Freelancing is a fantastic career choice, especially when you have a passion for the skills you want to be paid for. It allows you to shape your work day as you see fit and work with some amazing clients on some fantastic projects.
It gives you a sense of freedom you'll never experience as an employee. The difference is when you're employed, you are obliged to follow the schedule set by the company. When you're a freelancer, you own your time which means no need to request for vacation/sick leave.
Despite that, there are a lot of myths surrounding it. Let’s explore the most prominent myths about freelancing.
When starting, you have to be fluent in English.
English is the universal language. Clients expect you to speak and understand the language but that does not mean you cannot succeed in freelancing if you are not fluent. Be aware of the language barrier and do your best to overcome that by improving your language skills, either by taking language courses or trying to do self-learning to be more fluent and be able to understand and communicate with clients better.
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You can always improve along the way.
You always have to be in audio or video calls.
There are 2 types of processes:Voice process job involves phone calling with customers/clients either inbound telemarketing or outbound telemarketing. Non-voice process job involves work in computer & internet like email handling, chat support, messages etc.. If you are in the non voice process, 7 out of 10 clients actually prefers to communicate via email, whatsapp, slack or any other apps as their way of communication. Audio and video calls can be part of the work from time to time.
You should have a lot of experience.
All freelancers started as newbies, fresh out of school or from the corporate world not having any idea about freelancing. You can always attend workshops or check online resources to improve your skills. You can develop and shape yourself as you want. Being in control of your time will allow you to push yourself beyond your safety line and take additional risks to really understand what you really want to do.
You can only find clients in Upwork, OLJ, Fiverr, Feelancer.
These are good and tested platforms in finding a client. However, many clients now posts in Facebook Groups or Instagram. Give every platform a fair try and see for yourself which one suits you the best.
Being too young or too old for freelancing.
As long as you have the skills and can consistently meet deadlines, you have just as much of a chance of making a go of it as your older/younger counterparts. One of the obvious benefits of freelancing is the flexibility that it provides. Clients does not really care about your age, race, education but the success rate you bring to their business. However, it requires a great deal of self-discipline as well. As long as you have the determination and the right attitude, you’re never too old or too young to do this yourself.