For me, it has been 4+ as a freelance technical and customer support specialist for businesses, and every seasoned freelancer (4 years and above) I know can confirm that it takes years to build a solid freelance career with repeat clients and an impressive portfolio. So, when I see creators who sell the dream of teaching viewers ‘how to make your first $1000 in 1 month as a new freelancer’. I laugh. Ambiguous, right? Don’t get me wrong! You could make $1000 in your first freelance month or land a client in your first two weeks of business, but unless you have 1 or 2 clients lined up before you become a full-time freelancer, there are a few hard truth you need to know about freelancing.
According to a short article I read on LinkedIn by Connor Mitchel, 1 in 5 freelancers pack up in their first year, while 6 in 10 freelancers may not last five years.
The fact is, freelancing is not a get-rich-quick scheme or side hustle, and so most newbies fail because they give up too soon. However, your success rate will depend on how much you have mastered your skills and the quality of work you deliver.
From my personal experiences, here are the blunt and hard truths about freelancing:
FREELANCING IS A BUSINESS
The most common misconception that new freelancers misunderstand is that freelancing is a real business – you will register your craft, declare your turnover, pay taxes, compare your losses and profits, build it to get more turnover each year, build a personal brand to attract clients, maintain a relationship with your clients to make them repeat clients, and spend time scaling your freelance business as much as you spend time working on client projects. Simply put, you are an entrepreneur.
Now, the system may be different in other countries, like Nigeria, where there is no laid-out business structure for freelancers and creators. However, in France, a freelancer must register his business, get a business number, pay monthly social contributions, and file taxes at the end of the fiscal year. Same as the USA, UK, etc.
Aside from that, and depending on your growth, you are tasked with the admin aspects of your business, invoicing, client management, and any other tasks that keep your business running.
YOU WILL NOT MAKE ANY MONEY IN YOUR FIRST FEW MONTHS
This point will ruffle some feathers but it’s a hard pill to swallow!
Like I said earlier, unless you have several clients ready and lined up, freelancing will not be as rosy as you think. You may not make a dime in your first three months, regardless of whether you are using a freelance platform or not. Sometimes, no client will care about your qualifications or portfolio because you are a newbie, but that should not discourage you.
For me, this was very discouraging. It felt like my portfolio and website were a waste of time and resources. But with time and effort, things began to turn around and slowly the coins started coming in.
Further reading: Freelancing tips from my experience.
FINDING CLIENTS IS CHALLENGING
Every freelancer I know will testify that finding clients is the hardest part about freelancing – you will be ignored, ghosted, rejected, scammed, underpaid, and sometimes asked to do free work at very odd hours by rude clients. The crazy part is, some clients will put you through a series of interview like an employee, that will be a total waste of time.
One bitter truth about freelancing is that you don’t wait for clients to come to you (I used to think so), you go to them. Prospecting and getting leads is a huge part of freelancing that I dread but have to do, and waiting for clients to find you on freelance platforms is never enough.
So, unless you are an expert with an attractive portfolio, years of experience and robust network, you have to get out there and fish for your clients like the fishers of men.
YOU WILL MEET DEMANDING CLIENTS
It’s one thing to find and book clients, and another to find clients that you can build a lasting relationship with after the first project.
One hard truth about freelancing is that you will meet clients who will not treat you fairly, negotiate low rates, deliberately withhold and delay payments, increase the workload while working on the project, and still expect you to finish at unrealistic deadlines. Some clients will even give you poor reviews when you refuse to conform to their demands.
I remember when a client stood me up for a Zoom meeting and never apologized for it. So in the midst of this, you must learn be your own advocate and solicitor, or else you’ll be perceived as naïve.
YOUR INCOME AND WORKFLOW WILL NOT BE CONSISTENT
Another ugly truth about freelancing is that if you don’t work, you are not paid. (I wish I can shout this on the rooftop). It is so unpredictable that during your first few months (or maybe the first year), your workflow will not be consistent and you may not sustain yourself. You don’t know when your next paycheck is coming, some clients will not return (that doesn’t mean you did a terrible job), some will come back occasionally, and your income is not regular.
Yes, there will be be good months, as well as bad months. But you will need to learn how to save and manage your income so that you have something to keep you afloat for a few weeks before you get another gig.
THERE IS NO JOB SECURITY
Unlike employees, we do not have coverage for sick days, you cannot depend on social welfare, there is no paid vacation, you are replaceable, and there is no guarantee of coverage in your unemployed period. This is the hard truth about freelancing!
The truth is, job security is not a thing in freelancing – you can be dropped any time the client no longer needs your services. Also, you could be amassed in projects for three months and be out of work for two months.
INITIALLY, YOU WILL BE UNDERPAID
One harsh truth about freelancing is that, to build your portfolio and get more experience in your field, you will take the lowest-paid job (in the beginning) to gain the experience that you need. Let’s say you are a graphic designer who just started freelancing, chances are that you will take on the next available gigs to build your portfolio and generate income in your first few months.
Yes, it is advised to accept entry-level or less competitive gigs as a beginner to build your experiences, but don’t plan to do it long term, or else you’ll crash. Instead, aim to increase your rates and build your skills to remain attractive and lucrative in the market.
YOU WILL NOT MASTER THE BUSINESS IN YOUR FIRST YEAR
Even after you have finally had consistent clients, one ugly truth about freelancing is that you may not master every aspect of your business in the first year. You will make some mistakes, omit some records or turnover, fall short of your expectations, and may not know how to manage the administrative aspects of it.
One mistake I made was not having a separate account for my income in my first year. Not only was it unhealthy (as the French government stipulates you to have a separate bank account if you make more than €10,000 in your first year), it also didn’t allow me to track my finances and know if my business was profitable or not.
The best way out of this is to seek help and use automation that makes your business processes smoother and more legitimate. I learned this the hard way!
YOU ARE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE
There will be no HR or manager to handle difficult situations or resolve conflicts that may come up with your clients. You will do and be everything, and nothing should rattle you!
You will learn to master your emotions, think logically, and be the bigger person. And no matter how rude a client is, you should learn to be constructive in your fact-to-face and email interactions with your customers.
It doesn’t mean you should allow yourself to be used, but you should learn to speak your mind constructively and say “no” without feeling bad for yourself.
BE DISCIPLINED
Discipline is an underrated skill every freelancer should have – irrespective of your experience. The harsh truth about freelancing is that without discipline, you will not build a sustainable freelance career. I believe that any character flaw you refuse to develop will only magnify itself later – and that flaw could be discipline.
Mastering discipline comes in various forms – the discipline to respect time and work within deadlines, cut distractions while working (if they work from home), manage your funds and make the best use of your time during low months.
So, if you are not one to stick to a decision, building a sustainable freelance career will be hard!
YOU HAVE TO CONTINOUSLY UPSKILL
You can’t just announce to the world that you are an expert web designer when you barely know how HTML or meta tags work. A good freelancer should, not only, excel in his craft, but continually improve his skills and be consistent with evolving trends and technologies relevant to his field.
Personally, slow months are the best time to retrain, upskill, or learn a new tool. You must continue to push yourself and learn new skills relevant or related to your field. That is how expert freelancers are born.
If you are not open to learning or searching for new information relevant to you, you will not have a sustainable freelance career.
YOU MAY BE LURED TO WORK WITHOUT A CONTRACT
Another hard truth about freelancing is that clients may refuse or avoid signing a contract with you because they know it binds them to certain rules during the project. A contract protects you, your time, and your worth from being undervalued by a prospective client.
On top of that, they expect you to work odd hours and be at their beck and call. You have to make your demands and expectations clear in your contract and be vigilant to know when a client is wrong for you.
CONCLUSION
Yes, freelancing is hard, but there are uncountable benefits that come with freelancing – you work for yourself and set your schedules, you have time to work on your passions, you can build a personal brand from nothing to something, etc. – but it comes after you have mastered and managed your craft. That is to say, freelancing is worth it. If done right and diligently, freelancing can be a full-time (or part-time) career where you can make 4 or 5 figures monthly.
Please note that the purpose of this post is not to deter or discourage you but to create awareness and enlighten you on the untold expectations many people don’t understand about freelancing. Of course, it won’t always be difficult, but with discipline, determination and growth, you will be well on your way to a sustainable career.
Learn from your mistakes, continue training, and don’t be shy to charge your worth. Give yourself grace and time to master and build your craft. Don’t quit at the slightest inconvenience. Be patient, and learn from other freelancers who have gone ahead in your field.
Remember, what is worth doing is worth doing well. If you don’t root for yourself, who will?
How has freelancing been going for you? I do want to know in the comments.
Toodals!
