Myths about Freelancing and How Freelancers Can Become Full-Time Entrepreneurs

Myths about Freelancing and How Freelancers Can Become Full-Time Entrepreneurs

There are a lot of misconceptions about freelancing and what the life of a freelancer is really like. In this episode, we will share some of the common myths about freelancing and we will try to get the facts straight.

Secondly, I will share with you how freelancers can become full-time entrepreneurs. I will share my personal experiences and thoughts on this.

Being a freelancer can open up a world of opportunities in your personal and professional life. But is also true that some see freelancing as a wonderful opportunity to explore the hidden talent whereas others see it as a risk not worth taking.

Some freelancers are living a poor lifestyle whereas others are making a lot of money.

But one thing is sure Freelancing is a field of uncertainty and where there is uncertainty, there will be some myths.

That is why before starting your freelance career people need to understand some facts or myths attached to it.

Alright! Let’s start with the first one:

Myth #1 – It’s not possible To Make a Good Living by Freelancing

This is one of the biggest misconceptions about freelancing, that it is insecure and you’ll constantly be worrying about where the next paycheque is coming from.

The fact is that all jobs are insecure right now. The difference with freelance jobs is that your living solely depends on you.

You can maintain a steady flow of income during the low and high seasons by having multiple sources of income through your blogs, affiliate marketing, consulting, forming new connections, learning new skills, etc.

If you are highly skilled freelancing can provide you with the opportunity of earning unlimitedly. Most freelancers earn way lot more than what they used to with their 9 to 5 jobs with doing even less work.

Just like any other endeavour, it takes hard work, experience, skill, discipline and planning, but it is a very feasible and realistic way of earning a living.

 Myth #2 – Being a Freelancer Means you’re The Boss

Yes, this is true that when you are freelancing you do not have an actual boss hovering around micromanaging your every move. But you are CEO, employee, salesperson, and manager of your little operation which can be overwhelming.

Some freelancers make the mistake of giving the title of their boss to their clients.

While working as a freelancer you will come across clients that can make your life a living hell by not giving you enough space to work.

Myth #3 – Freelancers Have More Free Time or Freelancers Don’t Work Hard

If you are imagining a lifestyle where you will be chilling on the beach and working at the same time and then sleep off the rest of the day then you are delusional.

Yes, you can work when you choose, but there is still work that needs to be done. Sometimes you will have to work day and night and on the time when you are uncomfortable to fulfil your client’s requirements and deadline.

Myth #4 Freelancing Is For People Who Cannot Get a Job

While some freelancers get started after being laid off by their company or leaving a full-time job, the fact that they freelance doesn’t mean that they are unemployable.

Most freelancers I know do so because it’s their choice and they make more money than they would have made on their job.

Freelancing is a great way of bringing flexibility and independence into life.

Myth #5 Freelancing cannot be converted into a business

Well, if you are working on your job along with freelancing then you just cannot see the potential of freelancing. Full-time Freelancers can easily convert their operation into a fully-fledged business.

All they have to do is make some psychological shifts to go from freelancer to entrepreneur.

So, how freelancers can convert their operation into Full-time business and become entrepreneurs.

In the early days of starting a business whether you are freelancing or you are an entrepreneur can be hard to define.

Because, when you start a business initially you do all the work and then gradually hire the right people for your business and transfer the work to them with the proper system in place.

Being an entrepreneur will mean having more freedom and ownership. It’s more about leadership and less about working all the time.

Because in freelancing you get paid when you work, but entrepreneurs make money passively. They don’t necessarily work to make money; in fact, they leverage other people’s work and money to build businesses so they can get paid even when they sleep.

As a freelancer, there is a limit to how much you can grow your client base, and only so much you can reasonably charge for your time. It’s just not scalable.

That’s why I feel all freelancers should have an ultimate goal of being a business owner, an entrepreneur after some years of freelancing.

So how do you shift from being a freelancer to an entrepreneur?

Let’s discuss some important shifts you will need to make in order to do that

Think bigger

Sometimes we limit ourselves and couldn’t think big – either negative peers or colleagues telling us why something will never work, or our own internalized voice, telling us the same thing.

But in order to truly thrive and grow as an entrepreneur, we have to let go of our self-imposed limitations and develop a growth mindset.

The way we see things and the attitude we bring to our daily activities can play a huge role in shaping the ways we utilize our innate abilities.

When you are a freelancer, you limit yourself because what you are doing basically is exchanging time for money and there are only so many hours in the day.

Entrepreneurs’ focuses on creating systems and automation that can operate without their direct involvement.

There’s life beyond getting paid by the hour turn your services into products and offer them to your clients monthly and get the work done by your team.

Having a long-term view and goals is essential to ensure growth. The first step is to think big and then think bigger.

Team up with like-minded individuals

The next thing you need to focus on is to Team up with like-minded individuals because; it is the best way to break your habit of working alone without any help, coordination, and support.

Working with like-minded people will help you learn new things, develop new skills and reduce the workload.

You will learn to coordinate and develop interpersonal skills that are very helpful in running a business.

But remember the best people to team up with are the people who inspire, motivate, and support youLook for solid team players, rather than people who are out for themselves.

Use the power of socializing

When you start a business creating brand awareness of your business in the market is one of the foremost tasks.

If used properly social media can be powerful revenue and brand-building tool. Networking and helping people online can bring a lot of clients to your business.

So what you have to do is post regularly on social media platforms that are relevant to your business, create sales funnels to capture leads, create content and focus on the tactics that bring in business.

Invest in your business

You may have gotten this far freelancing through word of mouth referrals. But to get a sufficient amount of clients to make your business profitable you need to invest in your business.

  • Start by creating a website if you haven’t already.
  • Invest in Marketing (content creation, social media management, advertising, etc.)
  • Get your business registered and File for all necessary business permits.

If you’re in the marketing industry, you may be able to do some marketing tasks yourself. But you’ll still have costs associated with some of those aspects like the cost of tools and ad expenditure.

So make sure you set aside both the budget to cover those tasks and the time to do what you’ll manage yourself.

Expand your team

The major difference between working as a freelancer versus an entrepreneur is having other employees to help with the workload. When you are running a business it’s not possible to build a scalable business by yourself.

Having a team will enable you to delegate projects and have a support network. so you can focus on more important activities.

Freelancers can’t be expert at everything. So when you hire help it allows you to fill in those gaps where expertise is required.

Instead of spending time delivering the service, an entrepreneur’s time should be spent on creating systems and processes, and also strategizing the expansion of the business.

Also, check How to Hire a Freelancer for your Business: Things You Need to Know

That’s all for this episode. I hope it will help you understand the difference between an entrepreneur and a freelancer and helped you clear some myths regarding freelancing

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Divyanshuchaturvedi.com

Founder and CEO of MarkBuzz LLP, Digital Marketer, Investor, Youtuber, Podcaster and Author.