8 Most Common Freelance Myths (Ignore These)

Freelancing is becoming increasingly popular these days, and I think in some years, we’ll see the freelance economy explode because it brings so many benefits.

I think we’ll see many more people generating $10.000 per month through freelancing rather than doing a 9-5 job. It also allows people to become an expert within a niche.

But let’s get into the 8 most common myths around freelancing.

Key Takeaways

• Myths will always be there. Just ensure your research is solid before believing a fact.
• Your earning potential as a freelancer is sky-high. You just need to be creative.
• In some cases, freelancing doesn’t give you total freedom.

8 Freelance Myths

Now let’s get into the myths, I’ve based it on my own freelance career working as a freelancer for 11+ years, and I’ve collected 8 myths from my many freelance jobs.

Myth 1: Freelancing Is Easy

Freelancing is not easy, and it’ll only become more difficult, but that’s part of the fun as well. You have to pursue new ways of doing your freelance jobs.

I’ve seen many say it’s so easy to get started and be part of freelance workers, and you just need to do ABC.

But it’s not easy. Let me just clarify that. You will have fun days where everything is going well and other days where you just wish you were in a 9-5 job.

Freelancing is all about the ups and downs. And you’ll meet them a lot, but you’ll get so much stronger as a person, and everyone coming back from the downs is what makes you successful freelancers.

Myth 2: Freelancers Have More Time

There are only 24 hours per day, and freelancers definitely do not have more time than if you’re working a 9-5 job.

At least not the many first couple of years.

You have to remember you have to do everything:

• Building a website
• Acquire clients
• Do the bookkeeping
• Send out invoices
• Share your brand on social media
• Contact clients who are not paying
• … And so much more.

All of this takes time and then add communication as well on top of this.

The freelance life does bring a lot of freedom, but you certainly have a lot of tasks on your plate as well. Every single day, you need to handle them.

If you were in a full-time job, you would simply hand it off to your colleague or to the right department. You don’t have that here, and you only depend on yourself.

Myth 3: Freelancers Can’t Earn A Lot Of Money

I see this all the time. Yes, freelancers can earn a lot of money the moment they stop earning based on their hours and start to become creative a pursue alternative income streams.

One income stream is your hours, and you’ll probably always earn some money based on your hours, but there are so many other options.

Freelance workers who can estimate projects right and foresee all possible outcomes become successful freelancers who earn a lot of money.

Another income stream is selling your knowledge.

Successful freelancers acquire so much knowledge over the years of their careers, so why not benefit from that and create a course?

This could be a course based on your skill set, but it could also be a course based on how to succeed as a freelancer.

A third income stream could be ads. And no, you should not put ads on your freelance website, but if you run a freelance writing business, spin up a niche website and add ads.

You can also do YouTube videos about your life as a freelancer or about your skill set.

So that’s 3 other income streams you can create without doing much extra. Of course, creating a course requires some work, but be creative in how you see your income.

Myth 4: Freelancers Can Work Anywhere Whenever They Want

Yes, freelancers can work anywhere they want and, in theory, whenever they want, but it all depends on your clients.

If your clients expect you to be available in a specific period, you have to be working in that period.

Other times your client might require you to work at their office either full-time or some days a week.

So it all depends on your setup and your clients.

I can work wherever I want, but I have to be available for some of my clients at the same time as a full-time job.

If you’re a freelance writer or doing other asynchronous tasks, it’s much easier for you to work whenever you want, as long as you stay within your deadlines.

Myth 5: Freelancers Have No Boss

So yes, you don’t have a job in the same sense as a full-time employee, but in theory, you have two bosses:

• Yourself
• And your client

You always have to ensure you’re satisfying your client’s needs and that they’re happy to work with you. The moment you don’t fulfil your client’s expectations is when they look for other freelancers.

By doing this, you show your client you want to improve and ensure you’re fulfilling your client’s expectations. And as a bonus, you often get feedback that makes you a better freelancer.

Myth 6: Freelancers Have No Job Security

Now this is a funny myth about freelancing. Because on paper, you don’t have any job security, but on the other hand, you have more job security than a full-time employee.

See it like this:

If you lose a client, you most likely have 3-5 other clients still bringing income while pursuing new potential clients.

If a full-time employee is fired, they have nothing else and need to find a new job.

So like this, you have much more job security than a full-time employee, but I understand this myth as it’s something vastly different from a full-time job.

As a full-time worker, you often have 3 months’ notice, or similar, where you have time to find another job.

Myth 7: Freelance Business Is Not “Real”

Freelancing is as real as any business owner or as being an employee.

This is definitely a myth, as freelancing isn’t anything temporary. It’s a lifestyle many enjoy and is 100% a real thing.

Becoming a freelancer is difficult initially, and it becomes a bit more difficult to scale.

As a freelancer, you also need to handle freelance contracts, send invoices, do client meetings, organise tasks, etc.

So anyone saying freelancing isn’t a real business, well, they couldn’t be more wrong.

Myth 8: All Freelancers Love Their Job

Not all freelancers love their job, and it’s an up-and-down game. Some days it’s super fun, and you love it; other days, you just dread it.

I have it the same way as well. But the upside vastly outweighs the downside. It’s so fun to overcome challenges, and you feel so good about yourself and what you learn through the multiple processes.

I really enjoy hourly-paid work, some enjoy longer-term projects, and that’s the beauty of freelancing. You can customise it to what you like and how you like to work.

Do as much fun stuff as you can. If you have a client you don’t like to work with, use it as motivation to find a new client to replace the one you don’t like.

As a freelancer, you can create your work just how you want it to be as long as you pursue your dream.

Wrap-Up: Is Freelancing For You?

Freelancing is for you if you like to be by yourself and be able to survive all the negative elements it brings.

If you can overcome the negative parts of the pros and cons of freelancing, then I believe the pros vastly outweigh the cons.

You get to learn so much about yourself and your skill set.

You’ll be able to become an even more expert within your niche whether you’re a project manager or you run a freelance writing business.

I’ve learned so much throughout the years, and the experience I have today, I would never be able to obtain in a full-time job.

If you want to give it a go, I’ve made a full guide on how to get started freelancing on the side of your 9-5 job.

FAQ: Freelancing Myths