Is Freelancing a Good Career Option (Ultimate Guide)

The rise of the internet has created a new era of opportunities for entrepreneurs.

One option that has become increasingly popular is freelancing. But is freelancing a good career option?

Absolutely, freelancing is a great career option. In fact, the irresistible benefits it offers are making a lot of people quit their 9 – 5 jobs.

However, since the barrier to entry is so low, freelancing tends to attract a lot of competition.

In this post, we’ll tell you:

• Pros and cons of freelancing (Help you decide if it’s for you)
• What does it take to be a freelancer (The step-by-step process to freelancing success)

Let’s dive in.

Is Freelancing a Good Career Option

The one-word answer is Yes. But, you don’t want to quit everything you’re doing right now to pursue a career in freelancing.

Freelancing might look simple, but it’s not necessarily easy.

So, the right strategy would be to keep doing what you’re doing and explore different options in freelancing.

Once you start making enough by offering freelance services, it’d make sense to quit your day job.

Later in this blog post, we’ll cover the step-by-step process of how to cut through the unforgiving competition in the freelance industry.

Before that, let’s see what online freelancing means.

What is Freelancing Anyway?

Here’s how Wikipedia defines a freelancer:

One obvious definition of freelancing would be to offer your services without committing yourself to a particular organization or person.

Now, the service industry is big; an independent contractor can also be addressed as a freelancer.

And online freelancing is a huge part of it, which is what we’ll focus on in this blog post.

Let’s dive into the pros of freelancing, or in other words, the reasons why you should choose freelancing as a career.

Pros of Freelancing You Must Know

Freedom (In Several Aspects)

Now, as a freelancer, you’re typically not bound by a contract of any sort.

Once a client assigns you a task, you get it done and receive the compensation.

That’s the whole freelancing contract.

But, of course, you can come up with a different arrangement if you want.

The point is: You’re not answerable to a particular employee.

Plus, there’s nothing that should prevent you from working with as many businesses as you can handle.

In addition, you are free to work on your projects wherever you want whenever you want. This gives you time and location independence.

A luxury you can’t afford to have in a traditional 9 – 5 career job.

And the cool thing is you don’t need to stick to a dress code; you can wear anything you like.

Last but not least, as a freelancer, you have the freedom to work with whomever you want.

Low Barrier to Entry

Another cool thing is there’s virtually no barrier to entry here.

The two things you need to get started are probably already available to you:

1. Computer
2. Stable internet connection

In addition to an in-demand skill, of course.

Another reason why freelancing has such a low barrier to entry is platforms like Legiit.

With Legiit, you can literally start a freelancing business in a few minutes.

All you need to do is create and optimize a service page.

We’ll get into the details of how to create and grow a freelancing profile on Legiit in a bit.

There’s a Higher Growth Potential

This is probably the most attractive benefit freelancing has to offer.

Unlike most traditional jobs, freelancing doesn’t put a cap on your income.

A corporate job offers a fixed salary, which remains at a set level with little room for bonuses and occasional raises.

In freelancing, since you’re typically charging for your time, the more time you invest, the more you make.

Moreover, since freelancers can work from anywhere, they don’t have to bear travel expenses.

However, the income you can generate with freelancing depends on your skill and experience.

So, initially, you might have to work for less than what you deserve, just to make a name for yourself in the industry.

You’re Your Own Boss

Because freelancers are self-employed, they are their own bosses.

You don’t have to be answerable to another person for your progress; the only person you’ll have to face is yourself.

Being your own boss also means that you’re leading your own way.

This puts you in a leadership position where you have to take control of your career.

Challenges of Freelancing

Nothing worthwhile can be achieved without struggle, right?

A typical freelancer also has to overcome several struggles in their career.

Lonely Pursuit

Now, this can be a good thing if you’re an introvert or prefer to work alone.

But, not for people who like working in a corporate environment.

So, freelancing can be a lonely pursuit and you can easily end up compromising your social life.

You can, however, join a co-working space or work with a team of freelancers.

Plus, you can always form an agency around your freelance skill and build a team.

For instance, freelancers that offer SEO services often form their own agencies in the later stages of their careers.

It’s Not Always Steady Income

Another challenge freelancers have to overcome is the unreliability factor.

Although there’s a lot of money to be made, no one can guarantee that you’ll make a certain amount every month.

But, while that’s a challenge, it doesn’t have to be a drawback.

What this means is that you can convert this challenge into an opportunity by working on strategies like:

• Expanding your skillset
• Working with more long-term clients
• And creating multiple sources of income

However, if you prefer not to challenge yourself, you’ll probably be better off with a traditional career.

You Have to Market Yourself

After you learn a skill and feel confident about it, you have to let potential clients know how you can help them.

This often involves reaching out to them via email, social media, and more. A better alternative is to create a profile on Legiit and promote it in the right places, like our Facebook group.

We have a super active Facebook group where businesses and freelancers interact all the time.

It could be a great platform to get more orders if you know how to position yourself as an expert.

No Paid Time Off

Again, if you have a growth mindset, which you should, you’ll always strive for better, bigger, and long-term clients.

To do that, you typically have to work way more than a traditional 9 – 5 job.

This means you can’t go for a long, paid holiday, at least not in the initial stages of your freelancing career.

That said, the financial freedom you get in the later stages of your career is worth all the hard work and effort.

Now, the benefits of freelancing outweigh its challenges by far. In fact, these challenges are there to polish your skills and help you take control of your life.

With that out of the way, let’s tell you some of the most in-demand skills you can learn and start offering right now.

Most Popular Freelance Skills

Software Development (Programming)

Software development is one of the most highly paid freelancing skills right now.

Developers are making as much as $1k per hour for their programming skills.

The nice thing is you can learn software development even if you don’t have a degree in a related field.

There’s no shortage of online courses on software development. You’ll even find some great free ones and start your career without investing a penny.

But, because that reduces the barrier to entry, you will find yourself competing with a lot of talent.

And, since it’s a highly paid skill, the amount of brain power required is way more than most other skills.

Web Design and Development

Web design is one of the most in-demand skills, but it’s also a more crowded one.

This is mainly because it’s fairly easy to learn.

The other, and a little more technical, is web development.

You need good coding knowledge to be a web developer, which is why it tends to be a well-paid skill.

If you intend to offer this service, niching down would improve your chances of success.

For instance, if you know web development (or are willing to learn), you can go with custom website development.

A majority of websites are on WordPress, but the CMS does have its limitations.

So, your focus could be to serve the other end of the market; webmasters that need custom websites.

Search Engine Marketing

Google handles most of the searches around the world.

According to Statista, that number is a whopping 115 billion every month.

As a result, businesses with websites are looking to invest a lot of their marketing budget into SEM or search engine marketing.

SEM can essentially be divided into two parts:

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Search engine advertising (SEA)

It’s important to note that both require different sets of skills.

SEO includes:

• Keeping a website technically sound (Technical SEO)
• Optimizing the content of a website to help its organic rankings (On-page SEO)
• And, building domain authority (Off-page SEO)

Search engine advertisers help businesses put their websites at the top of Google’s first page. You’re competing with other advertisers here.

Content Creation

If you’re good with words, freelance content writing can be a great career option for you.

The interesting thing is you don’t need a lot of creative skills to be a good content writer.

Most of the topics you’ll be writing on have more than enough information already on the internet.

However, plagiarism is a thing, so you never want to copy anything without references.

What’s more, the content creation industry has several sub-categories, including:

• Blog post writing
• Web page copywriting
• Email copywriting
• Video sales letters
• Ad copy

And the content you’ll be asked to create can have different purposes.

For instance, the goal of a typical blog post is to provide helpful information to the reader. Blog post writers also have to optimize their content for search engines to rank it higher.

Whereas ad copy is geared towards generating conversions (Lead generation or sales).

From that perspective, content can be divided into two parts:

• SEO content (blog posts and website content)
• Direct response copywriting (Ad copy, email copy, sales pages, etc.)

Importantly, both require different sets of skills, so it’s a good idea to pick one initially.

Social Media Management

According to statistics, more than half of the world (59%) is using social media.

Naturally, businesses of all sizes are trying to reach their prospects on different social platforms.

And they need social media managers to do that effectively.

As a result, there’s a lot of demand for social media managers.

It generally includes:

• Creating content
• Making sure it’s published regularly
• Interacting with prospects and customers
• Measuring and tracking results

However, these can vary depending on the brand you’re working with. For instance, you might be asked to manage paid ad campaigns.

Who is Freelancing For

The encouraging thing is anyone can be a freelancer these days. All you need is a marketable and sellable skill.

However, there are certain qualities that make some individuals more suited to this business than others.

Here are some questions that can help you discover if freelancing is for you.

Can You Work Alone?

As mentioned before, freelancing is typically a lonely endeavor. So, a question you need to ask yourself is can you work alone for several hours every single day?

If you enjoy working alone, freelancing is ideal for you.

Can You Organize Your Time?

As a freelancer, you have the freedom to work as much as you want.

While that’s liberating, some people find it hard to be disciplined enough.

You’ll often have to manage multiple projects at the same time.

If you can remain organized, freelancing is for you.

Can You Wear Multiple Hats?

Freelancing is more than simply working on a project.

A lot of your time goes into:

• Client Acquisition
• Communication
• Networking
• Invoicing
• Self-learning
• And more

In short, there’s a lot on your plate as a freelancer. Being your own boss comes with an extra set of responsibilities.

Are You Comfortable with Uncertainty?

A challenge most freelancers face is the inability to cope with the uncertainty attached to this industry.

And there is some truth to the “Feast or famine” theory.

Let’s say you made several thousand dollars in a month.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll be making the same amount of money the next month.

However, there are ways to minimize this uncertainty.

One effective way is to focus on retainer clients.

Retainer clients are customers that purchase your services on a regular basis.

Fortunately, there are platforms that can help you do that.

For instance, if you’re a premium seller on Legiit, clients can buy your services on a recurring basis.

Do You Have Patience?

No one can guarantee you immediate success in freelancing, even if you have the best skill in the market.

It can take a lot of time, usually several months, before you can expect a decent return.

In short, freelancing isn’t for the impatient. A lot of aspiring freelancers quit too soon just because they wanted quick results.

Can You Motivate Yourself?

Motivation comes naturally when you’re starting a new and exciting venture.

The problem arises when you start facing challenges.

For instance, freelance work can get a little too monotonous or it can get hard to find new clients.

You also have to motivate yourself to keep working around so many distractions like social media.

Are You a Good Communicator?

Effective communication is one of the core skills you need as a freelancer.

Landing a new client often requires back-and-forth communication.

So, you need to be able to tell potential clients why should they buy your service.

The good thing is you don’t have to speak with a prospective client on a phone call.

You can convert them via text chats. Legiit makes client-customer communication easy and effective.

What Skill Do You Have?

This should be the number one question you should be asking yourself before jumping into freelancing.

Do you have a skill that people would want to pay for?

We talked about a few of the most in-demand freelancing skills, but there are a lot more.

A good way to brainstorm different skills is by observing what’s selling in the market.

Legiit, for instance, has a lot of categories you can create services in.

And if you hover over a category, you’ll see different sub-categories.

If you’re still asking “Is freelancing a good career option”, here’s a quick recap of what we talked about:

Freelancing is for you if you:

• Have a sellable skill (or are willing to learn one)
• Are patient enough
• Can motivate yourself
• Are a good communicator
• Are comfortable with uncertainty
• Can work alone
• Have a growth mindset

Freelancing is not for you if you:

• Aren’t ready to lead your own way
• Are just looking for a quick way to make money online
• Don’t want to put in the required effort

Because if you’ve read this far, you’re probably interested in becoming a freelancer.

So, in the next few sections, we’ll tell you how to create and set up your Legiit freelance profile.

How to be a Freelancer

Assuming that you’ve narrowed down your freelancing skill, it’s time to start creating a business.

First, you need to set up a seller profile on Legiit.

Just visit the platform and register with your best email address.

Your account will be ready as soon as you enter your basic information.

The next step would be to create a service page.

So, go to the “Services” option.

Next, select “Create New Service”.

You’ll be redirected to a page where you can add basic details of that service, including:

• The title
• Subtitle
• Category
• Subcategory

Keep the title to the point and select the category and subcategory carefully.

In the next step, you’ll have to set up pricing for your service.

Although it’s recommended to offer 3 different packages to improve conversion chances, you can add a single package, too.

As soon as you hit next, you’ll be redirected to the description page of your service.

This is your opportunity to tell prospective clients why they should be buying your service.

Write every benefit you want your prospect to know.

The good thing is unlike some freelance marketplaces, Legiit doesn’t put a cap on how many words you can write on your service page.

Once you’re finished writing your copy, hit “Save and Continue”.

You’ll be redirected to the “Requirements” page.

Here, you’ll just need to ask the buyer to submit their requirements for the project.

For instance, if it’s a blog post, ask them to provide a topic or keyword.

On the next page, you’ll have to upload your service image. This will be the most prominent feature of your legiit service, so design it carefully.

The last step is to add a frequently asked questions section if you want to.

If you think there’s no need for an FAQ, just hit “Publish”.

That’s it. Your Legiit service will now be reviewed by the customer support team and will go live in no time.

Conclusion: Is Freelancing a Good Career Option

The freelancing industry has been growing non-stop for quite a while, and for good reasons.

A lot of businesses find it more cost-effective and easier to work with freelancers.

It doesn’t only offer location independence but also lets you work on your terms.

Plus, there are a variety of skills you can learn and offer as a service.

And there’s generally a lot of income potential.

However, it typically takes a lot of effort and patience to cut through the noise and establish yourself as a service provider.

Unless you get lucky.

So, if you’re thinking of starting a freelancing career, know that it doesn’t come without its challenges.

But, the good thing is those very challenges are going to polish your personality and help you become better with time.

Start Your Freelancing Career with Legiit