[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”IF YOU’RE FREELANCING OR A BUSINESS OWNER, YOU NEED TO READ THIS” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:14|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Lato%3A100%2C100italic%2C300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:300%20light%20regular%3A300%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]As a freelancer (or having your own business) it’s totally different from being employed. More often than not there’s no steady ‘salary’ coming in on the same day each month. In turn it can make it difficult to budget for things that before you’d never give a second thought about (London mortgage anyone?).
We can go 4 months with no invoices being cleared and then all of a sudden, May comes around and hello 6 months worth of salary in one lump sum. The unpredictability of steady cash flow, topped with the ever changing stream of work, can lead to major anxiety. If you let it.
As someone who struggles to keep several plates spinning at one time (home life, work-life, parenting and marriage) I had to come up with a solution to staying sane. Here are my important tips to preventing freelance anxiety:
Socialise…
As a freelancer there’s often a lot of remote working. Whether you’ve an office set up just for you or you’re working from your sofa, it can get super lonely. That is unless you have a support group or network of contacts that you’re constantly catching up with. Not only does this highlight that lots of others are in the same boat as you, it also stimulates creativity. If you get some extra business from your contacts in the long run, great!
Say Yes To What You Love…
When I was employed, I knew which part of the jobs I loved and which, if I could have my own way, I would avoid. So now that I work for myself I only say yes to projects that I truly am passionate about. There’s a lot that get turns down but you have to think about happiness over cash flow if you’re fortunate enough to have saved.
Your Quiet Time…
There are times when I am mental busy and pulling all nighter’s and other times where I’m whistling to myself in Starbucks all morning. During my down time at work I use it as an opportunity to enhance my skill set. Learn Photoshop? Yep. Finding new ways of coding? Indeed. Identifying new brands that are coming in to the market? For sure.
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I’m wearing:
Top – Zara
Trousers – Mango
Bag – ASOS
Slides – Jones Bootmaker *gifted
Check out more Careers posts here.
*This post contains brands that I work with on a paid-for basis however the post is not paid advertisement. Affiliate links are used.
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