Freelancing can be a great way to start slowly getting into running your own business.

Freelancing: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

You can then decide if it is something that you enjoy or if it is something you should avoid. To sum up the advantages and downsides, I broke the article down into three parts: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good

Most of the advantages freelancing come out from the fact that you are your own boss. If you begin to have an issue with a client, you can drop them as a client.

This is something that I have personally done before. Sometimes, it is because they are causing problems or being difficult to work with.

With freelancing, you can get various jobs fairly quickly. Freelancing has helped me to find some Web Development projects and Search Engine Optimization gigs.

Companies expect you to have a relevant work experience before they start paying you. So with freelancing, even as a college student, you can mention these freelancing experiences in your resume and have a great base to start from for a potential portfolio.

The Bad

Freelancing has some downsides. If you decide to start, it might cause some uncertainty at the beginning of your chosen career journey.

Getting paid is the difficult part of freelancing. When working for a company, typically there is a separate department that deals with billing. When freelancing, you are your own billing department.

Getting paid is difficult when a client is wanting you to fully explain every part of the invoice.

The Ugly

To become a successful freelancer, you really cannot be a timid person.

You have to be willing to tell someone that they owe you a specific amount of money and hold them to it.

Fortunately, in my experience, most clients were willing to ultimately pay, but sometimes it can cause problems when they argue that you did not deliver on what you said you would.

During my freelancing career, I got a chance to help people who enjoyed the quality of work I delivered. Their positive recommendations generated referrals for my freelancing business.

Overall, freelancing is a great option and is something that I have greatly enjoyed. I have done work that I would never get to do.

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