10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Becoming A Freelancer

I've been a freelancer for more than 3 years now. I can't say that life is perfect because I've certainly experienced several ups and downs. I've lost clients and I've gained new ones. But here I am - still standing. I must admit though that there are things that I wish somebody had told me before I got into the freelancing world. Here are these 10 things.

#1 The possibilities are endless. Trust me, there are gazillions of online platforms that you can work on. The most common are Upwork and Freelancer. There's also OnlineJobs.ph, Fiverr, People Per Hour, My Outdesk, Rev and Rarejob. You can write articles and blogposts, manage social media accounts, create graphic designs, manage websites, be a customer service representative and even manage people remotely. It's exciting.

#2 It is hard work. Getting your first contract is the hardest. I work in the Upwork platform and since my account doesn't have any feedback from any clients at all, I didn't get a lot of responses at first from my applications. It took me a month to get my first client and guess how much I earned in a month - a measly $30.

#3 The competition is fierce. If you are applying for a job in Bacolod, you are competing with other applicants in Bacolod. But because this is an online marketplace, you are competing with millions of other freelancers all over the world. Can you imagine your chance of getting hired now? You have to learn how to stand out.

#4 There is always uncertainty. Sure you land the project of your dreams but you have to remember that your employer can always terminate your contract without prior notice. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. You may not feel secured all the time which is actually good because we should never feel comfortable or complacent. You have to bring your A-game all the time.

#5 Connections are almost non-existent. This is unlike any other regular jobs where you get the first interview or you get hired right away when you know someone from the company. Even if you know someone working for that client, it will never guarantee a chance at an interview at all. The hiring manager always has the control. I say almost because there are clients who'd actually ask for referrals but this hardly happen - at least to me.

#6 You will doubt yourself at some point. You will go through all the job openings and even if you have more than a decade of experience in your field, you will find yourself asking if you are really able to complete all those tasks. You just need to constantly remind yourself that you can and claim it.

#7 You will strive to improve yourself. Because of the need to stand out and get clients, you have to keep yourself updated with what's new or what the trends are. Some even took online classes in order to improve their skills and increase their market value.

#8 You will hate wasting your time mainly because you know what your hourly rate is and you are aware of how much money you lose by doing something extremely unproductive.

#9 You can work anywhere (as long as there is stable internet connection).

#10 You will be in control. This is the part that I love best. I am in control of the number of contracts I get, the amount of money I earn and the number of hours I  want to work each day or week. This gives me time to take my kids to school, catch up with my friends over coffee, go on a movie date with my daughter or go to yoga class. I started to have a real life.

Realities of Working From Home

It has been 5 months since I started working from home and so far, we're managing. Making the decision to work from home is not to be taken lightly because believe it or not it's not as easy as it sounds. You have to be prepared -- not just emotionally but also financially.

I agree. Working from home may sound like a great set up. After you finish your task, you can just turn your computer off and then do whatever you need. 
But let me share with you the challenges that you could face when working from home.

Temptations are everywhere.  I know my laptop is supposed to be my friend but oftentimes it's not.  It is one big distraction.  I itch to check my Facebook page everyday and this is something that I am trying to control so I could be more productive. This has never happened before because when I was in the BPO industry, Facebook cannot be accessed using my work PC.

You notice EVERYTHING.  Turn to the left and you see an unmade bed.  To your right is the laundry and the bathroom that you're dying to scrub until they are squeaky clean.

Babysitting while trying to write a few articles.

Distractions.  Quite a different set up when you're at the office because there's no toddler running around looking for "Mama" there.  Then again these are sometimes good.  I love those days when I work on my articles and my son would just hug me from the back or give me a kiss.

You work with yourself. You brainstorm with yourself. I kind of miss those times when you draw out several ideas by talking with your teammates and colleagues.

So, are you still considering working from home?

Taking the Leap

When I left the corporate world, I didn't quite know what to expect.  I have been working in the BPO industry for almost a decade that I almost lost touch of how it is outside.  Still I left, not just because of family reasons and health reasons, but mostly because for years I have been considering the idea of working from home ... except I didn't quite know where to start.

Attending Dainty Mom's WAHMderful life seminar was what I immediately though of doing.  I know a few people who works at home and meeting a couple more wouldn't hurt.  There I got to know a bit more about the ins and outs of working from home and after the seminar, I felt more empowered that I can do it.  (Thanks for the opportunity, Martine).

Taking the leap with my husband was not easy but I'm glad that I had people helping me out along the way.  I left my job at the BPO industry.  Our family moved back to the province.  We pretty much started from scratch but the good thing is, it forced me to explore the opportunities that I have as a WAHM.  Odesk was the first option I had but the response from the employers takes time.  I am sending in my application almost every night only to receive no response the next day.  Then I met a fellow WAHM in Bacolod - Yols Hortillosa.  She works as a transcriber and she passed on a few transcription assignments to me and my husband.  That went on for a few more times until she shared with us that one of the transcription companies is looking for more transcribers.  I guess you can now say that the rest is history.

So far, we managed to stay afloat for a couple of months and I look forward to the time when we can say that we are finally financially stable.  If you are a mom who'd want to start working from home, stay tuned because my posts will now be more likely about my experiences on being a work-at-home mother.