Freelancer, By Choice

Why are you a freelancer? Maybe because you want or have to stay at home. Maybe because you want to explore your creativity. Maybe because you feel your boss is not paying you as much as you would get freelancing. Or maybe because you can't get hold of a salaried job in your chosen profession.

Whatever the reason, fact is, you're a freelancer. Now you have to live up to your hopes and justify your decision to quit the rat race. What's in store for you? Here's a few previews which offer some insight.

Surviving (and thriving) on $12,000 a year by Donna Freedman
"Make no mistake: I'm poor by choice, because I needed to change my life....Last year I survived on a number of here-and-there gigs: freelance writing, work-study, baby-sitting, mystery shopping, resident manager (read: janitor and handyma'am) of my apartment building, paid medical research and writing for the community-college newspaper. (I was the oldest living cub reporter.).....

Time and again I have found that when I need something I should "put it out in the universe," which is also known as "prayer." "

Please, please, read the full article. It's better than anything I can ever say to you. This is not something which a writer has written. This is Donna Freedman's heart and soul, poured into paper. And here's a prediction for you. She's a winner and she's going to strike gold, sonner or later.

Searching For Balance by J. Scott Wilson
"....we simply had to get our credit cards and other debt paid off so that we could begin moving forward with our other life plans. She picked up some extra work and I hung out my freelance-writing shingle in a big way....In the process, much of the rest of my life went in the toilet. The yard fell into disrepair, my household projects collected dust, and I went to the gym twice in four months...."

Again, please read the full article. If you're writing freelance for clients on the web and you don't know what day of the week it is, you probably need to read this article.

Freelance Nation by Alice Main
"For some electronic journalists, freelancing is a temporary fix. For others, it's a choice....Yet many who take those freelancing positions expecting to slide into full-time work find it's not always easy to make the transition. Others who freelance because they like the freedom and variety must weather the lean times without much of a security net."

Classic case of the confusion freelancers face when they give up the coziness and comfort of an office cubicle. The freelance world is a big place with lot's of oppurtunities, but it's also very competitive, where the wrong approach can set you back years.

Ultimately, what it comes down to is this. Regardless of why on earth you want to be a freelancer, you will have to struggle. Period. End of the day, you'll be successful if you work a lot, sacrifice a lot and most important, you win only if you really want to win. Like Donna Freedman and J. Scott Wilson and Alice Main.