Becoming a freelancer is a dream for many people who’d like to be self-employed, create their own freedom, and basically choose their own path in their professional life.
However, there are a lot of elements to the freelancing world that a lot of people are unaware of.
First of all, there are many advantages that come with being a freelancer.
You stand to gain all kinds of amazing benefits by choosing this career path.
It’s also vitally important, though, to make sure that you understand some of the added responsibilities of this type of professional lifestyle.
So in this post, you’re going to learn five vital things that you should definitely know before becoming a freelancer.
Let’s break it down and get into it.
1. You’ll Need A Valuable Skill
At the end of the day, a freelancer is really just a self-employed professional who hires out to perform a valuable service for companies or individuals without going all the way to the point where they become an employee.
However, implicit in this description, is this:
If you want to succeed, then it’s important for you to have a valuable skill.
If you don’t have a valuable skill that you can leverage to sell your time on the marketplace, you’re probably going to struggle to find clients and customers who are willing to pay you for your services.
So develop a valuable high-income skill that you can leverage to find work as a freelancer.
2. You’ll Need To Set Tax Money Aside
One big mistake that new freelancers make is when they neglect to set aside enough tax money to cover their tax liability at the end of the year.
See, unlike employees, freelancers don’t get taxes withheld from their pay.
They need to do their own withholding, which usually happens in the form of estimated tax payments, since most freelancers get paid with cash payments.
This is really important.
As a general rule, you’ll just want to calculate your tax percentage, and then make sure that you subtract that amount from each payment you get from a client to set in a separate account that you can later use to pay taxes.
3. You’ll Need To Market Yourself
Freelancers need to market themselves if they want to be successful.
For example, you could be the absolute best freelance graphic designer in the world.
However, if all you do is sit in your office and never market yourself online or in the real world, you’re going to struggle to get the work and the business you deserve.
So consider taking a marketing course or class, or even hiring a mentor to help you learn how to adequately market yourself for freelance success.
According to Development Academy 4 in 5 young people feel they lost out from not putting themselves forward at work.
It really matters.
4. You’ll Gain A Lot Of Freedom
There’s a lot of freedom to be found living and working as a freelancer.
For example:
Some freelancers travel around the world because they’re not required to show up at a particular office at a certain time every day.
Some freelancers choose to work during the night instead of during the day, because this is when they feel more creative.
Obviously, the circumstances may differ with your industry.
But the point of the matter is that along with all of the extra responsibilities of being a freelancer, you also gain an incredible amount of freedom—and that’s awesome.
5. You May Need To Get Some Insurance
When you work for a business, that business entity is responsible for liabilities that may occur as a result of doing business.
In other words, as an employee, you’re pretty much protected by the company.
But as a freelancer, you’ll need to secure your own umbrella of insurance protection. (There are even policies like ‘ghost insurance’ that can help you in certain ways.)
And this usually comes in the form of some kind of general business liability insurance.
Here’s the thing.
As a freelancer, if you accidentally mess up and cause damages while trying to work for a client, it’s possible that you’re going to be held responsible for the costs of those damages.
And business insurance can help you to avoid paying such liabilities out of pocket, which could very well hurt or even ruin your business.
Insurance is important.
So do your research and make sure that you secure the proper insurance for your profession.
Conclusion
There you have it.
5 vital things to know before you take the leap to become a freelancer.
If you’re still on board, congratulations.
The life of a freelancer is amazing.
Just remember to keep track of your taxes and your insurance, and to always provide plenty of value for your customers—and you really can’t go wrong.
You’ve got this.
Now get out there and make it happen.