it. Unlike when you work in corporate, you can’t really just change jobs if your boss is getting on your nerves. I’ve fired clients before, but it’s not really something you can make a habit of if you want to make money. Because you are trying to maintain good client relationships, you need to go out of your way to be accommodating. You can’t have an off day when you are in a bad mood, or mistreat your clients because you have stress happening in your personal life. I am thankful for each and every client I have, and I try to treat them as such.

Hopefully I haven’t scared you away from freelancing. A lot of people in social media make it look super glamorous, and it’s not. It’s the perfect gig for me, but I can 100% tell you it’s not for most people. The bottom line is that in order to succeed at freelancing you need to be okay with uncertainty. It takes a lot of bravery and guts to walk away from a steady income into the unknown. I think it’s imperative that you have a larger reason for freelancing, and that you never forget why you went into it in the first place. For me, I freelance so that I can spend more time with my loved ones, have more experiences, and decide how I spend my day. I freelance so I can live my days on my own terms, and I always have to remind myself of that when things get hard.

My Studio