3 Ways Freelancing Has Given Me More Freedom
I’ve been ruminating about freelancing a lot lately…
(Yes, I know, it is shocking, I do have space in my mind for more than just Taylor Swift lyrics. Surprise!)
And as someone who has been running their own side hustle business for four years now,
I feel qualified to talk about the benefits of choosing to run a side hustle, building a business, and giving yourself the gift of options and stability.
(Yes, this is going to be a bit of a sappy newsletter this week, I am feeling GOOD ABOUT MY CHOICES AND WANT TO SHARE MY JOY✨🌈)
We all know that freelancing isn’t always sunshine and rainbows,
But, despite the amount of stress it can cause, it does come with a lot of perks that have completely transformed my life in ways I could never have imagined.
So, if you are new to freelancing or are freelance-curious,
Here are just a few ways that freelancing has changed my life, given me more career and life freedom, and overall just made everything better:
#1 — Freelancing has allowed me to explore new career options
When I got my nursing degree in 2019, I assumed that I would spend the remainder of my career working at the bedside, caring for patients.
I thought this mostly because that was what I was told during my program, but also because at the time, I had no idea that it was possible to explore other options outside of what I studied for.
So, as a result, when bedside nursing started sucking all of the joy and energy out of my body,
I started to panic assuming that I had made a horrible, irreversible mistake that I would be trapped in for the rest of my working life.
(Thankfully, this was very much not the case. We are all so much more than the topic we went to school or got training in!)
So, while I was still in the depths of bedside nursing hell, I started messing around with freelancing to see if it was a valid option for me.
(I tried presentation design and virtual assisting before finally landing on writing. There is no one path to success, and it’s OK to mess around and find out what you actually like).
Once my writing took off, there was no looking back for me.
And now, four years later, I have stable income, doing work I love, working from home, all because I decided to explore a side hustle.
(Yes, it’s a lot of work, but like, look at the material?? Sad baby nurse Claire could never imagine, and current happy writer Claire can’t imagine doing anything else. And all of this came from a side hustle that helped me expand my career horizons beyond my nursing training)
#2 — Freelancing allows me to choose who I work with
As a newer type of freedom in my working sphere,
One of my favourite things about running my own freelance business is that I get to decide who I work with.
(And I get to say NO WAY JOSE to those I don’t want to 😈)
In the early stages of my freelance career it felt like I had to say yes to everything,
(And at every salary job I have ever had, I have worked on any project or with any client that they have assigned me with no say in the matter whatsoever)
But, with a few years under my belt and a bolder sense of self worth, I now am learning how to use my freelance business to connect and work with people I am inspired by.
Because I am the CEO of my own business, I get to pick my clients based on:
The type of work they are looking for
The core values they have
The topics and areas they are promoting
The global and social causes they care about
If their personalities and goals are aligned with my own
(It may not sound particularly glamorous or exciting, but finding clients that vibe with your personal values and mission is so fulfilling. It’s truly so refreshing, and it makes a big impact on the quality of my working relationships!)
#3 — Freelancing gives me the power to leave
Finally, possibly the most important and impactful “freedom” benefit of freelancing is that it has given me the skills, power, and ability to leave any job or working situation that was no longer serving me.
(I’ve used my freelancing income and skills to up and leave a career at a toxic workplace that I hated, and I have to say, I have never been happier and proud of myself because of it)
If you are familiar with the concept of “F YOU” money, I view my freelance business in similar way:
Essentially, having F YOU money is having enough saved in an emergency fund that you can choose to up and leave a shitty job, boss, or situation whenever you want, without being in financial danger.
(And, by building your own business, it’s kinda like that concept but on steroids, giving you not only the opportunity to save to build an emergency fund, but also the skills to find new clients should you go out on your own)
For women, being able to freelance to build your own wealth is not only amazing, but it is also essential and potentially life-saving.
As a group of people who are more likely to be vulnerable based on financial disparities and lack of access to careers or working positions that allow for financial freedom,
Choosing to explore a side hustle can be your ticket to a better, happier life, all earned on your own, which in my opinion is always worth the effort.
Freelancing has given me the freedom of being able to choose — and because of it, I don’t have to stay at a job or in a situation that isn’t serving me.
And that is truly the ultimate type of freedom if you ask me!
Freelancing has changed my life for the better
So, is freelancing the freedom paradise that cringe hustle-culture influencers are trying to sell you?
No, no it surely is not.
But is it an incredibly valid (and in my opinion, very fulfilling) way to reclaim control over a lot of different aspects of your life?
Yes, yes, and yes 100 times over again.
So with this in mind, I have a few questions for ya:
Do you freelance or have a side hustle? If so, what is it and how is it going, and if not, are you interested in it, and what area would you like to explore?
I’m always down to chat business and freelancing with other entrepreneurial women, so if you have any questions or want to chat, feel free to slide into my DMs!
Until next week!