Originally published on LinkedIn in July, 2023.
Stop glamorizing being a freelancer. It’s not for everyone. Nothing is wrong with you for not wanting it. Like everything in life, there’s high highs and low lows.
★IMHO—highs of freelancing★
-More money (depending on the market)
-Autonomy
-Time off (if you take any at all)
-Diversity of working with clients/agencies
-Double, triple, quadruple dipping $$$ (boss level if you can do this, not for all)
-(Maybe there’s more here, still a newb at this)
★IMHO—lows of freelancing★
-Instability of monthly paychecks, 401k, healthcare, etc.
-Lull periods battling your mental health of “when is $$$ coming in”
-Contract getting cut short
-Recruiters leading you on, dropping projects you banked on
-Bottom of totem pole at agencies (case-by-case)
-Fearing taking time off because you’ll miss a gig opportunity
-Hustling/outreach/hitting up agencies, recruiters, friends left and right
Again, these are my personal highs/lows of freelancing, it can be different for everyone. But the amount of posts and accounts that only focus on the positive side of freelancing is baffling and outright gross to lure people into freelancing during one of the toughest markets rn. How I see it, unless you have a steady runway of income or your mental health is in shambles, tread with caution before leaving your FT job, and talk to people who have been doing it for a bit.
Also, when it comes to freelancing, it’s literally so case-by-case. There are people who have been doing it for YEARS, raked in stacks on stacks, and have a name in the game. Others starting out right now are like….WTH is going on, was it all a lie? Not necessarily, last year was kush for a lot of folks. This year, even the most award-winning, coveted creatives are having a dry spell. Just to put it in perspective.
Also shamelessly plugging Josh D. Weiss who is my close friend and has been my mentor and coach navigating this landscape. A great resource to hit up if you need the real real, not the BS that’s curated.
