When I explain to people what I do for a living, often their reaction is that my life must be really stressful. And they’re right. For those of you who haven’t taken the plunge yet, let me drive one point into your brain: FREELANCING IS INCREDIBLY STRESSFUL. Even those who’ve been doing it for decades know that this career path is much more stressful than many 9-to-5 jobs.
Image: sxc.hu
Why is it so stressful?
- You have to carefully plan your schedule, and even the best planners have days when they’ve overbooked themselves.
- Often, a single bad job can ruin your reputation, making it hard to find more jobs.
- Even if you have a long-term gig, it could disappear at any time. You can put all of your eggs in one basket, and you have to have a back-up plan so you can pay your bills.
- Clients often put off paying you by a few days or weeks because you aren’t face-to-face with them, demanding your money. Even a strongly worded email or legal threats will phase some people, since to them, paying their mortgage is more important. You can wait a week. But then, who will pay YOUR mortgage?
- If your internet goes down or your computer crashes, you’re toast.
- You’re running a small business, so you have to understand the legalities behind that.
I’m sure I’m missing other stress-realted characteristics of freelancing. The point is this: you have to work well under pressure if you want to be a full-time freelancer. Often, people who get into freelancing think it is going to be an easy stay-at-home job, but it isn’t. Freelancing is VERY rewarding, but it isn’t for everyone.
Post from: Bizzia
Stress Test: Can You Handle Freelancing?
译文:
压力测试：你能胜任做一名自由职业者吗？
当我向人们解释我凭什么谋生时，他们的惯常反应是我的生活肯定充满了压力。是的，他们对了。让我告诉你们这些没有此类事务的人们一个事实：自由职业者面对不可想象的巨大压力。即使是那些在这个职位上奋斗了几十年的人们也知道这个职业比很多朝九晚五的工作更有压力。
Image: sxc.hu
这个行业为什么压力如此巨大？
- 你肯定小心计划过你的行程。但是，即使是最高明的计划者也有错误预估自身能力的时候。
- 经常，仅仅一个小小失误就会毁掉你的名声，让其他工作来得更加艰难。
- 即使你现在有一个长期的项目，但也可能随时就没有了。你可以把你所有的蛋都放在一个篮子里，但你必须有一个后备计划，让你有钱付你的账单。
- 由于你们不是面对面交易，客户经常会在几天或几个星期后才付款给你。即使是一封言辞激烈的电邮或合法的恐吓信也得分阶段的用来对付他们。对于他们来说，他们的按揭远比给你付款重要。你可以等一个星期，但谁来给你付你的按揭呢？
- 如果你的网络中断或电脑崩溃，那么恭喜你了。
- 如果你正经营一份小产业，你就必须要明白其合法性所在。
我肯定自己还漏掉了其他相关典型的自由职业者的压力现状。重点是：如果你想成为一个全职自由职业者，你就得在压力下好好工作。经常有人认为自由职业者就是呆在家里轻轻松松的干活，但事实并非如此。自由职业者很值得去做，但并不是每个人都能胜任。