Going solo
Ever been tempted by the thought of being your own boss? Imagine – no one to tell you what to do, no one to get in the way of your best ideas, no need to ask when you can take your holidays. Everything up to you. One way of getting there is winning the lottery, another is working freelance.
It’s a word that goes back to medieval times when it was used to describe soldiers who sold their skills to those prepared to pay their market rate. Today it’s an increasingly common way of working for people in a range of occupations and appeals to many who feel constrained by corporate culture, but the basic idea remains the same as it was five hundred years ago.
The pros and cons
What you gain is freedom of movement, what you can lose is a sense of belonging. You can end up feeling isolated from normal support networks, because suddenly you are responsible for your own welfare, training, safety, career development, equipment, professional updating and a thousand other things it’s easy to remain unaware of in the relatively cosseted existence of full-time employment.
So before you leap into this exciting and potentially rewarding way of working, stand back and take a look at the perils as well as the perks.
Who does it?
It’s always been a common way of working for writers, artists and performers but the range of occupations with a substantial number of freelancers is growing steadily. Anyone with a marketable skill can choose to go it alone.
Sites that can help you see if your skills could be marketable are: www.smarterwork.com
www.homeworkinguk.com
Areas of work that have problems recruiting staff are always keen to employ freelancers. If you know a lot about e-business systems or website design, for example, you should have no shortage of clients.
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