Freelancing as Part Time Job

[Annoynymous]

What do you guys think about freelancing? What are the pros and cons of it? Is it worthwhile pursuing a part time career on freelancing?

[Annoynymous]

No reply yet?

[Arthur]

It has its benefits and downsides. It's not for everybody. There are no benefits, no job stability, no comfort and hard to get started. On the flip side, once you are established, you can earn a lot, have a flexible schedule and be your own boss.

I'm not a freelancer, but I'm educating myself and trying to break into that space. From what I've understood so far, it can be really hard to get started (Your success will follow an exponential curve with a very slow beginning phase). Most freelancers emphasize that it is basically identical to running your own business. Your product, in this case, is your own skill.

First, you have to work on your business plan and foundation. Whether its web development, digital marketing, coaching or e-commerce, you have to build up the skills first. This can take a while if you are starting from ground zero. Practically speaking, you still need a 9-5 job while working on your skills/product.

The second phase will be building your client base, getting your product or service out there. This will require a tone of hustling and marketing. It also takes time for the client network to grow. Probably will be a good idea to keep getting income from other sources (9-5 stable job).

Finally, when you build up your skills/product, and when it is known to the world, you can transition full time into being a freelancer. At this point, you can introduce new features and refine your service to make it even better.

My timeline for something like a freelance web developer will be - 1 year to build your skills, and 1 year to get known to the point of having more client than you can handle yourself. That is still a very conservative estimate, it takes into account that you hustle every evening and weekends. 

That's my personal opinion, I will love to hear from actual freelancers on here.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Arthur

[Sam Lee]

What It's Like To Freelance On Upwork 

I've been freelancing on Upwork since September. It's a fine place to start and get your first clients. I do sales writing. My main client right now pays $20 an hour and I only work 20 hours a week. I take home $18 of that (pre-tax) after the 10% Upwork service fee I pay. 

You'd Be Surprised How Little Prep Work It Took 

I read about 10 books on sales writing and did the exercises in the books. Then I made some mockup pieces to add to my portfolio. Took a couple months to do that, but I was working another job at the time. 

First Gig (Underpaid)

I was itching to take any job, and I finally got my first offer: $50 to write a landing page. I was underpaid, but so what! I snatched it up real quick. I did a good job and the dude gave me a five star review. From there it was basically off to the races. 

Where I'm At Now

After setting up my profile, it took me only about a month to start making $20 an hour. 

The work is cool, but I'm in the market for a job that align more with my values. I am currently employed by an agency that advertises some products I don't agree with — casinos for example. So I've resigned and I'm just playing out my notice right now. 

I was getting 1-5 job offers a day, until I turned my availability off. I'm holding out for a job that I can really feel good selling the product, and I haven't found one yet. 

Here's some pros and cons that Arthur didn't mention above: 

Pros 

• You can work anywhere in the world 
• You can pick your own schedule
• You can move from job to job much faster than in the corporate setting. Expect raises from one to the next. 

Cons 

• I don't clock 40 hours a week. Creative work is taxing, and I don't like staring at a computer screen for that long. 
• It's harder to find good causes with lots of cash. 

Is It Worthwhile? 

Yes, if you have an entrepreneur, are a self-starter, and have some time to invest before seeing returns. I'm learning a ton of skills I'll use to run my own business someday. 

Edited February 13, 2019 by Sam Lee
Is It Worthwhile? — Revision

[Annoynymous]

@Sam Lee Thank you for sharing your experience.

Besides that, i want to know how much do u make on an average per month through freelancing? (if it is not personal)

[Sam Lee]

@Annoynymous about $1600.