Freelance work looks like it will be very popular in today’s tough economy. Anyone can get into freelance work but be skeptical of those who tell you that there are no problems in it. It is important that you as a professional in freelance work learn to spot the problems and put the fire out before they become a threat to the very survival of your business. It can be lonely at times for the professional doing freelance work when problems strike but knowing what to do will make this way of working much more enjoyable.
The isolation of freelance work can be troublesome if you let it. When you start doing freelance work, it won’t take long to recognize the uncomfortable feelings of isolation you’ll have. You no longer have coworkers to share your day with. There is no more laughter at the inside jokes. You no longer have an audience to listen when you are having a bad day. The best way to deal with this problem in freelance work is to call your old coworkers and have lunch once in awhile. Going for a walk helps too.
You will soon discover that freelance work can oftentimes be the most difficult work you ever do. This is because freelancers either do work requiring a high degree of specialization or tedious work that companies want to outsource and get done quickly. Another reason why freelance work can seem more difficult is because now you wear many hats. As a professional doing this type of work, you have to now handle marketing, billing, customer service, and deliveries. And you have to do all this while trying to find time to actually do the work. All these functions need to be done and at first you won’t be able to hire employees to take care of them. Staying organized is the best way to handle this problem. Good organization ensures you can find things when you need them and keep administrative tasks to a minimum.
Say goodbye to employer benefits when doing freelance work. Your greatest challenge when starting your career as an independent is finding adequate healthcare. As a professional doing freelance work, you now must pay full premiums if you are going to get health insurance from an independent carrier. Under your old employer’s health insurance coverage, you paid the employee share only. You are going to quickly find out how expensive the full price of health insurance coverage is. There is no easy answer to this problem in the world of freelance work. You can try higher deductibles, use co-op private doctors, or leave it to chance if you and your family are reasonably healthy.
Knowing how to set the right prices and price competition are nagging problems for those doing freelance work. At first, you will probably set your prices low for your freelance work in order to penetrate the market. But eventually, you’ll have to start raising your prices because of inflation and this can be uncomfortable for you. You will also feel uncomfortable making your first price quotes as it is natural to fear you will quote too high and drive business away. Many doing freelance work will tell you how they set their prices but it still doesn’t feel any more comfortable when you are doing it. Set your price and stick to it when doing freelance work-no matter how uncomfortable it feels. Consistently setting prices too low can kill your business.
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