Freelancing isn’t always doing what you want and making loads of money. Yes, you can work towards that, but sometimes it’s a good ol’ slog to make the money you need to survive. And quite frankly sometimes it can be blimen lonely.

So while we love freelancing and it has its perks (see our last blog here), we thought it only our duty to talk you through some of the things you need to except when taking the leap.

Loneliness

In the words of the old school pop star Akon, “Lonely, I am so lonely”. It might sound a tad lame, but when you have worked all your life surrounded by others, suddenly working by yourself can be a shock to the system. There’s no support network, there’s no one to lean on, and generally just no one to turn around and have a chat with. It’s literally just you, each and every day. And as cool as we know you are, it can cause a bit of loneliness.

However, the beauty of freelancing is that you work for loads of clients. So get talking to them. Reach out, organise coffees and catch-ups so they become your regular network. (Best part is that you’ll probably get your coffee paid for too - #winning).

So much admin, so little time

As a freelancer you’ll be responsible for all the admin work that comes along with running a business. It all sounds like a big drag and is hardly the most glamorous thing but it is par for the course unfortunately. At your previous jobs too, more than likely someone else got the fun tasks of invoicing, paying taxes, data entry, and paying all the bills. And now it all rests upon your shoulders.

Lucky for you, you’ll be super onto it – remember it’s all about staying organised. And if you need a little help, reach out to the experts, like accountants who can help you set up everything so it will run super smoothly for you.

Working weekends

One of the key perks of freelancing is being able to work whenever you want. However, with that also comes a whopping negative – namely that you have to work at silly times to get stuff done. Clients don’t care when you work just that you do it, and they also expect that you will work over the weekends and at nights to get their work done. They have a deadline and they want it met.

Although there will likely be times you’ll be nutting out stuff last minute the night before something is due, staying organised is again the key. This will definitely help you stick to your desired “working times” and leave you to watching copious amounts of Netflix during the weekends.