Why Did you Choose to be a Freelancer?

williamtcooper · ‎11-29-2022

Why did you choose to be a Freelancer and is it your full time job?

bc358b76 · ‎11-29-2022

I always wanted to be independent and earn income on my own. I am still a student but I am trying to find something here to be a full-time freelancer.

williamtcooper · ‎11-29-2022

What are you studying? Is Freelancing becoming popular where you live?

bilal1983 · ‎11-29-2022

I wanted to work on a flexible schedule from home as an independent contractor. Yes, freelancing is my only source of income. Working full-time, 9-5 was something I wanted to get away from.

williamtcooper · ‎11-29-2022

Looks like you have a great start. Is freelancing popular where you live?

bilal1983 · ‎11-29-2022

Thanks! Freelancing is very popular here in Pakistan, and it is in the top 5 highest freelancers in the world list, per country.

williamtcooper · ‎12-18-2022

WOW! That's very large to be in the top 5. Continue to do a great job and have an awesome day!

7914c723 · ‎11-30-2022

Hi,
williamsonparker here,
In my role as an independent contractor, I provide SEO and link building services from home. I make my living solely through freelancing. There was something I wanted to get away from about working full-time, 12-10.

williamtcooper · ‎12-18-2022

Hey Williamson, thanks for sharing why you are Freelancing! Did you have the opportunity to complete your Upwork Profile? Have a fabulous week!

7860a279 · ‎12-16-2022

Hi,

Robert Aarons here, I wanted independence in work and my hobbies like climbing so, I chose freelancing. I do SEO of many websites. Upwork has helped me in acheiving this independence and get away from 9 to 5 job. Thanks

williamtcooper · ‎12-19-2022

Hey Robert, why did you want to get away from the 9 to 5 job? Thanks!

adhanet_ · ‎12-16-2022

I was travelling longterm in a developing country and learned about these platforms. It is fulltime but only because there aren't any jobs or at least my resume isn't going thru.

williamtcooper · ‎12-20-2022

Hey Adhanet, what type of work had your traveling so much? Have a wonderful day!

adhanet_ · ‎02-07-2023

Well this is late, I didn't get a notification, sorry. I started travelling with the plan of creating digital media content. I studied digital media production.

7860a279 · ‎12-18-2022

Hi,
Robert Aarons here from AquaReeling,
In my role as an independent contractor, I provide SEO and link building services from home. I make my living solely through freelancing. There was something I wanted to get away from about working full-time, 12-10.

williamtcooper · ‎12-20-2022

Hey Robert, Are you going to work part-time now or full time with your own schedule?

melaniekhenson · ‎12-20-2022

I didn't want to freelance. I wanted to continue to work outside the home. I've known since I was seven years old that I wanted to "go to work" every day. I don't know...my mom was doing the Ms. Romano thing (in the 70s) and I wanted to do that, too.

So I did work, through pregnancy, through everything, and was booking right along, when I got remarried and we had a child (my second child). I worked until the day before I delivered, LOL. I went back to work when my son was eight weeks old. Then time went by and I realized he wasn't hitting his milestones, and to make a very long story short, it turned out that he had (has) special needs. He is autistic and intellectually delayed.

My son is a wonderful person. He's 19 years old now. At the time, though, it was a world of worry for us. I began to stay home with my son when he was almost two years old. The amount of therapies was overwhelming. Speech, OT, special day class, the list goes on. It was going to take one of the two of us (my husband or myself) staying home to work with him constantly, and because I made less money (slightly) than my husband, I ended up staying home.

I wouldn't trade it for the world but I can say that it felt awful not to be in the working world anymore. I can't explain that. It's just a "thing" with me. It was then, and it is now.

So I started freelancing when my son was small, grabbing a few minutes here and there. My God but was I ever exhausted. But over time, things moved into a rhythm. My husband and I had one more child (now age 16) and to this day I work from home, am the caregiver for my 19-year-old, and I freelance.

Aren't you glad you didn't ask for a long story or anything? 😉

williamtcooper · ‎12-20-2022

Hey Melanie, thanks for sharing! I can relate!

I have been Freelancing for 25 years and raised both of my sons from birth to about age 10 when I got help. They would play behind me or sit in my lap while I worked. It paid off in that now both are in the process of getting their Masters in Economics because they saw how to run a business while playing in the background.

I wonder if others have similar family stories that drove their Freelancing?

Have an awesome evening!

d_gebeyehu · ‎12-21-2022

That's a trick question on my side, well I have been freelancing all my life if you ask me. Because I am a visual artist and know how to deal with the challenge of being a freelancer stuck in my studio all day to paint. This takes me to tell you that freelancing makes decision practices and gives you the freedom to become better and more productive.

Regards,
Daniel

williamtcooper · ‎12-21-2022

Hey Daniel, did you ever have employee jobs or only freelancing?

d_gebeyehu · ‎12-21-2022

Yes, I had some year contracts, then back to my freelancing. Now I am a full-time freelancer online.

Regards,
Daniel

williamtcooper · ‎12-26-2022

Do you like getting to go back and forth from freelancing to large enterprise freelancing jobs which can have the feel of an employer?

d_gebeyehu · ‎12-27-2022

Greetings, William. Wish you have had an extraordinary Christmas. I have been truly outsourcing on Upwork for over four years and have figured out how to sell my paintings online, which would give me an additional opportunity to focus on the freelancing 2D animation works that I truly love to do. Furthermore, go for enterprise freelancing jobs as long as it lines up with my range of abilities and a task that I love to chip away at. I wouldn't be pursuing the installment if it doesn't feel right and supposing I experience a terrible employer. ( obviously too difficult to recognize them if I haven't worked with them on certain ventures first). Yet, on the off chance that I get a decent one, I know that I would give my full focus to the task.

In Upwork, I had a client with whom I enjoyed working and had a positive experience. In addition, he was an excellent employer. Because my client was a start-up and not an enterprise, he had trouble securing the project's goal, and I also requested a raise. So our correspondent couldn't potentially go further. I had to ask, but I also felt frustrated because I had to work on one project for almost a month without any additional job input. Being a freelancer who does what they enjoy doing most while losing a substantial portion of their income is challenging. Having worked as a full-time studio artist, I understand how this works.

Have a great New Year!!

Regards,
Daniel

williamtcooper · ‎12-27-2022

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year also! As you keep working hard, I am sure that the Freelancing work can pay as much as full time employment. Thanks for answering the question and have an awesome day!

d_gebeyehu · ‎12-27-2022

It will pay off if I am consistent and persistent. Have a great day too.

Regards,
Daniel

carter-stuart_da · ‎12-21-2022

I choose to be a freelancer because of Covid, I couldn't go to work so I became a freelancer, yes it is my full-time job!

williamtcooper · ‎12-21-2022

Hey Stuart, are you glad you made the move to full-time freelancing? What are the best and worst changes?

carter-stuart_da · ‎12-23-2022

Yes William, I am happy, the best thing is that I can work on my own timetable and my own terms, and the worse thing is probably having to do bookkeeping.

angelbcn · ‎12-21-2022

Interesting question and responses!

I had been an employee at a TV station for 18 years, I had fun and worked in amazing projects, but also got to do a lot of unchallenging stuff (more of that every year), and felt somehow understimated. At a point last year I ran into a bit of economical trouble so I started to freelance a bit, just to get som extra income, and found out that:

- There's lots of challenging and fun projects out there

- I had, indeed, been vasted undervaluated

I had my doubts into making a transition to full-time freelancing, but a few months ago my wife got a few health problems which meant lots of doctor visits and juggling the daily schedule of 3 kids with ages ranging from 3 to 12 years. I decided to take a 4 month leave from my job and, 3 months later, I don't see myself going back. I'm making 4 times as much as I used to, but having fun and adapting my schedule to my needs (even if that means sometimes working with kids on my lap as you used to, or having them asking a million questions about why my job looks like video-game playing).

The luck for me is that, even if I move in a very crowded market (mostly software development in the 3D-gaming industry), my background as an engineer allows me to solve problems many developers don't even understand, let alone know how to fix.

What about you? Did you start freelancing to take care of your family, or that came later?

williamtcooper · ‎12-21-2022

Hey Angel and to the country of Spain! Thanks for giving your freelancing testimony. I have been freelancing for the past 25 years even before it was a popular word. I have had the opportunity to work one-on-one with 2,000+ businesses solving Marketing and Sales problems and love it. Have an awesome evening!

132dfcb4 · ‎12-21-2022

Being a freelancer gave me the luxury to work in the convenience of my home, without going through the hassle of daily commute.

williamtcooper · ‎12-22-2022

Hey Justine, how much travel time was saved by working from home? When I used to work downtown it was a wasted 2 hour drive each day plus gas and parking expenses. Have a great day!

6051e70b · ‎12-22-2022

I used to work as a pharmacist technician for several years in Greece (By the way, I'm French living in Greece for more than 20 years, also used to live in Eire and UK for studies, and work).

The issue in Greece is that your qualifications are underestimated, and underpaid.

And from my last job in a pharmacy, I've never had any bonus or wage increase and people don't respect you professionally. Anyway, and unfortunately, Greece is a country of corruption, no-respect and disorganization.

When Covid came here, the gov has put some really nasty restrictions.

So, Covid pushed the trigger, it gave me the step to turn the page and start working as a Freelancer, which I like, actually. You are on your own, no people bothering you, you make your own time schedule, you're at home, in a quiet and nice environment (in my case, with my pets). And I've got time to learn new skills, such as InDesign, SEO, or learning Spanish e.g.

At first, my main freelance jobs were proofreading, but now I'm more on subtitles since I've done Subtitling webinars and know some languages, if you've got time, you can have a look at my works on my YT page (https://www.youtube.com/@Fabrice_M).

But I also plan to get others skills, as I told before, in order to be more versatile, since I'm eager to learn.

williamtcooper · ‎12-22-2022

Hey Fabrice, how many languages to you speak? Do you get to practice often?

6051e70b · ‎12-23-2022

I can speak French, of course, English (Bilingual, always reading, thinking or doing stuffs in English, much easier for me than my own language, and since I always loved speaking English and wanted to live abroad, that's why I studied in Eire and UK, but wanted to go in the US too), Greek (Bilingual, live in Greece, so), Italian (CELI 3, but have to practice), and German (A2 level, but lost it, need a refresh). Now, I'm learning Spanish from scratch but quite easy, since I know French and Italian (Latin based languages) and I like this language, so I should be able to get the basics in about 3 months, if I'm consistent.

williamtcooper · ‎02-07-2023

Way to go!

59068885 · ‎12-23-2022

Well, William, I may not be able to give a more definite opinion on it as I am new to freelancing as a software developer,

For me, The reason was that within the software agencies/houses, they'll not be concerned with the creative-minded developer's likes or dislikes. As a result, his creativity gets compromised, And that person gets limited by a fence.

williamtcooper · ‎12-23-2022

Hey Qandeel, what types of creative solutions did you bring to the table (general principles) that the big companies wouldn't listen to? Have a great day!

7860a279 · ‎12-23-2022

Hi Robert here,
In my role as an independent contractor, I provide SEO and link building services from home. I make my living solely through freelancing. There was something I wanted to get away from about working full-time, 12-10.

williamtcooper · ‎12-23-2022

Hey Rob, how long have you been a freelancer and what do you like the most? Have a wonderful Friday!