How to be Your Own Boss & get Away with it!

No one ever tells you that freelancing isn't all about just sitting at home, relaxing and getting your work done. It's more than just all that 'fun' and 'freedom' people generally associate it with. Yes, freelancing gives you independence but unless you know how to manage certain aspects of your life together and understand how to act like an independent business person, you might as well say goodbye to your freelancing business altogether.

We have already discussed some of the most important aspects of the freelancing career in the earlier posts, including the necessity of keeping a balance between work and play. The next most significant thing for your freelancing career is understanding your independence and appreciating it.

Understand Your Limits
Remember to take charge of your work when you are freelancing. This does not necessarily mean that you try and control each and every aspect of your work but knowing how far you can go. The key point here is to know your limits. Setting boundaries is essential if you don't want people walking all over you (and yes that includes clients). Know what you can do and what you cannot. Be your own boss and get away with it by being firm about your limits, to clients or otherwise.

Create Boundaries
Whether its work or play, as long as you have limits created for yourself there is no chance that things will get out of hand. Also once you have created these boundaries, remember to be firm about them and not sidetrack from them at any given point. The best way to go about is to generally 'notify' people (around you or the ones you are working for) when something comes up. This is one of the best strategies to-date, especially in uncertain situations. Now suppose that you want to take a break from work but are unsure as to the future projects that your client might send. In such a situation, sending a notification of your unavailability for the next few days or a week would help clarify matters before hand and save you and your client a lot of trouble.

Take Charge
Taking charge of your work is as important as taking charge of your life. In fact, for a freelancer it means taking control of your life and understanding not just when to but also when not to compromise. So become your own boss, starting today! Set boundaries, be firm yet polite and consider what to compromise and when. By doing this you will not just earn your client's respect but will also save yourself from a lot of probable future hassle.

Vacation Virtues - Refueling your Freelancing Life!

There are times in a freelancer's life when s/he can't help but wonder where the day went. Times when you get off your sore bottom and stand up stretching yourself only to get startled when you look out the window and realize that yet another day is over. Then you look at the clock and drag your tired self to bed so that in a few hours you can start work all over again. Humph!

It's true that sometimes, while you are freelancing, your days can just liquidate into weeks and weeks into months before you start wondering where all that charm of freelancing went. Did it fly out of your window? Perhaps not. But it surely slipped your mind, I'm guessing!

Take a Vacation
Yes, work can monopolize you at times but remember the first rule of freelancing? It's called 'being your own boss'. And that's where the entire charm of freelancing comes in. As freelancers we do have an advantage of making up for such tiresome days i.e, by taking a vacation... (and here's the best part... wait for it...) We can do it ANY TIME we want! Three cheers for freelancing! Hip hip... oh well, you get the idea :D

Not only can we take vacations any time we want, and for as long as we want but we also don't have to worry about the 'Leave without Pay' scenario. You don't have to comply to the office rules or get anxious about what your boss might say when you tell him that you want to go away for a whole week.

Even if your work is deadline oriented and you just have to work, you can still go on a vacation and manage both at the same time. All you have to do is find a hotel or stay at a place where a free wireless connection is easily available and happily enjoy the change of scenery while you work.

Isn't that just great? All you have to do is remember that you are your own boss, so make things work your way and while we're at it... won't a vacation be a great way to start this month? Swell! I know I wouldn't mind one ;)

Freelancing Work Ethics & the Social Cocktail

There are times when freelancing, despite all its freedom, can get a bit depressing. Sometimes your routine gets you down, while other times its just one of those days when you want to turn to your coworkers and complain to your hearts content. Although working from home is appealing for many, it comes with its own bunch of setbacks.

While on the glamorous side of the freelancing picture you can sit in your PJ's the whole day and work, on the dark side of it you just can't turn to a colleague and complain about your tough schedule and work overload. This is the bit you have to swallow on your own if you freelance.

Chillax and Enjoy!
Having said that, its not all that bad and freelancing still has its own charm. The good part is that you are not bound to that 9 to 5 schedule, nor do you have to sit amongst annoying people all day and bear them. Instead what you can do is work at your own ease and still make time for your favorite friends and family. And this is the charm that attracts many to freelancing, time and time again.

Make time for Socializing
As a freelancer you can schedule your work around your social time and run your business instead of letting your business run you. It's fun to work as a freelancer when you know that you can plan lunches with your friends, take a day off to hang out with the family, go shopping or get off work early because you have a dinner party at night. You can make your schedule work for you and make social time, all in one go (Something you really can't do if you work in an office).

Not just that but while socializing you can also increase your networking and gain more business opportunities as well. The best part about freelancing is that while you can socialize whenever you like, you can also make up for the lost time later as well, especially during those quite days when friends and family are not available to hang out with and when there isn't much going on in your life.

So get up, go out and chillax! Go socialize with friends and make dinner plans with the family. Just because you work from home doesn't mean that your schedule has to be boring. In fact it can be all the more fun mixing work and play together in a social cocktail ;)