The Pros + Cons Of Being A Full Time Freelancer

Hey Hey!

If you don’t know already I quit my job, or my job quit me about 2 months ago. July 1st was my first day living the fun-employed life. I must say, there are definitely some pro’s and con’s about working full time as a freelancer. Before I get into it I wanted to give you guys a quick back story about my work life. I was working part time as a Personal Shopper and I was doing blogging/influencing/modeling stuff for the bulk of my income. I kind of set myself up to quit in the beginning of the year, but I was too afraid to quit because, well I was just too afraid. Fast forward, 6 months later my job shut down completely and everyone had to find new jobs. My options were to find another job or to go full time at my passion. So here I am doing the full time freelancer thing. That means 24/7 I’m blogging, influencing or modeling. I’m basically doing a lot right now, but I can’t complain.

Now that you have a little backstory, let me tell you guys about what I learned in this 2 month span along with all my pros and cons. Let’s start with the cons first.

“Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.”

Cons

-My mind is always racing a mile a minute. Since I don’t have to go into work, I’m basically working everyday. I’m constantly thinking of new ideas and what I can be doing to better my brand. I used to turn it off when I go into work, but now that I’m not going into work, I am struggling to find that down time. I’m struggling to find peace in my home, because now I work there. So finding the balance and a place to meditate has been key.

-My income is all over the place. There are some months where I’m making good money (I’ve experienced it already) and then there are some months where I’m hustling to make at least half of what I made the previous month. You have to really stay on top of your finances when you’re working for yourself. When I was working part time, I knew that every 2 weeks I was getting a paycheck. That was the beauty of having some type of consistent income. Now I have to manage my money a thousand times better, because I don’t know when I’m going to get my next booking/campaign/gig.

-Working from home gets kinda lonely. During the day time I’m pretty bored. If I’m not booked for a photoshoot, then I'll be at home working/creating content all day and it gets quite lonely. I have to plan time to meet up with my friends or plan cafe work days with my other freelancing friends. I now see why a lot of content creators want to link up all the time, because they are bored creating content alone.

Pros

-I make my own schedule. It’s actually a beautiful feeling not having to request off from work to go on a trip. Or miss an event because I had to work during that time. I used to despise my job for that exact reason. I hated the fact that I was missing out for a job that I didn’t want to be at in the first place. So I’m happy that I am able to create my own schedule now.

-I have more time to work on my brand. I used to be so tired when I got home from work. I only worked on my brand or myself a few hours out of the week. Then I always felt like I was working too hard and not enjoying life. I was on the verge of giving up and getting a full time job. But now that I have more time, I’ve been able to make more money and focus on myself and not my part-time job.

-I can literally work anywhere. I love that I can be in another city, state, country and continue working. Creating content is my everyday life now and I now know what it feels like to enjoy your job. I’m just praying for the day I am a traveling model, but until then I’ll just take my blogging duties around the world!

This journey so far has taught me so much. I’m learning how to manage my time, organize everything, not procrastinate, and really value my time. If you’re a freelancer/entrepreneur and you’re having trouble focusing, writing a to-do list is the best thing I can advise you. Write down 3 things you HAVE to do no matter what and make sure you get them done. The rest of your to-do list can include stuff that can be done the next day, but when you focus on doing the things that have to be done today, you get it done.

That’s all I have today for this blog. As I continue on this journey I will definitely update you guys on my full time freelancing experience. Thank you for coming along this journey with me!

XO,

Yvette Corinne