going freelance: managing expectations of remote work
So, you're thinking about going freelance?
It can be both an exciting and confusing time because of all the unknowns: how will I find clients? what skills do I have to offer? how do I balance my time between work and play? is it really more stable than a 9-5?
I'll let you in on a little secret: no one has it all figured out. The important thing is being brave enough to trust that you'll find a way to make your dreams a reality.
OK.
Done with the motivational speech.
Onto the blog, friends!
When I first realized freelancing was an option for me out of grad school instead of a corporate, 9-5 job, my expectations were a bit grand.
I pictured coworking and making awesome friends with aspirations as large as mine.
I imagined working out of a different coffee shop every day.
I thought I'd be hiking in the middle of the day and going to farmer's markets and doing all the things I like to do in my free time whenever I wanted because I was my own boss.
I pictured myself busting out a few hours of work each day and making a ton of money from that.
While some aspects of that are true today, going freelance, at least for myself, has been quite different and more interesting than I'd imagined.
In both good ways and, like, uncomfortable, "this is life and I'm an adult" way.
Since there are a lot of misconceptions online about what it means to go freelance and be a remote worker, I want to walk you through a lil expectation vs. reality.
Expectation: I'll travel a lot! A new country every week! A new cafe every day!
I love a good coffee shop and coworking space... I really do.
The issue is, social media can be deceiving when it comes to the realities of a remote freelance lifestyle.
The reality is, as a remote freelancer, I split my time between my kitchen table and local coffee shops I find on Yelp.
And, especially when I was first starting out as a freelancer, I didn't have the resources I needed to pay for a membership fee to cowork. It was the work-from-home life for me for about 6 months.
It's not always glamorous, despite what #remoteworker shows you on Instagram.
But it can be fun! Especially for an introverted writer like me — we love our peace and silence.
Reality: You're not always nomadic. Some days are spent in your home, at your kitchen table.
Expectation: I'll only work a few hours a day and be able to do whatever I want, whenever I want!
A lot of how much you'll work each day comes down to 4 things:
How much you saved before you took the leap into freelancing
What connections you're going into freelancing with
What your monthly expenses are
What your priorities are
If at first, you have no money, you really can't be picky about when and how often you work. Likely, you'll be hustling super hard your first few years to solidify yourself in your industry and gain the experience you need to be successful.
Maybe you weren't much of a networker in college or at your old job. Turns out, you need connections to make it in the freelance world.
Word-of-mouth is powerful in this line of work, so if you don't know a lot of people that would refer you to others, you may find yourself working extra hours in the day to make those connections.
Now, if you have a lower cost of living, you may not have to work as hard each day to generate the income necessary for you to, y'know, not be homeless.
The last thing to consider here are your priorities. Many jump into freelancing work so they have more control over their time. Others, their income. Others, where they work.
No matter why you decided to go freelance, it's important to understand that all of this is attainable WITH TIME.
For instance, if you decided to go freelance to work LESS, understand you may be working MORE (at first!). But, once you've mastered your workflow, designed your schedule, and perfected your processes, you can make it happen.
Reality: It ends up coming down to "What are your monthly expenses and how much do you have to work to cover those?"
Expectation: I just have to spend some time/money building a good website and people will want to work with me!
Clients are hard to come by. And clients you actually LIKE working with can be even HARDER to come by.
Sometimes, clients are emailing you and sending you invoices left and right. And sometimes they're not.
But if you're interested in jumping into the world of freelance, you have to understand that clients don't simply come to you, you have to ATTRACT them.
Then, it's up to you to keep them around.
There are loads of good resources out there to help you find good clients, but I want to go a step further.
I want to talk about what it takes to attract them.
The Internet is full of freelancers — copywriters, designers, social media managers, data analytics, etc. What the world ISN'T full of?
Really really good ones.
The problem is, it's tough to find the good among all the bad online.
Plenty of people can write, but not everyone can write to CONVERT. Anyone can design a website, but not everyone can create an engaging, exciting UX.
It's up to you to attract the clients you want by branding yourself and your services in a way that makes sense to you and your ideal audience (AKA your clients!).
There are plenty of people I can recommend here, but if you're looking to seriously invest in yourself and your freelancer career, have a chat with Maggy.**
Reality: Clients can be hard to come by and you need to be specific about why what you have to offer is better than the next person.
Expectation: NO PANTS!
This one's pretty self-explanatory.
A major perk of going freelance, especially if your work is 100% remote, is wearing whatever the hell you want!
Then, there will be the occasional video call. In this case, you're going to want to wear a professional (or at least not haggard) top. For your bottoms?
Reality: NO PANTS!
Expectation: I can take the day off whenever I want! I can spend the morning sleeping and start my day at noon!
If that's what you want to do... Go for it.
Some people work better later in the day, others, bright and early. The best part, though? You get to decide what works best for YOU!
That's kind of what freelancing is for, honestly. Working whenever you want.
Well, job-depending of course.
Just remember that freelancing means you're the boss.
If you can't pay your bills that month because you didn't spend time finding clients and closing contracts and doing work, that's on you.
But, if you can make it work, by golly, sleep till 3 PM!
It comes back to the word I feel I've used relentlessly in my blogs recently: priorities.
If you need sleep to be your most productive, build your schedule around that.
If you're going freelance to make a shit ton of money, work 16-hour days to make it happen.
Whatever your priorities are, most freelancing jobs (especially remote ones!) are perfect for designing your own work schedule. The one that best suits you.
Reality: You have total control over your schedule (for better or worse)!
Did I miss any common expectations about going freelance? Tell me on my latest Instagram! IG is where I share a more BTS look at my day-to-day life as a remote freelance copywriter
**Note: Maggy is a past client of mine and was also my brand & business coach. She did not pay me to say this, I just honestly love her attitude and expertise!