Freelancing can be a wonderful and rewarding way of working and earning a living.
Although there are pros and cons to freelancing, and it’s not the right path for everyone, there are some common myths about being your own boss that could very well be holding you back.
Here are 5 of the most common:
1. You can’t make a lot of money freelancing
This is in the same vein as ‘freelancing isn’t a real job or business’ or ‘it’s just a part-time gig’.
Sure, freelancing can be a part-time side hustle, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be profitable or that you’ll earn less than your previous 9 to 5 full-time salaried role.
The great thing about freelancing is that it can be anything you want it to be. Plus, when working for yourself, your earnings potential is limitless. You set your rates and how and when you get paid. You can create a product or an online course or program. You make the rules!
And yes, freelancing is a business. You have to deal with clients, market your business, comply with all the legal bits, invoice clients, and get paid.
Some freelancers set up as a registered company or start an agency – so very much a real business.
2. You have to work all the hours and do all the things
One of the joys of freelancing is that you set your own hours. You can be as flexible as you like. In fact, deciding on your work schedule, client boundaries, and acceptable working hours is something you should sort out at the beginning of your freelance journey.
You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a surefire route to freelancer burnout. Setting the right prices, knowing who your ideal clients are, and stipulating how and when you are paid will go a long way to ensuring you aren’t burning the candle at both ends.
While as a freelancer, you are responsible for everything that goes on in your business, that doesn’t mean you have to do everything – you can outsource or automate certain elements. Anything that is a repetitive admin workflow can be automated using tools like Zapier.
You can hire a VA for bigger tasks, and for things that have to be done routinely, such as accounting or payroll, you can hire an accountant or payroll specialist.
3. You are limited to the number of clients you can take on
You might be limited to the number of clients you can take on for several reasons. For example, if you exchange your time for money because there are only so many hours in a day, or if you don’t collaborate with other freelancers or outsource or automate some of your tasks, then these could all be contributing factors. Or it may simply be desirable for you to have just a handful of long-term, well-paying retainer clients.
But limited clients doesn’t mean limited pay.
In any event, depending on your work, it could be that you have a good turnover of clients, for example, if you are a high ticket coach who gets client results in a short period of time, or you offer group coaching or a membership – in which case you could have many clients.
How you run your business, your offers, and how and what you charge will determine the number of clients you can work with and how profitable you can be at any point in time.
4. Clients don’t pay freelancers on time
This can happen, but it’s not just freelancers who don’t get their invoices paid on time.
However, there are plenty of things you can do to mitigate late payment. Having decent client onboarding processes, the ability to spot red-flag clients, and attracting quality clients that are the right fit for you are among the first lines of defense.
Another way to get paid on time is to have top-notch invoice software in place, especially one that offers multiple payment gateways like Invoice Ninja. Having a range of payment gateways means you are not stuck with just one method for clients to pay you – which might be inconvenient for them. It also means your clients can pay you in just 1 click.
Invoice Ninja provides professional invoice templates that you can customize and brand with your own logo. It also includes countless other freelancer-friendly features, such as late payment reminders, a self-service client portal and task/expense management.
Everything to help you get paid faster.
Try it for free here.
5. You can’t take a vacation or days off
Freelancers do vacation and take time off. The key is to plan for it in advance. You should also take time off into account in the rates you charge. Just as not all hours in a working week are billable, you don’t generally get paid time off in the same way as you would in a salaried position. But you are also not limited to a set amount of time off per year or at the mercy of your boss’s schedule.
You can build up a buffer fund for time off or have various passive income streams to support you. Or you could set up your business in such a way that it runs itself. You can also hire other freelancers to help you out or partner with them.
There are a myriad of options available to you, and what you choose will depend on the nature of your business, client needs and how you operate. But you totally can and should take time off to recharge, refresh, and boost your well-being.
So, armed with these freelancing myth-busters, you can get out there and focus on doing what you love. We’ll help with the invoicing!
