Dear Publisher,
You can publish this article wherever you feel like,
as long as you use the resource box. Although it is
not necessary to inform me, but I feel happy if some
tell me that my article has been posted :-)
-- Amrit
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Article Title: Working As A Freelancer
Category: Freelancing
Copyright -® 2004 Amrit Hallan
==========================================
== Article Begins ==
Is it easy to work as a freelancer or difficult? I
contemplate this as a writer, or rather, a content
writer. Why do I not work in a company? As a matter of
fact, I had a somewhat "nice" job some time back but
couldn't stay there for more than three months.
Freelancing has its challenges, has its drawbacks, its
pitfalls, but it also has rewards that you cannot get
anywhere. Getting a job, going to an office and
working under a bloated project manager gives me the
creeps. Life becomes an inexorable litany of schedules
and routines. There are lots of "gives" and very few
"takes". You are always working for the organization
like a zombie. You always need to be an asset,
constantly pushing yourself to the limits so that you
company can earn profits whereas your own efforts do
not commensurate with the compensation.
On the other hand, as a freelancer you control your
life. Yes, you are not assigned a project -- you have
to find it, you have to convince the client to give it
to you. No big name is there to render you
credibility. All you have at hand are your experience,
your portfolio and above all, your communication
skills. You have to be self-disciplined. It's very
difficult to wade through the household distractions
and focus on your work. You need to convince your
family that the bread and butter depends on this.
Friends and relatives think you don't work. They can
visit you, they can call you any time they like. They
cannot imagine in their wildest dreams that you might
too have a busy schedule.
Despite all these roadblocks, more and more people are
opting for working on their own. They want to control
their lives. They don't just want to spend their
lives, they want to live their lives and this is a
motivating force for me. Since you have just one life
why waste it for someone else? There is so much more
you can do if you do not have to dance on someone's
cacophonic tunes. I know many people who have left
their so-called "cushioned jobs" and have tried to get
connected with their real self. Money and high-profile
job is not everything in life. Life lives in its own
nuances and you have to live near the ground, near the
soil to be able to revere it.
I cannot ever imagine myself sitting in a cubicle, far
away from home, slogging over a presentation, some
writing assignment, occasionally greeted by the
cloying smiles of my colleagues. I prefer my cluttered
room where all the doors are open and all sorts of
smells (ok, odours too) waft in the air. I can hear
the sounds of birds, dogs and the occasional mooing of
a stray cow. My wife doesn't have to call me whenever
she wants to share something with me. If I don't want
to work on a particular day, I can always do more work
on the previous day or the next day. If we want to
spend an hour or two extra in bed on some lazy
morning, there is no clock scrutinizing our every
morning move.
Another factor I value a lot is my rapport with my
clients. There are very few clients who are not in
touch with me after having had happily paid me for a
job well done. They know I'm not working for a company
-- I can either work for my own interest, or for their
interest. They know that if I don't work, I'm the one
who loses along with them, not my organization. So
it's easier for them to believe that I'll give my
best.
For instance, recently I've been working on a client's
sales copy for his website. It's not working...1000s
of clicks, but no sales. When he read one of my
articles on a website, he had a feeling I could help
him sell from his website. I have tried. I haven't
succeeded. He has only paid for the effort. I told him
to pay me the rest when I have really performed. We
are both trying hard because we both want his website
to sell for our own personal reasons. Because of this
he believes I'm leaving no stones unturned and I
believe after this assignment I'll be more competent
for my next assignment. My increasing experience helps
me gradually increase my rates. So I not only control
my work environment, I also control how much I can
earn every month.
The road to freelancing is replete with obstacles, but
the rewards that await you are exceptional too. You
have to work hard, no doubt. Lots of networking, lots
of learning, de-learning and relearning, immense
ability to persevere, long hours of isolation
sometimes, lack of resources, infrastructure and
tools, overwhelming distractions and mood-swings, they
are all a part-and-parcel of a freelancers life. Once
you get over these blocks, you won't give it up for
any other job in the world.
== Article Ends ==
About the author:
===============================================
Amrit Hallan is a freelance copywriter,
and a website content writer. He also writes
optimized content for better Search Engine
Ranking. To know more about his services,
visit his website site at
http://www.amrithallan.com/ah.asp?d=ar.===============================================
=====
Amrit Hallan
=====================================================
Website Content Writer & Freelance Copywriter
http://www.amrithallan.com/ah.asp?d=em=====================================================
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