Episode 11: The Truth About Freelancing

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In this episode, Hilary unpacks the state of freelancing in the U.S., the drawbacks of freelancing, the benefits, and how to know if freelancing is right for you. 

Episode Highlights: 

  • Freelancing is massive. 53 million Americans are freelancers (That’s about 1 in 3.)
  • Freelancing is growing. By 2020, 50% of the U.S. workforce will be freelancers.
  • Expectations are shifting. 32 % of Millenials believe they will be working “mainly flexible hours” in the future. 
  • Technology makes it possible. 80% of millennials use social media as a means of finding work. 
  • 84% of freelancers find purpose working the gig economy.
  • 97% of freelancers say they are much happier than permanent workers. 

10 characteristics of people who thrive as freelancers:

1. You value autonomy. You are energized by making your own schedule. The idea of being your own boss feels right to you. When people say "I want to work in-house because I want to be a part of a team" it's kind of difficult for you to understand. 

2. You like non-traditional hours. You don't hold a grudge if you need to work early in the morning or late at night. You actually prefer not to track hours but rather to just work until the work gets done.

3. You're highly organized. You are highly skilled at keeping track of deadlines and workflow. Project management may not be your favorite thing, but you can do it. You're great at keeping up with details whether or not you feel like that's your highest and best use. 

4. You're cool with alone time. If you're a head down "work hard/play hard" kind of person, working at home may make sense for you. 

5. You don't need outer accountability. You can stay on task and check off your to do list even without a boss checking in on you. You are intrinsically motivated. 

6. You thrive on variety. You like the idea of multiple projects for multiple clients. 

7. You’re not intimidated by invoicing or negotiating contracts. The numbers side of getting paid doesn’t stress you out. In fact, it motivates you and inspires you to set goals. 

8. You actually feel like freelancing is beating the system a little bit. Some people think freelancers have the short end of the stick but any time you’re able to take a Friday off, bum around in yoga pants all day or work poolside, or strategically work faster to take on more clients and make more money, you know that you’re the real winner here. 

9. You're fine with sacrificing earning potential or benefits. It's worth it to you to sacrifice promotions or typical benefits like a company matching 401K in order to have the benefits of working at home. 

10. You're very good at connecting with people. Whether you’re building relationships IRL or via referral or social media, you can build rapport quickly with people who you don’t see face to face all the time

Do you dream about launching a freelance career? Freelancing is an amazing way to strike out on your own and work on your own terms or build a supplementary income stream.

Join Hilary for Going Freelance: How to Launch, Market, & Build Your Freelance Career at the Lemon Collective on August 23 at 7 PM. 2-hour intensive workshop you will get a crash course on all things freelancing as Hilary Sutton shares what she has learned over eight years of building a freelance career. You'll walk away with tons of practical information on everything from what you need to do know to launch a freelance business to creating a smoothly operating freelancing machine.

Connect with Hilary on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

This episode is sponsored by the Side Hustle Starter Kit.