Laughable! One of the reasons so many people claim to enjoy
freelancing or working for themselves is the claim they like the idea of being
their own boss. Make no mistake about it, while there is some measure of truth
to this, you really are not your own boss.
Why? Simple! Here's some of the
reasons you cannot claim to be your own boss.
Deadline matters
Let's face it when a client offers you an assignment, you
have a deadline. If you fail to meet the deadline you may not be paid for your
work. When you are working under a deadline, the customer dictates that
deadline meaning they are the boss. In
the rare instance when you are working without a deadline, then maybe you can
consider yourself your boss.
Pay rate matters
While it is true that freelancers set their own rates, if we
are honest with ourselves, we've been known to make concessions. After all, a
steady stream of work at a few dollars less is not always the end of the world.
In fact, if someone offers me $5 less than my standard rate but says that I
will have X
number of articles/posts in a month, I'm probably going to take it.
My guess is most freelancers will accept it (not all the time, but most of the
time).Work flow matters
Let's face it one of the biggest downfalls of freelancing is
workflow. Make no mistake about it, like
deadlines, your clients are going to dictate how much (or how little) work you
have at any one time. You count on clients to space work out in a manner that
allows you to schedule work for a regular workflow. Therefore, clients DO
dictate your work. Finding work can be difficult enough. Combine that with all
of the responsibility you have, including worrying about doing your taxes
correctly (though Efile is a life saver!), finding a good insurance agent and
the ongoing hassle of budgeting your time, it's a recipe for disaster if you don't
do things right!
While its true that freelancers have the opportunity to turn
down assignments they do not wish to do, the fact of the matter is oftentimes,
in order to keep our heads above water we take work we don't necessarily
like. Freelancers have a responsibility
to their clients and while they may not have a single person dictating their
job the fact is that rather than having a single boss, chances are they have
many. Freelancers really don't work for themselves, they work for the clients
they take on. The clients have more
control over a freelancer's future than the freelancer does.
