Today, we have an humorous but VERY TRUE article published recently by TIME about just 9 of the challenges you clever freelancers face. We hope you enjoy…
1. Your parents think you’re out of your mind.
Our parents are from a different generation, and when you say “freelance,” you may as well say “I’m selling friendship bracelets in Union Square.” Try to be patient with them—and assure them that you have a plan (offer to lay it out for ’em) and know what you’re doing.
2. Your friends assume you wear your pajamas all day.
You will inevitably get a G-chat message from a friend asking you if you are out of your bed and have even gotten dressed today. Now yes, there are some days when no one will see you from the waist down, but inevitably most freelancers do get dressed (and yes, yoga pants do count as getting dressed).
3. …and that you live paycheck to paycheck.
For people who have always worked for one company, it is very hard to imagine that you could work as an independent contractor, much less make a living at it. However, in many industries you can actually make more money as a freelancer than if you were working for one company. Still, some of your friends will assume you are one week away from selling fruit at a gas station.
4. You have to deal with clients who don’t pay on time.
You do need to know that—unlike working for a salary, where you get a paycheck once or twice a month like clockwork—you have to hustle for your money in the freelance world. Sometimes you will have to harass people to pay you on time, and there may be weeks where no one pays you and then weeks where everyone pays you at the same time. You just have to be as financially organized as possible.
5. Your friends also assume you do yoga for three hours day, in the middle of the day.
If you are going freelance, do get ready for people to ask you if you workout in the middle of the day or go to movies or sit on a bench and feed birds. Yes, making your own schedule is a perk of freelancing, and you may be able to do some things during the day that people in an office can’t, but it is probably because you started working earlier, or plan to work later, or on weekends.
