So you want to be a freelancer?

You may have heard or be interested in becoming a freelancer. Congratulations, you’ve made the first step into a world of challenge and reward.

What is freelancing?

The term ‘freelance’ originates from a medieval concept. A lord or king would increase the size of his cavalry by hiring in ‘Free Lances’, a knight that had no specific allegiance. The term has been co-opted by the modern business world and describes people who offer a service to a business on a project or short-term basis. A freelancer is an independent contractor or temporary vendor.

A freelancer may have one or many clients at one time. A freelancer will normally work in a specific field or niche such as:

• Marketing
• Lead Generation
• Website Development
• Search Engine Optimisation
• Graphical Design
• Software or App Development
• Project Management

But this is by no means an exhaustive list.

For example, I am currently an independent business consultant but, my last large freelancing role was as the Head of Department building and growing a new engineering department. Diversity is the hallmark of a generalist freelancer!

Why do you want to be a freelancer?

The position of a freelancer can be both challenging and rewarding. You have to think about running a business as well as delivering a service.

I think of it as the difference between just buying meat from a butcher and the whole process of finding and hunting an animal, then preparing it and eventually eating the meat.

The effort is more but the rewards are broader and more significant.

What are the reasons you want to become a freelancer?

The typical answers are:

• Want to work for myself
• Build a business
• Freedom
• Security
• Control over what I do
• Flexibility
• – Sustainability
• – Independence

All these are possible as a freelancer.

There are downsides to being a freelancer too:

• Loneliness
• Finding good consistent work
• Time management / worklife balance
• Managing your clients
• Getting paid
• Staying motivated

Still want to be a freelancer?

Check out the other tips on the site.