Home-based Freelancing - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Part 2

You can read the first part here at [insert link], where it discusses The Good and The Bad side of home-based freelancing.

One must ask, does freelancing really have a dark side to it? You’ve seen and met successful Virtual Assistants, Social Media Managers, to name a few, and you will always hear and read that with freelancing ‘you can work anywhere, anytime you want.’ It’s like everything’s bright and beautiful, but one must be realistic, no system is perfect. In this article, we will talk about the dark side of home-based freelancing and what you can do when it hits you.

The Ugly

1. No Officemates – that’s the purpose of being home-based right? To avoid unwanted officemates, unwanted disagreements with them. However, it will dawn to you the silence. You’re suddenly looking for the office noise. You’ll suddenly miss the office clown, the person you always ask help with when you can’t understand something on your task. No IT to help you when your system crashes, no HR to help you when it comes to disagreements and mismanagement. You have to deal with everything by yourself.

The Brightside – You become self-sufficient, creative, you learn IT related skills, and most importantly, you learn to be analytical and think two steps ahead when problems arise between you and your client. You become a solid decision-maker.

2. Thin Red Line – between you and what? Working from home only has a thin line of separation between you and your bed, your SmartTV, your cellphone, your karaoke, there’s an endless thing that can distract you from what you are doing. Also, you’re not technically alone, as stated above, you have your family to distract you as well. 

The Fix – From a thin line, create a border between your personal stuff and work stuff. For example, some remote workers would not place their desks beside their bed because it attracts them to be lazy. If you have the resources, creating your workspace in a separate room can also help. Educate your family about your working hours.

3. Clients – yes, your clients can be the darkest side of home-based freelancing. First, if you switched to home-based work unprepared, you will realize that it is challenging to land a client. Second, you will meet a lot of bogus clients, asking for trial work as a prerequisite to a job interview, then after submitting your work, they’re gone in 60 seconds. Third, legit clients that will offer you a job, but the rate offered versus the working hours is highly unacceptable. 

Silverlining – sooner or later, with the right attitude, portfolio, and killer cover letter, you will land a legit client that you will grow your career with. Pay you more than what you expect. Teach you everything that you need to know. A client that sees your potential, skills, and talents and not your educational background, it doesn’t matter if you’re just a high-school graduate. That’s the beauty of having overseas clients. They treat you more like a family rather than just an everyday remote worker. You also have a myriad of remote workers behind your back to support you and teach you all there is to know to land a legit client. So learn to join forums or support groups for home-based freelancers.

So there you have it! Home-based Freelancing - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Like what I always said, no system is perfect, but if you put your heart, discipline, and dedication to your home-based career would be fruitful in the long run. You will sow all the rewards you’ve always wanted. What other tips can you share? Do you have a relatable experience?

Comment down below!