Freelancing is the place for me. You?

I’m always surprised when someone asks why I’d want to freelance. I assume everyone would freelance if they could. So why does freelancing work for me?

I’m my own boss. Sort of. Here’s a secret you should know if you’re thinking of getting into the freelance business. You’re never really your own boss. You have clients to answer to, deadlines to meet, taxes to pay. But the dynamic is different. I thoroughly enjoy 99 percent of my interactions with clients because we are on equal footing. I love being the expert writer, even when my clients are writers and editors (maybe even more so then because they “get it.”)

I really love the variety. I work mostly for the same basic type of client, an association or nonprofit organization. But the topics I write about range widely from civil engineering and local government reform in Ukraine to community development and autism research. I’ve loved learning about subjects I would never have read about otherwise.

And I get to do a lot of writing, some editing, and the occasional layout so I can put different parts of my brain to work.

I get to make things. It took me years to realize I have a craftsperson’s heart. I like doing better than strategizing. While I love meetings to come up with creative concepts, I wouldn’t like them so much if I didn’t get to then be a part of coming up with the words part of that concept later. I enjoy putting words to paper to create an article or a brochure or taking someone else’s writing and making it better. I often think of my work the same way a woodworker thinks of her work or a florist thinks of his work. I’m not creating art but I am creating a useful piece of information that someone else needs and it’s often creative, evocative, or lovely. It works for me.

I set my schedule. Hmm, here’s another secret: I do and I don’t. I take great pains to be in place when my clients need me and I have to meet my deadlines. But I get to figure out how to do that and juggle the rest of my life. Some days, even though I'm working away, I still feel like a high school kid cutting class for the day. It’s lovely to have that freedom and to know I can be disciplined when I need to be.

I'm rewarded for work I do as I do it. I like knowing that I can increase my income by doing more work. Of course, the inverse is true as well. The less I work, the less I get paid, something I often think about when my fiancee is home from work on a snow day, getting paid for being lazy at home.

Would freelancing work for you? It’s a question worth taking the time to answer before you jump into an increasingly crowded pool.