From friends who think I make easy money to my mother who (lovingly) admonishes me to get a real job, everybody seems to have their own idea of what freelancing is all about. Many of these ideas come from misconceptions of the freelancing life, and here are eight of the most popular:
1. Freelancers Only Have to Work a Little
Many folks assume that the real reason people begin freelancing is so that they can finally work their own hours and relax. This is not altogether true (hence it being on a list entitled "Eight Misconceptions About Freelancing"). Although it's true that I do "wake up later," it's only because I'm up until 4AM working on something or other that needs my attention. One day, I hope I can wake up later due to passive income streams, but for now, freelancing requires multiple hats and overhead. And yes, there are some days when I wonder if I made the right choice (but those days are still few compared to the days that I'm glad for my own schedule and the ability to cook large amounts of bacon at any time).
2. Freelancers Make Lots of Money
This misconception is more popular among people not in the website industry. They know a friend who's a freelance web designer and charges $70 an hour. Given a 40-hour work week, that's $10,000 a month! Right? Well, that's true if you could always fill 40 hours a week and only do billable work (and if you're the one freelancer who has accomplished this, then check a mirror because you actaully don't exist). The reality is, you're fortunate if half your hours are billable. Plus, you're usually paying more taxes (about double here in the States), often covering your own health insurance, and supplying your own retirement account. All in all, many freelancers actually make less than they could in a corporate world.
3. Freelancers Live Stress-Free Lives
When you're freelancing, you're not just enduring the stress of one job (whether that be designer, developer, or writer), but you're also dealing with the stress of every other job. This includes clients, finances, schedules, budgets, subcontractors, and many other issues, all while knowing that your paycheck is dependent on handling all of this.
4. Freelancers Have Few Future Career Outlets
The logic goes, if you're the only employee, there's no vertical career mobility. What this logic doesn't take into account is the fact that, unlike the corporate employee, the freelancer is the boss. Freelance your whole life? You could. Start your own firm? Why not. Build web apps or the next big idea? If you want. Plus, I've seen many freelancers get great offers from companies or startups looking for someone who can operate efficiently and effectively on their own.
5. Freelancers Live Paycheck to Paycheck
Unlike #2 (where outsiders believe that freelancers make a lot of money), this misconception is often assumed by people within the website industry. They may have had their share of freelance and found little money in it. So do freelancers live from paycheck to paycheck? My answer is "no more so than your normal corporate employee does." And actually, if a freelancer has been solo for any amount of time, chances are that they are pretty good at handling finances and keeping good tabs on invoices and mortgage bills. It's true that freelancers don't have that assured biweekly check, but it's not like they're waiting insecurely for random donations – after all, they are the ones sending the invoices and setting the payment terms.
6. Freelancers Get Socially Starved
If you know a freelancer who seems particularly introvertive, it's most likely because he or she chooses to be. The world is just too big and connected (thanks to the internet and the plentitude of social networks) for anyone to not have some social outlets. Work is not the only place to meet people nor do all your friends need to know what CSS stands for :-). And if you live near a decent sized city, there's bound to be a MeetUp group to your liking as well. Sure, we don't have the dynamics of having coworkers, but most of us find other ways to connect.
7. Freelancers Appreciate Any Work They Can Get
Work opportunities are good. But it seems that when you're a freelancer, all your friends will contact you with potential jobs from their sister, their uncle, and their orthodontist (I've had all three happen to me). They're very well-meaning, trying to help out with referrals, but very few of these ever pan out. Although a lot of my pro bono work comes from friends, the work that keeps me financially afloat usually comes from my client/professional network.
8. Freelancers Would Never Go Back to Corporate
Ahhh...the freelance life...where you have no boss, no worries, and the freedom to work on the most amazing projects in the world. Why would anyone ever go back to a corporate job? Well, for starters, maybe because that first sentence is not true. Although there are a lot of perks to freelancing that I love, it's by no means paradise, and there are some opportunities that only exist in larger companies. I've seen many freelancers go back to a corporate position that both gives them flexibility and allows them to be part of some pretty amazing things.
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