What is a freelancer? A freelancer is a self-employed person who does work in one or more of a number of professions. The most common freelancer professions are writing, editing, photography, web design, graphic arts and computer programming. Rather than being an employee for a business, freelancers sell or contract their work to their clients. This article considers the challenges that freelancers face and helps you make the decision as to whether freelancing is for you or not.
Working as a freelancer seems like the ideal opportunity - flexible hours, good pay, the opportunity to fit your career in around your other commitments (rather than vice versa, as is often the case). But there are considerations that you should take into account before making the decision to go freelance.
Why work as a freelancer? Most of us have thought at some point that freelancing would be a great opportunity - usually on a cold, wet Monday morning. No travelling to work on a crowded bus or sitting in traffic; no boss shouting in your ear telling you what to do; in fact, no need to get off the couch until midday. Freelancing does come with a large number of benefits but it isn't an easy option. You need to consider why you want to be a freelancer.
Good reasons for freelancing include: Family commitments - if you're caring for another person such as a child or elderly relatives which makes it impossible to work regular hours, freelancing will save you the journey to and from part time work, and allow you to be flexible with your time.
Extra income - if you've already got a job but it doesn't pay well and you have at least 3-4 hours a week you could devote to earning extra money, freelancing will allow you to earn that extra income whilst keeping your existing job.
In addition to looking at your motives, you may want to consider the following issues: Tax breaks As a freelancer you'll be self-employed and so working from home means that you can claim a fair proportion of expenses against any tax liability. For example, if you use a room in your house you may be able to claim a proportion of cleaning, mortgage interest, council tax and home insurance costs against your tax bill, provided that an area of the home is solely in business use for a significant amount of time.
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