Since making the transition from full time employee to freelancer, a lot of changes have gone on in the world.
When I first started freelancing, it was less common and less heard of to work from home. Particularly in Cyprus, it was hardly heard of to work part time let alone to work from home, and the vast majority of jobs advertised were only offered on a full time basis.
While freelancing probably is not without its disadvantages, for me, particularly at this stage in my life, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.
Since I started freelancing in 2013, it’s certainly been a bumpy ride. I was lucky enough to land a major client fairly early on, but when that fell through in 2017, I felt shaken up, and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get back on my feet.
Since then, I’ve managed to build up a relatively steady stream of clients (and have had another child), so although the work sometimes feels like it’s not enough, I also feel like I’m able to strike a really good balance between working and parenting/managing all the other stuff that comes with being a working parent.
But with the rise of social media, I’m frequently bombarded with articles, emails, videos and social media posts on subjects like ‘How I Made my Millions from Freelancing’ and ‘Yes you CAN Charge $2,000 per post!’
While I don’t doubt that these posts aren’t true, I do think that this sort of success is difficult to come by. And while I believe in the law of attraction and the power of positivity, I also believe that if you do attain this level of success, it will come at a cost.
At this stage in my life, I’m happy to make a little bit of extra cash each month to support my family and put less financial pressure on my husband.
While I used to be obsessed with calculating my earnings each month from freelancing, some months I know have been much quieter than others, and if I’ve made close to nothing, I have learnt to accept that that’s okay.
Yes, we have monthly bills to pay and unanticipated payments always arise, but we always manage to work it out.
Because freelancing means that some months you’ll have made a decent amount, and others you’ll have made nothing! By being as organised as possible with our finances, we somehow seem to figure it out even during the most difficult months.
The flexibility afforded from freelancing has also meant that I’ve got more time to do other things, like meditate, work on my own website, focus on the kids and spend longer on my current workload, without feeling the pressure to get it done as quickly as possible in order to move on to the next task.
And as I said before, while each month definitely differs in terms of workload (and ultimately, income) for the time being, that’s okay.
As a working mum, there have been plenty of occasions where I’ve had to drop what I’m doing to go pick up one of the kids at a moment’s notice, and having the ability to do that means the world to me.
While I’d never say no to extra work, when it doesn’t come through as I’d initially hoped, I have learnt to accept that and move on.
For those of you out there who are making a fortune from freelancing, I salute you!
And while I may not be making millions from freelancing (far from it!), for now, I’m completely okay with that.
What are your thoughts on freelancing? Leave a comment in the box below!
HQ Content writer 