The land of opportunity and streets paved with gold, the freelance or contracting world looks like a bright and beautiful world where nothing could go wrong, but before you dip a toe in have a thing about these and be well informed before you make the decision.
Not everyone wants you to work from home!
A common misconception about Digital Freelancers is that they are all sat at home being creative with one hand whilst Tweeting their latest news with the other. Whilst the Digital world is such that a lot of clients are happy to let reliable contractors work from home on occasion or even for a full time contract, most clients still like to physically see that person on site and have dialogue with them on a regular basis.
So before you take the jump, think about your target locations and how far you are willing to travel as not all of your contracts will be working from home in your pants and socks!
Satisfaction
A digital freelancer will be used for parts of a project that the end client either doesn’t have the resource of the skills in house to be able to perform that particular function, whatever that may be.
As a freelancer you will see part of the project but the likelihood is that you will not see the finished article through to completion. You are a cog in the wheel but you never get to see it roll!
Be prepared To Be Let Down
The Digital world is a volatile one. Projects are pulled, pitches are lost and clients don’t sign when they should, particularly in the Digital Agency world. For recruiters it happens more often than it will to you, but don’t expect every project you go on to or get spoken to about to come to fruition.
A big question to ask clients and recruiters alike is “has this project been won or is it still in the pitch phase?” This will determine how seriously to take the prospective job.
