Should You Go All in With Your Freelancing?

I’ve enjoyed writing about freelance here for the past little while. Now that you know how to find a freelance writing gig and what the best bank account for freelancers is, it’s time to look at the next step. It’s time to consider going all in with your freelancing business. Before we get excited about going all in with a business, we need to figure out if it’s even worth going full-time.

What’s the case for freelancing on the side?

When you’re freelancing on the side you can get holidays. This means time off from work and time off to work on your business projects (or to relax). You don’t have always do freelance work because you have your main source of income to rely on.

Another benefit of keeping your main source of income is that you can test out business ideas. When you have bills to pay and expenses to cover you can’t really take as many risks. With a steady source of income tied into a side business, you can take some chances and try out interesting ideas on the side. There’s nothing like fulfilling your creative needs.

As a part-time freelance you can also build your portfolio up. As many of you know by now, the beauty of blogging or doing any other business on the side is that you can work on your craft without worrying about perfection. This also means that you have less stress when it comes to succeeding in your freelancing career.

A final benefit of freelancing on the side is that you’ll more cash coming in. You can save more money with a double income lifestyle. You can beef up your savings, pay down your credit card debt, and save for retirement.

Now with all of those benefits mentioned, there are many setbacks to freelancing on the side.

What are the main negatives of freelancing on the side instead of going all in?

• Less free time. Say goodbye to your free time. You’re always going to be working. You’re going to be doing two things at the same time or you’re going to leave your main job to go work on your side projects. All of that free time will be gone.
• Get in trouble at your 9-5. What if your boss catches you working on a blog post? You could really get yourself in trouble if you start mixing up your side business with your full-time job.
• No pressure. Without pressure, you’re never going to feel forced to work harder. Why stress if you don’t have to? We all need a shot of reality or some pressure to work harder.
• Hours suck because some clients prefer 9-5 hours. Depending on your side business you can really upset your clients by not being available during the main business hours. Some clients will prefer to work with you during the day instead of waiting for the evening time to roll around.

Peter wrote in:

I make enough now from blogging that I think we could get by (barely) if I didn’t have my day job anymore. On the other hand I also have to consider the benefits and extra income I receive from my day job. My wife has some pre-existing health issues that would make getting health coverage outside of my group coverage at work unaffordable. Plus I enjoy my day job and it’s really nice being able to have basically two full time incomes – one from blogging and one from the day job. It’s amazing how much faster you can save when you’ve got 3 full time incomes in a family!

MoneyMonk wrote in on the balance between a side business and a full-time gig:

I have a side income and I like that way things are going now. My main job gives me so much security, great pay and full benefits at a low price. My side job gives me play money: vacations, upgrade my computer, good weekends with my family I can have my cake and it eat too. I have the perfect balance.

Bret chimed in with:

I really enjoy doing both. Although, at some point, I would like to be making enough money from blogging to have a viable choice.

The reason I would like to keep my day job right now is because I have a great job. Two years ago, I hated my day job and thought about nothing, except quitting. So, I am feeling very fortunate.

What do you have to say about going full-time with your online business or freelancing career?