The Biggest Perks of Being a Freelancer

Becoming a freelancer is all the rage right now. As businesses return to the office, people are realizing how much they like to work from home and don't really want to go back to the office. Their solution typically is looking for a new job or considering freelancing.

That said, everyone has their own reason for considering or becoming a freelancer, whether they do it as a side gig to make some extra income or full-time as their main source of income, like me.

The opportunity to start freelancing came to me unexpectedly, and if I'm being honest, I didn't give it too much thought. I decided it was worth giving it a shot to at least test it out to see if it could replace my full-time employment. Now 2 years later, I am still freelancing and enjoying every minute of it (even when there are downsides and slow seasons).

Keep in mind that freelancing is not for everyone, but it does come with many perks that corporate jobs can't provide.

Here are what I consider to be the biggest perks of being a freelancer:

Choosing when you work

You get to determine your work schedule. Plain and simple.

If you want to only be available during certain hours, you can set those boundaries. If you're a morning person and want to bust out all your work before or around lunchtime, you can do that. If you want to sleep in or run some errands before sitting down to work for the day, you can do that too.  If you want to take a midday break then pick back up after dinner, that's an option too. 

Obviously you need to work around meetings and deadlines, but it's really up to you to choose when you work.

Choosing where you work from

Because you don't work as an employee of a company, you're not stuck working in a location based on someone else's rules. You can choose to work anywhere you get an internet connection. It really doesn't matter where you're getting the work done, as long as you're actually doing the work.

Deciding who you work for

As a freelancer, you have complete control of who you work for. As you're looking for new business, you can (and should) do your due diligence into each company because you don't have to take on the project if it's not the right fit. 

Plus if a project isn't working out for any reason, you can end your contract and find new, more exciting work—not to say that you're just going to end projects willy-nilly, but you have the ability to choose to move on.

Doing work that you like to do

When you freelance, you really can pick and choose what services you offer. You can offer a variety of services to a variety of industries, or you can niche down, choose one service, and even choose one industry. There's a large spectrum of what you can offer, so it's up to you to decide what to specialize in.

Creating a network of fellow freelancers

If there's one thing freelancers love doing, it's connecting with other freelancers. We share a special bond. And we root for each other.

The longer I've been in freelancing, the more important I realize these connections are—whether they have a project for you to work on or make a connection to a potential client, or they support you on social media, or they even provide advice for situations they've learned from and can apply to your freelance career. Fellow freelancing friends are great to have, and they really do help since you aren't necessarily part of a team anymore.

Freelancing has so many positive qualities and you really can make it what you want it to be. It may or may not be for you, and that's okay. But there are some benefits and flexibilities compared to other types of work.