3 Hard Truths to Accept Before You Become a Freelancer

Be prepared before you take the leap.

On April 01, 2021, I quit my job to freelance full-time, and part of me thought my boss would think it was an April fool’s prank.

It wasn’t. I’ve been a part-time freelancer for the last 4 months, during which there have been several ups where my income increased threefold to lows which I’ll speak about soon.

If you’re planning to become a freelancer or are a newbie to this world, there are some things you need to come to terms with before you start.

You need to be prepared. Preparation makes you brave and saves you from the frustration you’ll otherwise experience. You don’t have to expect the worst, but you have to be prepared for the worst.

And that gets easier when you know about the potential downfalls and opportunities to get out of them.

If you’re not earning well, that’s on you

Becoming a freelancer without a financial cushion hits you hard on the butt. Had I suddenly jumped off my 9–5 to be my own boss, I would’ve had to work my ass off with $5-$25 gigs to support myself.

Instead, I took it one day at a time, step-by-step. You know why? Because I didn’t want to be a crying freelancer. I’m talking about those people who talk about Upwork and Fiverr being toxic and how their dream life isn’t a dream anymore as they live paycheck to paycheck.

You decide if you want to earn $25 an article or $100, or $250 (though it’ll take some time to get there).

I recently got a gig for a certain amount ($$$), and I upped the proposal by 80%. It was just intuitive and what I felt was the right price, even if that meant almost doubling the offer. It got accepted without further countering. If you value yourself and your time enough, find clients who value you the same and don’t settle for less.

They will value you if you bring money to their table because that’s when they know you’re an investment. Be confident in your ability to prove that.

Will it be easy? No. I’ve applied for 30 jobs on Upwork only to get one response in return. But that one response is a quality client. I’d rather work for 2 well-paying clients with whom I build a relationship and learn from than 10 low-paying clients who only care about their timelines being met.

It just more fulfilling, you know?

Think of the freelancer you want to be. This article by Karolina Wilde helped me develop this mindset better.

If you are good enough to provide value, people will pay for it. But if you’re in the pitfall of low-paying gigs, you need to value yourself higher in your eyes for somebody else to value you.

People will leave, and that’s good

At the beginning of March, I had two offers on my plate. Both accounted for a great $4-figure monthly income. I was already on board with Client A, and Client B and I were in talks since December 2020.

Client B proposed me an offer.

Now, I had a great safety net and told my boss I’d be quitting in April. In the same week, Client A paid me and then asked me to take a break and ghosted me for 10 days (and counting).

Client B offered me a role, but I negotiated for fair pay. He agreed, and I was waiting for an offer. The following day I woke up with a message that I won’t be taken on board. That was four months of conversations, calls and ideation, all for nothing. I couldn’t get out of bed for an entire day because my mental health tail spun, and my old friend self-doubt kicked in.

Shit will happen; people will leave. You opted for this uncertainty, and now you have to be comfortable with it. And as cliche as it sounds, things always turn out for the better.

It’s okay to feel miserable because it makes us human. But wake up and know that this is just the beginning. There will be many bumps in the road ahead, but you have to keep going. You deserve to be valued; you deserve to feel good. You deserve people who will value you.

Get back to creating your craft to keep getting better and find another gig. That one gig after 30 unanswered ones will be worth it.

Accept the flaws

You are choosing to walk in chilly waters. You are choosing a lifestyle where you may earn $5000 and another month $500.

The cycle of feeling bad and cursing things will do you no good. It’s taken me 4 months of mentally preparing myself that quitting my safe job will come with its downfalls. I may earn well on the side right now, but it could all go away. It’s not necessary that working from 10h/week on side gigs to 30h/week full-time will triple my income.

I’m not telling you to be pessimistic. I’m a hardcore law of attraction fan. But prepare yourself that you will push through no matter what. You will believe in yourself and your work through the rejections. You will improve your craft each day and get to work no matter how gloomy it is; you will be your own light.

Conclusion

“We can change our lives. We can do, have, and be exactly what we wish.” — Tony Robbins

I’m shit-scared. On some days, the money and work feel too good to be true. I feel like this bubble can burst, and society is right when they condition us to follow an ordinary path.

I have been excited to quit my job for months, but my fingers took 4 hours to type a resignation email. The mind plays with you.

Our brain has a defense mechanism to induce fear so we can feel safe. Every time we take a step into chilly waters, it’ll make us feel like we’re doing the wrong thing, and we must get all warm and comfortable. It’s the reason most of us prefer to play it safe.

It won’t be easy, but achieving dreams never is.

My best advice would be to stay true to your vision. You are what you believe you are, and you can achieve what you believe you can, so set your beliefs right and put in the work.

Even when things don’t seem to fall in place, hold your vision true. That vision is the person you want to be and the life you want to lead. Don’t settle for anything but that life.

And anyway, rollercoasters are more fun when they flip and fall instead of being straight, right?