This time of uncertainty has been hard on people across the country. Unemployment levels during the height of lockdown reached levels we haven’t seen since The Great Recession as people were losing jobs and businesses were closing down.
The good news is that unemployment levels are beginning to fall, but things could change at any moment. With that in mind, it’s always good to consider other ways of generating income and creating opportunities for yourself. The freelance economy continues to explode and there’s no sign it will slow down soon.
Freelancing is one way to shake things up. In so many cases, freelancers have been able to ride a recession wave rather than sink underneath it – here are a few reasons why.
Situations like a pandemic create changes that can make careers or even the status quo obsolete. It may be that what you were doing before was office-based and now, with offices closed, demand for your role isn’t as sure anymore.
While that can be a hard thing to come to terms with, freelancing is one way to repurpose your transferable skills and move into a different direction. If you were in event planning, for example, now’s a great time to look into online event planning. Conferences that would have gathered thousands together in one place are now happening virtually – and there is still so much to organize. The buildings might be gone, but the project management aspect hasn’t gone anywhere, and you could easily do this on a freelance basis.
Alternatively, you could retrain and do something new entirely. Maybe it’s time to monetize one of your hobbies or something you know people will need in this time. Either way, freelancing is a perfect way to orchestrate a career change and give yourself a new lease on life – even if the economy looks like it’s slowing down.
When things are uncertain, the last thing people have on their minds is long-term commitment. Companies aren’t sure about the future, so while they don’t want to compromise expertise, they may not want to add additional strain on their resources by hiring that expertise on a permanent basis for the time being.
That’s where freelancers come in.
If you’ve got a skill that companies need, then there’s an opportunity to create flexible work for yourself. There are so many business functions that can be outsourced: marketing, finance, product design – the list is practically endless. Freelancers become an attractive proposition because it’s a way for companies to hire you for your expertise exactly when they need it on a flexible basis.
Freelancing comes with a lot of choice. Choose your hours and charge the price in line with the market and what your expertise is worth. If you enjoy a more fluid approach to working, freelancing can give you the kind of variety that keeps things interesting.
Additionally, you can control your workload so it fits around the things and the people that you care about. If you want to travel for longer than two weeks, you can do that. If you want to continue working remotely or start remote work, then you can do that. Being able to decide these things for yourself can be a real confidence boost.
This is an add-on from the previous point, but in many cases, freelancers can set up their services how they choose and often earn significantly more than their employed counterparts. That makes sense because as a freelancer you take on more risk and there are other costs that you need to take into account. These risks mean that you can push the boundaries and earn more, especially if your expertise adds a significant amount of value that’s difficult to find.
Freelancing, like any business, gives you an opportunity to access unlimited earning potential as you evolve and find a model that works for you.
There’s no more waiting for a promotion when you’re a freelancer. If your skills have progressed or you’ve become multi-skilled, you can promote yourself and adjust your rates accordingly. You’re always free to invest in yourself whether employed or self-employed, but as a freelancer, you can have more active control about how you do that, when you get that training, and how you implement it.
Lastly, freelancers can choose work that aligns with their values and their schedules. When employed, most people don’t get to choose who they work with, so if you’ve got a nightmare colleague or boss, you have to either grin and bear it and hope to stay out the way or you leave and play the colleague lottery somewhere else.
As a freelancer, you’ve got the opportunity to vet your clients and choose the work atmosphere that works for you. That sounds like a good deal all things considered.
Freelancing is one of a few great options when it comes to income generation. Ultimately, the appeal often comes from the flexibility for all parties involved. If done right, it can give you the freedom to achieve more balance in your life and reinvent yourself in hard times.
Before making any major life or career decisions, we recommend you speak with your tax and accounting professional for guidance on how it may impact your finances.
About Sonu Shukla, CPA, CFP
Sonu Shukla is a Certified Public Accountant as well as Certified Financial Planner. He believes in proactive tax planning and has the skills, education and experience to demonstrate passionately planned financial strategies. His firm tailors highly efficient tax plans for his small business clients, all in a one on one environment where he and the client can bounce ideas around until every detail is worked out. Located in Orlando, FL, he services all of Florida.
