There are reportedly 1.9million freelancers in the UK, proving how popular a career route this has become for many workers. Whilst it can sound like a big leap to leave a stable job and go to work for yourself, there are many benefits of freelancing which those who make the jump benefit from. Leanne Coppock, Freelance SEO & PR Consultant at Search etc. discusses the benefits freelancing can have on your life.
Amazing work/life balance
Once you aren’t fixed into a 9-5 routine the opportunities are endless to create a working pattern that works for your individual lifestyle. Whether you have family obligations, caring responsibilities or just work better at different hours of the day, working for yourself enables you to set your own schedule and adapt your working hours to suit your lifestyle. Having this freedom is a luxury not everyone has and it is a perk that should be fully taken advantage of if you are working for yourself.
The choice to work as much or little as you’d like
Alongside a choice to work when you want, you also have the choice to make yourself busier or quieter as a self-employed business owner by managing your workload. If there are times when life gets hectic and it suits you to take on less work, the choice is completely yours. This opens doors for many workers across the UK, especially those less privileged to be able to work full time, such as parents or those with disability. For women, it is a common concern whether to prioritise their career or look at starting a family so having a career path which opens doors to be able to choose both is something more businesses should embrace to offer their staff flexible choices so they needn’t work for themselves. Until this happens, freelancing is a great alternative to balance work and not put your life goals on hold.
Fully remote working
The pandemic gave many of us a refreshing new perspective on office life, showing us how possible it is to work fully remote or hybrid. When you work freelance you have 100% control of where you choose to work. There will always be a debate about team culture when working remotely as an employee but when you work for yourself this is not a concern. There are lots of alternatives for freelancers to avoid isolation, such as co-working spaces and industry social meet-ups, so they can ensure they are networking within their respective industries and keeping a network of advice and support.
Extra time to upskill yourself
Instead of putting in requests for formal training, when you are freelance you can make the choice anytime to start learning a new skill or invest in a training course. By nature, freelancing will test your skills and lead to growth as you have to fill gaps that were otherwise covered by your employer or teammates. You have to wear more hats as you manage your own customer service, sales pipeline and project management. Luckily as aforementioned, you have much more flexibility with your workload and time in order to prioritise training when it is needed.
Improved mental wellness
This could be subjective to different individuals, but when you work for yourself you have much more control of stress management and work factors which could be contributing to a decline in mental wellbeing. If you work with stressful clients or customers, you have the choice to stop this and choose who you work with. Combined with having a fully flexible schedule, remote working options and the option to increase or decrease your workload, you have a lot of freedom to adapt your worklife to your capabilities in times when you might struggle more with mental wellbeing.
Untapped earning potential
It’s no secret that freelancers in most industries earn more than their employed counterparts on average, although they do have to balance this with the costs of running their business and covering holiday and sick time off. The benefit of freelancing is having no limit on what you could earn, this could be worrying for people who like certainty and to know what they will earn each month, however, if you are comfortable taking the risk then there is a huge opportunity to push your earnings to new heights. It should be noted that you should know your industry well, alongside building your connections and experience, in order to command the best prices for your services.
Avoiding interpersonal office issues
Most freelancers will say that a benefit of working for themselves is avoiding office politics and being able to focus on doing good work. Bad culture or poor management can have a huge impact on staff productivity, morale and motivation and it isn’t always easy to tell this before accepting a job. Working for yourself guarantees avoidance of any unimportant distractions that office drama can bring and lets you create a business centred around your personal values.
