Freelancing is no Cake Walk! Here are 5 Struggling Reasons Why

So you think the life of a freelancer is easy? Think again! Because you may feel as a freelancer you can be your own boss, you can follow your passion, you can work in your pajamas, and you can have perfect work-life balance. Well, reality is a tiny bit different. Self-employment may come with the desired flexibility. But, such flexibility has its own downsides – not to forget clients who take both your breath and your sleep away. Get ready to take a trip through the 5 common rugged and struggling terrains in a freelancers’ life as you read on:

1. The Out-of-this-World Client Demands

Freelancers get all sorts of clients that, although boost their people management skills, they have to go through some hell to get that lesson straight. Some clients will miraculously vanish during payment. Some will not care what time it is, how much time a project can take, or that you can have a life too. All they know is they “need it right now!” Some only remember the most important and urgent project at the end of the day, so you better oblige and complete it. And, lastly, those who seem to know your job better than you, and cannot help but interfere.

2. The Dicey Money Flow

The money flow is one slippery and uncertain area in freelancing. Be it bad clients or lack of projects in hand, freelancers swing between the “I am rich!” and counting chillars status like a pendulum from time to time. Unlike employed professionals, there is no such thing as a fixed salary and there are no extra perks.

3. The Nightmare Project

Once you take the plunge as a freelancer, you will understand it is not just the clients giving you sleepless nights. Some of the projects do too. They come as innocent bunny rabbits. Fluffy, tiny, and so simple. You think it’s a piece of cake. But then you notice the scales, the fiery flares – the little bunny just turned out to be a ferocious and uh, very elaborate dragon. And voila! Presenting the nightmare project you wished you had never taken up even for a million bucks.

4. Procrastination vs. Deadline

Freelancing is flexible, bruh! So, procrastination is a temptation you will fall for, as some of the projects will give you time to kill (read: complete the project). But, no matter how much time you have, you still have a deadline. Soon, it will dangle above your head like a sharp sword, and you would wish to God it does not fall on you. This begins a tug of war between the two, and if you are too late (like only a night left to finish the whole thing), coffee will be your best ally.

5. People Just Don’t Get It:

“So, you are freelancing.”

“You are working on your own, from home, without a salary. Its per-project pay! You’ve got a lot of time.”

“Your work is not so important. Freelancing is a pocket money thing, duh!”

As a freelancer, you are gonna get these a lot from the people around you who will not understand that freelancing is real WORK. People are paying you because you are good at your job. Instead, they are going to tell you to take care of your little sibling’s homework, bring some bhindi from the bazaar, or might just tell you to prepare for something “solid” (read: a 9-5 job). And, the life of a freelancer just got a little harsher.   

Yes, the struggle is real. But it’s worth it if you want to do it. At the end of the day, freelancing makes you wiser in terms of dealing with money, people, and time.