Diversifying into related fields

It is easy to diversify to various related fields when you are a freelancer. All that you have to have is the energy and determination to learn more. Diversifying may sound a bit too general. But diversifying can be very strictly specialization as well.

Diversifying helps in many ways. It paves for easier application of theories of one project to another. Your learning curve may be slow but you may end up reaping the benefits of being an expert at what you do. They are measurable when you get higher paid projects. This may result in spending less on advertisements since you will have the good will, which an expert can command, from the client who may refer you to many others as well.

Diversifying helps specialization since every time you diversify; you also specialize in a new subject. Which means the term diversification goes hand in hand with specialization on a new line of business. While concentrating on your primary strength, it is also necessary to ramp up and diversify. Clients can see through your specialties or expertise very easily. Hence, it is necessary that you need to be a master at what you do. Which also means, that every time you diversify, ensure that you learn the ropes of the new technology well enough to generate an income out of it.

Let us take the example of journalism graduates. They can diversify into writing books, magazines, or articles and publish them. This will ensure that they have their own set of working norms. But here, they have to try hard to publish their work. What they need to have is experience working in a publishing house or even at a newspaper to learn how they need to manage both aspects of the business viz writing and publishing.

People in the technical field have a better chance of diversifying. They can learn new programs and computer languages. There are ample certification courses available as well. In fact, they necessarily need to diversify since technology gets outdated faster. The individual has to update himself with newer technology to keep abreast with the trends. This also allows this field to be very dynamic in terms of inventions and changes.

Web developers have an advantage here. The internet is the place where all the new things happen and web developers will get opportunities to develop new websites about the new industries and technology. Thus, a freelancer who is a web developer will have vast knowledge about every single aspect of the business that he is working with.

Marketing consultants can double up as advertisers. They know the product they sell and they know the different aspects of the product. Similarly, once you are successful at marketing a product and has the knowledge on the skill sets required, you could sell anything. Same is the case when it comes to advertisements. Marketing professionals double up as advertisers for their products. Both these skill sets go hand in hand.

The above throws light on how a freelancer can diversify into different skill sets and use them to generate income. While diversification generates income, it also generates more business. One could create new products while selling some other products or invent a product that goes well with the ones that you are selling already.

The question is whether you prefer to be in the comfort zone or not. Being in the comfort zone means lesser risk. And being away from the comfort zone generates risk. But experience will tell that even while you take calculated risks you could have success calling on you with huge profits and business opportunities.

The key to diversification is to start slowly. Learn each new technology at a pace set by you. Then master them. Once you know where to keep your next step you will know how to climb up the treacherous path. It is a full time job in itself for a freelancer to expand his business.

Another way of diversifying is to outsource less and to do more. Many occasions warrant that some of the work related to your project be outsourced to another freelancer. But situations like that can be a hidden opportunity for the freelancer to learn those new aspects and to be a master of his work. The key is to recognize learning opportunities and outsource lesser and lesser. This way you can earn more and generate more business as well. The new learning will be helpful in future as well.

Do some training to your subordinates or peers and impart knowledge. This way, you are sharing your knowledge and get to know some form them as well. Follow the above techniques and it sure will help your diversification process.

Updating your skills – Freelancers

A freelancer thrives in an environment full of various skills. That is precisely the reason why he has chosen freelancing. He feels at home in a breeding ground of such skilled people. Else, he would be elsewhere working on a mundane job. It is his confidence in his skill sets that has leaded him to choose freelancing as a career.

A freelancer is often a big dreamer. He will have dreams of being successful. Dreams in which he will see himself as a successful business man running his own freelancing unit. There are very creative dreamers as well. Those dreamers, who read this and identify themselves with this role, will have more to add to this statement.

Let us continue with an intention of success, to everyone who reads this. Let us also peep into the pre-requisites that will enable freelancers realize their dreams. First and foremost, a freelancer should know why he is doing the job, which he is doing, as a freelancer.

Freelancers who consciously choose their particular jobs, knows how to go about it, is confident of delivering the work well and knows his strengths and weaknesses. He will know if the project is favorable or not, to him. He will know exactly how much effort needs to go in.

But at times, freelancers are at a loss to understand why they are doing a particular kind of job. To overcome this sense of deficiency a freelancer has to update him frequently on all the topics that summons his interest.

Learning is essential for a freelancer. It may be through work or through colleagues or by any other means including training classes. Individual learning again, can be diverse, ranging from the core subject matter to personal development. Advantages of meaningful learning are that the freelancer is full of information required for his work. Day to day situations that he may face also helps him with informal learning. These lessons, each freelancer has to identify and inculcate within him.

Learning is easiest while teaching others. A freelancer who has the knowledge can offer to impart his knowledge to teach others. The students may have new ideas and questions to ask. The freelancer gets an opportunity to learn while answering those questions. Teaching is the best way to learn as it helps further your knowledge, and gives a foundation that is stronger. Teaching can open up new avenues that you can explore to pursue your interests.

Good people are a boon to be around. Since freelancers do not get an opportunity to work with a team of members, they are isolated, except when they work as part of teams. So when there is an appropriate opportunity, for a freelancer to work with good people, the suggestion is to grab it. You may find people who can be your role models, especially, with regard to their approach to life and work. People who do work with a good attitude and also teaches you lessons that are worth learning, without offending you. Friends and mentors and bosses and peers, who will hand hold you and groom you, bringing happiness around. People who can get work done!

While working with good people it is also important that we have to change ourselves a bit. We should learn to take criticisms, both positive and negative. Work on the positive criticism and improvise on the work that we do. Positive criticism coming from people worth listening to, and learning from it is a boon. Only well meaning people will give you criticism worth working on.

Take on new challenges as part of your learning. You may inform your team that these are not your core strengths, but attempt to work at it and do a good job. There are times when you are in the right mental frame work; and the attempts that you make bring positive results. When this happens, you know that it is worthwhile doing another attempt and try to hone your skills further. Freelancers are lucky to get openings where the client is willing to experiment with their talent. If you a lucky person, you will find the right kind of person to give you the right opening.

Last but not the least is the inspiration and motivation that one has, which helps you to learn by yourself. It is essential that one has the motivation and inspiration to learn more. Only when the passion comes from within, can a person go about learning new and more beneficial things. One has to align the instructions received, the practice he has had and the assessment of the job at hand, and connect these thus enabling one to benefit from what he has learnt.

Helping freelancers get better and better while working for you – For the client

Every employer would like to have a freelancer working for him and also him to work better and better. With every work assignment that he gives, the client would like to see improvement. The challenges that are ahead are quite a few, to get this done. The freelancer has to learn, work, contribute and stay on and continue to do better.

The usual method of providing internal trainings imparts the knowledge required to understand and do the work accurately. Such training will pertain specifically to the type of work the freelancer is involved in. This training goes a long way to help upgrade the knowledge about the new trends and innovations pertaining to the work.

Yet another method of getting people to do better is by providing training in related fields of work. Thereby the employee gathers new techniques and uses it to do better at the current one that he is working on. Incorporating certain techniques from related fields of work will add value to the output, since the knowledge base of the freelancer enhances thus.

Another necessary training, on the agenda, should be in time management. The freelancer is then better equipped to handle assignments to keep up with the time lines for delivery of work. Spending time procrastinating can cause discomfort to both parties involved. Even training in yoga and mind control helps.

There are other means to get better as well. This will include using mental techniques to kick start the day. Using energy management to control the mind and body enables an individual to be in control. “To do” lists help a lot. Listing tasks such that they enable you to complete them one by one by not stressing you up is a great way to finish work well.

It is important to learn not to over commit. This way one takes on work that one is capable of completing within a stipulated time.Employers can guide the freelancer to assess the work that he is undertaking. This will improve productivity of the individual bringing about better output.

Giving appropriate feedback also is a training that helps gear up the productivity of the freelancer. A freelancer should know what is right and good about his work. Accordingly, he can garner his skills. Not knowing about the other person’s view of the work done can only plunge him into darkness. He needs this guidance as well!

Most of the time, we find that there are online training offers for freelancers who take up a certain kind of job. Questions about the effectiveness of these remain unanswered. Generally, the ineffectiveness of such online random training is a truth never discussed since many do not want to share or discuss unpleasant experiences they have undergone.

On the contrary, there are quite a few resources available on line which will enable a freelancer to get up-to-date information from a variety of business leaders and thought leaders. There are also courses available online which when used will help brush up existing knowledge and skills. Some of these courses are available as videos to enable the student understand better. A freelancer could go through any of these to understand more about his area of interest.

Women are at a great advantage when running an entrepreneurship is concerned. In developing countries, there are quite a few organizations which the Government promote to ensure job security to women. There are loans available and proper guidance ensuring that women gain success in the world that is getting more and more competitive as days go by.

The success of a freelancer is in running his own business of freelancing, well. What is required is a focused effort on the work. Training may or may not help. Many times people opt for freelancing after a considerable stint in corporate world. Hence, they already will have the training and development done during their career.

Getting a business degree will help in boosting your image, as far as clients are concerned. They would want to know your educational back ground in order to assess whether you can promote their product. A qualification from a reputed university goes a long way in building the trust that is required to bring forth a business deal.

And last but not the least are training workshops which bring together freelancers from various industries thus enabling exchange of expertise on a common platform. More of such learning helps the freelancer to contribute better, with time.

Bringing corporate work experience to freelancing

Individuals bringing corporate work experience to freelancing have a whole range of advantage. First of all, they have the education, skills, and the required determination to excel in the new area of work.

Many corporations today have their own training and development departments. These corporations ensure that they bring up their employees to have a successful career with the company; they work for, till the time of retirement.

But with instability in the job market, employees change jobs frequently and hence we have a large pool of trained professionals who are ready for employment, with skills that are developed. However, you may find a large number of them opting to work as independent consultants or freelancers offering their services to employers who are ready to hire them.

Qualities and Expertise

Individuals from the corporate world commit to freelancing due to their passion for doing what they love. The proficiency acquired during their stint in the corporate world is helpful to a large extend in carving out a successful career in freelancing. More so because many skills acquired from work experience is acquired on the job.

Soft skills are the most important skill that a freelancer require, basically to deal with prospective clients and peers in the industry. This expertise teamed with good communication enables a them to conduct his business well. The standards set by a writer who has the above dexterity will definitely stand to gain in the long run.

The competitive advantage one has over a person who does not have training is also beneficial in making a rewarding entry into the freelancing world. These experienced professionals are just not lucky but are at the top when it comes to giving chances to work for. Knowledge related to the work in hand is another advantage that these professionals have. This enables them to deliver the project well after evaluating the requirements thoroughly.

These individuals are able to plan better as their aspirations are in line with what they are committed to. They are highly motivated and this will reflect in the work they deliver. Companies have their own quality standards and hence individuals with exposure would have these inculcated in their work. Successful completion of work complying with quality standards would be their forte.

Where there is a requirement for further knowledge base or information, they would not hesitate to network and understand the required information. Results would be the top priority here. These techniques are of paramount importance to get work done properly.

Another vital quality that a professional will bring to the freelancing world is the ability to track, collaborate, and complete a project within timelines. All in all a professional brings in the best from the work place he has been in to the new area of work.

Education, ability, and wisdom can get you anywhere and freelancing can be only a stepping stone in setting up a successful business. High volume of work requests can easily completed, managed and stream lined to suit the needs of the client. Maturity levels in handling issues at work are also higher in individuals with corporate know-how than with others who do not have any background.

Getting bored of the routine does not happen in the case of freelancers. There is no room for complaints as the individual gets a break after each project or he himself times them in such a manner that it does not affect his schedule for leisure.

There is no reason why a person should switch jobs frequently in freelancing, as the work schedule itself is such that there would be multiple clients giving in work at the same time at different intervals. Getting continuous work without breaks does not happen most of the time. Travelling to places for work is another major reason why individuals prefer working from home. In freelancing, you may either work at the clients place or work from home whichever is convenient to you.

Acceptance to change and readiness to work are the two important factors that will see you through as a successful freelancer. You might have to work through tough schedules during a particular time period and adjust to a more lenient schedule at times.

Poor economy and less work may affect the freelancers earning capacity. But if you have the grit and the determination to find work and handover the same, nothing can beat you to success. Workplace etiquette and conduct is not followed while working from home.

Well, readers, that is all about corporate experience and freelancers. Trust you will be successful in your endeavor.

Why want to-be freelancers quit early!

Hearing good stories on how a Freelancer earns a lot of money being at home and the benefits enjoyed many get the desire of becoming one. Freelancer’s life might seem to be luxurious as (he) does work as a passion in his own leisure time and (she) could manage the family and need not depend on any other individual for income and support. This might not be the same for rest of the world. There are various views one might have working as a freelancer.

Being in a good day job already and looking to earn more money or joining the path of a freelancer due to comparisons with your colleagues might not help. You must be strongly driven by yourself. You must have the desire to succeed, willingness to learn and adapt to this life.

Expectations should be set based on how far you can coordinate with the job. Taking many tasks in the initial stages might not work as effective as you may think. The ability to take work comes with experience.

At the early stages one might be tempted to take more projects and learn more, but making it as a practice to work on it every day takes time. Freelancing might sound interesting but it has its own cons. You must be patient and learn slowly to get better results.

Ways to survive

A key criterion to succeed and compete in the freelancing world is starting to work.

Taking a simple scenario:

A lady who has a day job and desire to work as a Freelancer has received a considerable amount of work from a client, and she’s been given a deadline. Having taken the work with lot of enthusiasm, the will to improve and thriving to provide a quality job, all of a sudden gets personal problems and her boss at work wants her to extend and finish a project. Her deadline for the freelancing work is getting close and she hasn’t started with it, as she knew it wasn’t a big task and had the overconfidence of completing it. She’s now stuck between the jobs.

To avoid this kind of situations, one must start working from Day 1 and slowly show progress on it. Make sure you push yourself to do the work before you get diverted. Make sure freelancing is one among your top priorities in day to day activities. However when i mention this, i will not mean to project people being Workaholic but to give importance and spare some quality time.

Treat it as your own business

Focus on the goal to finish what you have started with. As you have the liberty and the flexibility to work by yourself don’t give a chance to misuse it. Stay in the right path. You need make your mind that the job given to you is entirely dependent on you, so never let it loose.

Think ahead before you build the job. Spend some time to think how a business owner would react to situations when a new project comes in and the methods he would construct to implement it. You need to make sure your signature is created by itself in the way that you present it. You can do this by making use of the latest trends in your work. Feel energetic and motivated this can help you to survive

Lack of experience

Experience comes along with the work we do. None can be perfect at the very beginning. You must have the patience and overcome the fear of failure. The least feedback you might get from your first client might be to re-do your work again and again. But don’t lose hope.

Like how John Keats mentioned,

Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced–even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it.

You must have the confidence to cope up from the stones thrown and you will be molded as a better person.

Keep a practice of learning while you work. While you work on a specific task don’t just find out what it is and implement try to learn the related things as well and this will be reflected in your growth.

Client relationship:

A freelancer generally quit when pressured by client and the way they are handled. Don’t let your emotions overrule you. Always remember to maintain professionalism. Keep your work and speech to the point. Sharing your personal life events may bring many other hidden problems.

Some clients might be harsh and some might be friendly. Make sure you can balance both the kinds of people. Be affirmative, keep the client informed on the progress of work every few days once, but this again depends on how your client wants you to be.

Have in mind the client will never know what you are working on and what he’s going to receive from you. Its certain that you must respond to your client as soon as possible, if the work is not complete sent a receipt of the mail received.

Avoid fear

One among the demotivating factors of quitting early is developing fear. This might be because you have just graduated and took the work or just beginning life as a freelancer.

Know that there are many students who are successful taking their part time jobs working as a contributor. It won’t be picture perfect but slowly you could see greenness at barren days.

You must have the courage to handle, face it more and more to get used to it. Do one thing each day which fears you to build yourself to face the world.

A French poet once wrote,

“Come to the edge, He said.

They said: We are afraid.

Come to the edge, He said.

They came. He pushed them,

And they flew . . .”

Drive yourself to the work you have we never done to explore the possibilities.

Having in mind these ground rules, let’s survive and face the Freelancing world.

Women as freelancer

Need of a women to work

Women from the ancient times did not think on the other side of home. They always concentrated on family and its betterments. With necessity came the intention to work. This kept growing as the society provided numerous benefits for the women kind.

As everyone agrees to the fact that women manage work effectively and has the patience and work towards the goal organizations focus more on hiring women employees.

To make them sustain, policies and benefits are put forth. One of its kinds is working as a Freelancer.

Women handle work and home

As freelancing women enjoy more rights compared to men. Men work as a freelancer generally to improve their skill and enjoy their passion. Whereas women has many reasons to work as a freelance contributor.

While she works from home she can take care of her family and as well work. She achieves this by splitting up her work based on the relaxed time she gets. As the work is not for a long term she doesn’t fall under any huge commitments and can plan to finish that particular job before she takes up the next assignment.

Women get together with other people quite fast and hence she can survive in the freelancing world with friends of her interest and keep developing talent. The trend of freelancing is spread and many individuals take this up because the stress levels depend on the amount of work we take and its purely based on our need.

Women are more attracted towards self employment than men. They have the freedom to work and manage. It usually diverts a women from the routine things she does everyday.

Doing a work of her interest makes her feel good and keeps her motivated the entire day.

Going by the reports published every year after the survey, we have a strong evidence that the growth of women freelancers is increasing.When a woman is married and if she could not meet the family requirements she gets an extra paid income out of freelancing.

Online career advantages for a woman freelancer:

Women are more successful in online career and have achieved. Some tips as below

  • Freelancing jobs help female employees manage their schedule appropriately. This gives them more fresh ideas and helps increase in quality of work and productivity
  • Women find herself independent and feels motivated as they handle the tasks by oneself. As online freelancing doesn’t affect their career growth and it’s not time bounded women are interested in taking these kind of flexible jobs
  • In a virtual world such as internet, women find themselves optimistic about their future success in technology and make them feel they are competitive enough to challenge racial discrimination that is a strong perception about women’s jobs in the job market.
  • With the increasing number of tools available online women are able to develop their skill and stay competitive. The chances of improving and learning are high. like stated, Women has amazing skill of doing multitasking; a research states that around 70% of women say online job has enabled them to easily manage their personal and professional lives. Jobs available on the internet have helped them balance their personal and professional roles simultaneously.
  • As every women has to satisfy the family commitment and has various responsibilities freelancing jobs helps them and provides an ease to work without a strong burden.

There’s a new growing field where women have taken a dominating position over their male counterparts: the freelance sector.At first instance, the benefits and the improvements may not seem to be convincing. But as time passes you will have a strong focus working when you can and not. Though some people have issues working from home there are many successful female freelancers who feel they face new challenging opportunities and have improved their skills. The level of personal improvement and career orientation has highly improved for the freelancing women.

Expectations for more contract work for women remain high. Most of the women are optimistic about the future success of women in technology. This is a good sign as the momentum is building for even more gains for women in the freelance sector.

Travel issues

With the challenging work environment and the clients being distributed across continents, women are unable to travel losing her commitments and responsibilities.Freelancing solves this.It helps women to get rid of the major problem travel. The work can be done sitting just at her home. She gets more time to concentrate and lesser running around time.

Quoting, Margaret Thatcher,

Freelancing is not a last resort for failures; it’s a career choice for many

Most of the people outside think that people who end up with failures take freelancing to succeed.

But its the other way around. People earn a lot of money and skill. Its the smartness and the level of passion you show towards a work you do.

Freelancing can be your career by choice and not by fate.Its you who are willing to take it up so anytime a women who work as a freelancer should have it in mind. This will boost the level of interest.You must have the attitude to project yourself as a successful women in freelancing.

Women are strongly determined and don’t easily give up. Freelancing women also has the satisfaction of the work performed. They need not worry about the project stress, reporting to managers or lay-off. The freedom to work resides on their hands and the will to succeed.

Some tips for Women to achieve more:
1. Take center stage

Project yourself as a leader. Sign up for meetings and take the chances to speak, host sessions or conduct workshops. Of course, you’re there to help others and teach them, but an advantage that you’re showing yourself and your company to a new audience. Every person in the crowd is a potential customer, and your inputs are recognised.

2. Form groups of people with similar interest as yours

Organise a lunch/ dinner outing. Create yourself a network through social groups, business associations. While conversing get the knowledge and resources from people who are willing to share. Make some simple notes and try implementing.

3.Never give up.

At hard times, don’t lose interest.Keep yourself updated. Work on some innovative projects and keep applying.

Hope this article helped you rejuvenate.

Hourly Jobs Or Fixed Price Jobs

There are mainly two types of payments for any freelancing job: fixed price or hourly payment. For freelancers one of the most crucial questions is how much and how to charge for a job? How does one fix the rate for his/her work? These are not questions, which are never easy to answer. There are no general rules, which can be listed on this topic.

The reason that this topic is so debatable is because the answer depends on both the freelancer and client. A freelancer always looks for a good payment for his/her work and a client is always looking for high quality work at the most reasonable cost. What a client wants to pay and what a freelancer wants for the job is not always necessary the same but between the two they can work the amount of payment. However the mode of payment will have to be either a fixed price or an hourly rate. So how do you choose? Let us take a look at the pros and cons of both and hopefully it will give you a clear idea of which once you should select.

Hourly Rate Job

An hourly rate job is a job for which you are being paid by the hour. Depending on your agreement with the client the formula for keeping a track of your hourly work can easily be worked out. Most of the times the client will ask you about how much work you can do in an hour before fixing the hourly rate for the job.

The Good

  • Has a scope for changing payment and time.
  • You will surely get paid for the amount of work you do.
  • You gain more client trust because he/she can easily keep track of your progress.
  • Lower financial risk
  • Changes are adapted easily on both sides because no side feels shortchanged.
  • Changes and extra time can be easily accommodated.
  • Perfect for working in a variable environment

The Bad

  • Hourly rates have a limit.
  • Income is not always constant.
  • It is difficult to predict the workload in advance
  • More chances of miscommunications are more.

There are many things, which you need to consider when applying for hourly jobs. These include things like billing of time that will be required to search the web and time required discussing the project with client and the team etc.

The amount you charge for an hourly job will depend on the skills and expertise required to complete the job. Check the industry rates and calculate your personal factors before deciding an amount.

Fixed price job

A fixed price job is one in which you get paid a fixed amount to do the job. A fixed price job does not take into account the amount of time and energy that you will put in completing the job. There payment of the job is decided upfront and there is a little chance of flexibility. The client will pay you once the job is done in the stipulated time and he is satisfied with your job.

The Good

  • Income is fixed
  • You can ask for a part of payment upfront.
  • The work outline is clearly defined
  • You can use your resources
  • Work on your own time.

The Bad

  • Risk of running a feature creep
  • Risk of losing payment
  • Likely to take financial burnt on yourself.

The biggest risk that a fixed price job runs into is the ‘little extra’ that some clients might want you to do. A little changes and additions can be adjusted in the job but you will have to draw a line if these demands do not stop and become a condition of payment.

The right formula

Some freelancers prefer to work for a fixed price job and some prefer to work for hourly jobs. My advice is to strike a balance between the two. Take the advantage of the good in both and you will never go wrong. When working for fixed price jobs I usually take 40% of upfront payment, which acts as a surety on both sides. When you are in doubt about the profit you can get out of a job then go for hourly payment otherwise opt for fixed price.

Of course the client will have a lot of say in this because it is he/she who is offering the job. But if you have a clear mind about what and how you want to charge for the job you will be able to negotiate better and both parties will benefit.

How To Know When You Are Being Paid Enough As A Freelancer

For a freelancer it is important to be paid well and paid regularly. I admit it is no easy feat but at times all you need is confidence in your abilities. There are mainly three ways a freelancer can be paid: hourly jobs, fixed price jobs and what I like to call give and take jobs.

We are all familiar with fixed price and hourly jobs but not many freelancers take advantage of give and take jobs. These are the kind of jobs in which you do something for a client and in return the client does something for you. For example you write for a photographer and in return he gives you some copyright free photographs or the web designer designs a website you. This type of exchange can be beneficial for both parties. However, the bottom line remains that a freelancer needs to be paid adequately. So how does a freelancer know that he/she is being paid enough and not running in losses? In this post, we will discuss some points, which will help you, figure out the answer to the question:

Do you have enough for overheads?

This is the simplest way to answer the question of adequate payments. When you are done with a job make a list of the number of hours you spent, number on internet hours (if your job requires the same), travel expenses and other expenses and compare it with the payment that you received. The payment is greater than expenses and you have enough left for any overheads then you know that you were paid enough.

Compare with a regular job pay

I know most people say that freelancers should be paid less than the regular employees should because they are just not ‘regular’. However, this is not true, you should be paid the same or even more than that. Therefore, you need to look at the big picture. Compare your earnings with somebody who is doing the same work in a ‘regular’ job. If you are earning at least 3% more than the average earnings then you are doing a good job.

You feel comfortable in taking a holiday

Many freelancers whom I know are not very comfortable in taking even a day off let alone think of taking a holiday. They feel that if they take a holiday in between jobs then they might miss out on some exiting chances or they feel that taking a holiday will put a stop on their earnings. If you as a freelancer fall in either one of the categories then this means that you are not earning enough. You should be able to earn enough to take a break sometimes.

For those who are just starting as a freelancer the excuse that you don’t want to take a break in order to build up a portfolio or to beef up their earning but if you have been successfully freelancing for about a year you should have enough money saved up to not to worry about taking a break with your family or doing some important work.

It is important that you do not compare yourself to freelancers who are working in a different area then you are. They have a different expertise and therefore the payment is different. You can of course compare yourself to your peers to get a fair idea of how much you should charge for your work. As a freelancer, you are rarely going to get regular office bonuses so the knowledge that you are paid well can be a highly satisfying and motivating factor for you.