Pros & Cons of quitting your job to freelance full time
What’s up guys, Today we’re going to talk about the 3 unexpected Pros & Cons of going full-time as a freelance graphic designer!
Here are the Pro’s of quitting your job to freelance full time!
Here are the pros that I’ve experienced, I honestly have experienced these wayyyy more than the Cons.
Freedom!
Pro #1, FREEDOM!!! Breh, waking up every day WHEN I WANT TO. Doing what I want to do has been life-changing, I honestly always dreamed of living this way, I used to sit at jobs daydreaming about being my own boss & being a digital nomad. I was watching you tubers traveling to different places and it always inspired me. I just actually went on a 3 city road trip with my GF last week for my birthday. We went to St Louis, Nashville & Memphis. It was an amazing experience, and it really made me thankful. It was always what I had dreamed about when I was at those jobs, just packing a bag with clothes, taking my laptop with me, and just hitting the road. Doing what I want to do & making a living off of my creativity. I’m so thankful that I get to do this, it makes all the hard times, frustration & disappointments over the years worth it. I truly feel like I’m living my purpose every day & that in itself is fulfilling. The feeling that you get when you’re doing what you love to do, & not what you HAVE to do to pay the bills is a different feeling. I wish this for everybody that views my videos. If I can help you get here or inspire you to get to this place in your life, I for damn sure will try!
More time to be Creative!
Pro #2, since I quit my job to freelance full time I’ve gotten more time to be creative! Having more time gives me more opportunities to be creative. I don’t feel a sense of urgency to cram everything in one day, I can flush my ideas out & just let them flow. I always set aside a time of day to just create. Whether it’s drawing, idea planning or just getting into adobe illustrator and creating something that no one will see. There’s no pressure, just freedom & creativity. One thing that has helped me a lot is getting out of the house and going for “Mental Health Walks” There’s something about just going for a walk in the middle of the day that makes me happy lol
The Validation
Pro #3, The Validation!! This is something I have been working at for years, even failed a bunch of times. I had to grow into this, and I still feel like I’m not quite where I want to be, even though I had been freelancing for years. A part of me still had imposter syndrome. I just didn’t feel validated, or like I deserved to even call myself a Graphic Designer. It was big insecurity for me, for whatever reason. It wasn’t until I got my first job in 2013 that I felt like I was truly a designer, quitting my job in 2021 gave me extreme validation. I let me know that 1, I was on the right path & 2, I can accomplish anything with patience & focus. Working for myself
Here are the Cons’s of quitting your job to freelance full time!
So let’s get the bad news out the way lol We gone talk about all the cons I’ve run into since going full-time as a freelance graphic designer is.
Pandemic After Effects
Con #1, Pandemic After Effects! Obviously quitting your job at the tail end of a pandemic sounds just absolutely stupid right? It might have been lmaooo but I did it anyway, I had nice savings & while I had that job, I was still getting consistent clients. I had also been hitting all of my sales goals for the past year leading up to my quitting, so what happened when I quit?? IT ALL DRIED UP LOL seriously, things dried up so fast. I was panicking like hell, and just feeling pressure since quitting my job. But I realized that it just gave me more time to find more ways to make money. So to supplement the income I started driving Door Dash. I felt like I was being tested, was I going to fold or keep going. The last time I quit my job, I folded, I had a wife & 2 dogs to worry about. This time, I’m divorced and live alone. It’s my time to go against the world, believe in myself, and fight for my dreams. Once I made the decision that I was going to go all out, things got better!
Inconsistent Money
Con #2, INCONSISTENT MONEY! Like I just spoke about things drying up, I went a few months without a new client. I had a couple of discovery calls with potential clients, but for the most part, things just weren’t just not coming through like I thought they would. I had a plan & tried to follow it to a T, during the doubt I was living off my savings & door dashing. It got scary real quick lol partly because during the adjustment I was still living like I had a paycheck. Which was completely wrong, DON’T DO THAT lol change your habits while you have a job so you can transition smoother. That’s one thing I’ve always known but still made the mistake. I had to forgive myself for making it again, but staying positive & staying creative has helped me a lot. Use the inconsistent income as motivation to create other streams of revenue. Whether it be apparel or downloadable products. The best thing for any creative is to create digital products so you can keep earning money while you sleep! I created these iPhone wallpapers that people have really enjoyed!
Clients Ghosting
Con #3, People Ghosting & Being Inconsiderate with your time! No matter what level you reach in business, bad clients are unavoidable. You can test them & look for red flags all you want, but some of them will through the cracks. Since I’ve quit my job to freelance full time, I’ve noticed that I’ve run into more tire kickers than ever! Lol, I get referred to people a lot more, but a lot of them are people who are looking for “Cheap” graphic designers that basically work for free. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s “Them Not Me” I can’t control how someone views our field of choice, all I can do is present myself as a professional & not let it affect me. I would early on get annoyed when I had discovery call’s set up with clients or had someone coming in HOT that would just ghost me. It used to really get to me, but I started to think that maybe it just wasn’t the best fit. I know that I’m going to attract who I need to attract and it’s better that way than forcing something that wasn’t meant to be. I create my best work when it just “Flows”!!
Thanks for reading our blog! you can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7qLLXmOPu8
Yall have a great day, PEACE!!