Why freelancing is the best way for Students to achieve financial freedom ?
Achieving financial freedom is the ultimate dream of students. Therefore, students try out different money-making options to achieve financial freedom. Freelancing is the one option that stands out from others. A freelancer or freelance worker is a self-employed individual, but he is not necessarily committed to a specific company. Freelancing is currently contributing approximately $1 trillion to the U.S. economy. Content writers, developers, and graphic designers are the three highest-earning freelancing categories across the world.
Freelancers use a variety of ways to find clients. According to a study carried out by FlexJobs on 1,000 freelancers, researchers discovered that networking (56%) and job sites like Freelancers or Fiverr (47%) are the two most common platforms used by freelancers to find out their desirable clients.
According to the latest study by MBO Partners, it’s predicted that 52% of the U.S. workforce would operate as a gig economy or independent workers by 2023. This study also revealed that 48% of millennials use gigs to look for work.
I am a full-time freelancer, and I think that Freelancing is the best way for youngsters or students to gain financial freedom, especially during the current circumstances. Following are the prime reasons due to which I think Freelancing is the best way for students to achieve financial freedom
Freedom of Clients
Freelancing is the second name of freedom. Freelancers have the freedom to choose their employers. They also have the freedom to work with lots of clients or only a few selected clients. Moreover, a freelancer can decide whether to continue working with a particular client or cancel the deal whenever they want.
Freelancing offers the freedom of working from anywhere in the world. I have done many freelancing projects while attending marriages, business events, and family functions. Just a mini-tablet or laptop is enough for completing your project while you are not at home. This freedom of work helps me when I am dealing with American clients or clients elsewhere. Otherwise, It would be challenging for me to maintain a working relationship with them through regular work hours as they are 7 to 10 hours behind my country time.
Control of Workload
Freelancing is a very effective way for students to achieve financial freedom . Since, they can choose their workload according to their study schedule. They can earn as much as they desire without any restrictions. However, they have to take care of their workload with Google or Excel . It allows classifying and modifying information. Moreover, Excel sheets also aid in organizing the work by various factors. Additionally, students must check their excel documents daily to get a holistic view of their daily tasks and deadlines when building their day-to-day freelance schedules.
No Distractions
Freelancers don’t have to face distractions such as meetings, gossip, social interactions, background noise, strict policies, etc. Therefore, they can easily focus on their work in a comfortable environment. Moreover, they don’t have to face the usual struggles of a full-time job like micro-management, office politics, decision fatigue, etc.
Lack of office politics is a big advantage as I have suffered office politics’ consequences during my traditional professional career. My productivity and quality of work suffered greatly as people at higher positions used to distract me with their negative behaviors.
Flexibility and Control
Freelancing jobs offer you flexibility while selecting your clients and workload. Students can easily earn as much as they want, depending upon the quantity of work they choose to do. Similarly, they can also reduce their workload when they have to appear for their finals.
On the other hand, some students can only choose to work during their summer or winter vacations, which is also an option. It’s better to be a bit productive rather than procrastinating all day long.
For a freelancer, the most important thing is to deliver quality work within the given deadline. Still, he has the freedom to choose his work location and has the flexibility of timings.
Independence
Freelance jobs provide independence, as freelancers are free to accept or reject any job offer without any clients’ pressure. Moreover, these jobs allow you to work alone, and that maximizes your returns. While working independently, you don’t have to divide your profit with a partner or be accountable for your earnings to anyone.
In the field of Freelancing, you are your boss. Nobody can boss you. Everyone is equal and learning from each other. Your client can only tell you the type of work he/she wants and when he/she wants. How do you manage to complete the task is up to you.
International Exposure
A vast number of freelance job portals offer hundreds of jobs each day for individuals who aim to achieve financial freedom in less time. Freelancers can apply to multiple jobs at the same time without any geographical restrictions. For instance, a freelancer based in an underdeveloped African country can earn hundreds of dollars by working with USA based freelancers .
International exposure also opens up opportunities to work on a variety of projects and niches. This type of international exposure is not offered by fixed office jobs provided by multinational companies.
Opportunity to work in various industries
A fixed 9-5 job may not provide an opportunity to explore your area of interest, which may eventually become boring for you. In the field of Freelancing, there are unlimited categories for you to traverse and try. Freelancing gives you a chance to work on a variety of topics and projects.
Freelance work is usually short-term, but you can choose to work long-term if you want to establish a professional career in Freelancing. Some of the typical freelance jobs are content writing, graphic designing, copywriting, website development, or photography. However, freelancers can work in any service-based industry, such as translation, consulting, catering, etc.
The crux of the Matter
Freelancing is undoubtedly the best way to achieve financial freedom as it offers a bundle of earning opportunities to students. However, students have to be extra careful while choosing a particular freelancing niche as they have to deal with numerous cons associated with it.
Students should know that they have to work in a secluded work environment while operating as freelancers . Since, they don’t have the liberty to interact with their friends or co-workers during their work routine.
Students should make sure that they develop the ability to manage multiple clients at a time. They have to adjust their study timings according to the client’s requirements. Furthermore, students should engrave that Freelancing is quite different from 9 to 5 jobs since there is no fixed schedule of jobs or tasks offered by freelancing platforms. Hence, they should develop efficient time management skills to be a successful freelancer.
Precisely, Freelancing is a very effective way to earn good money while you are still studying. It would be great if you managed your time smartly to study and work side by side.