Should you be a freelancing mum?
When you’re a freelancing mum, you earn fantastic money, always deliver projects that you love and have super flexible working hours that let you combine a fulfilling career with being there for your kids whenever and wherever you want, right? Well… it’s just possible that this will be your experience. But don’t count on it.
Most of us mere mortals end up working just as long hours and earn little more (and often considerably less) than when that kindly employer transferred a regular wage into our account every month. Oh yes, and frantically hope that the school assembly will start a few minutes late or our baby’s nap will last a tad longer, so we can respond to that urgent work email before putting our mum hat back on.
I’m not trying to put you off. I love being a freelancing mum, despite working most evenings and realising that some months I’ve earnt nothing like my pre-kids’ wage. Because the trade off is that I do get to pick my kids up from school and I can say, ‘Yes!’ when they ask if I can help out with activities or have a friend over.
But that’s me, not you.
Before you make the leap into freelancing, ask yourself these questions to decide whether you should become a freelancing mum.
What freelance services will you offer?
At risk of stating the obvious, if you want to be a successful freelancer you need to offer useful skills that people will pay for.
If you’re already doing work that transfers easily to freelancing, such as graphic design, photography or journalism, you’re all set. However, if your skills aren’t immediately transferable, it’s important to think about whether you have the time, money or inclination to start down a new career route and perhaps even retrain completely?
If the answer’s yes, brilliant! Having kids can be a fabulous opportunity to find a new role as a freelancer. I came to my current role as a freelance writer and transcriptionist via a zigzagging path through consultancy and research plus a minor detour via editing so it’s definitely possible to change direction to find a freelancing role that suits you. However, the bottom line is that marketable skills are essential for freelancers. Make sure you know what you can offer.
Can you sell your freelance skills?
I’ll let you into a secret. After a decade of freelancing, a little voice still whispers my fears: ‘Why are you even bothering? They won’t want you.’ And it’s true that sometimes my ideas do get rejected. It’s a normal part of freelancing life and it’s usually not personal – companies don’t have the budget right now or they’ve already got someone else working in that area or my proposal just doesn’t fit with their plans.
The important point is that, if want to have a freelance business, I have to keep identifying potential clients, putting forward ideas, shaping proposals – and being equally ready to start delivering the work if it’s a ‘yes’ or letting go and moving on if it’s ‘no’. And so do you. Knowing you’ll be fabulous is not enough. Whether you choose to find work through existing contacts, calls for proposals or direct marketing, selling your services is an essential part of freelancing. You don’t have to love it but you do have to do it. Are you ready to sell your skills?
Do you want to run a business?
When you’re an employee, it’s easy to moan about the boss: why can’t they see that making every Monday a duvet day would be a far better way to run the company?
As a freelancer, you ARE the boss and if you want to take Mondays off, that’s up to you. But remember, it’s also up to you to market your business, find clients, pitch for work, keep the accounts, send out invoices… Oh, and actually deliver projects for your clients. This might sound like the most exciting prospect ever or it might bring you out in a cold sweat. However, similar to selling your services, running the business is an essential part of being a freelancer. You don’t have to be a power-hungry MD but you do have to deal with the business side of freelancing. Are you up for the challenge?
Where will you work?
No office means no squished sardines commute to the office. Hurrah! But it also means you need to find a suitable place to work. Even if your freelancing involves gardening services or interior design of other people’s homes, you’ll still need at least a bit of space to store your tools and do your paperwork.
This doesn’t mean you have to build a home office in your garden – your laptop and a good WiFi connection combined with your kitchen table, the local library or even a quiet cafe can all become perfectly acceptable work spaces for many freelance roles. You might even be able to draft a proposal on your phone while you’re pushing the swings in the park.
However, it does help if you can identify a specific space for your work. It saves precious moments setting up each day, makes your family recognise that you’re working and helps you to separate out the different parts of your life.
When will you deliver your freelance work?
Do you have an idyllic image of your newborn napping sweetly in his Moses basket as you take a crucial client call? I’ve got some bad news. In my experience, it’s far more likely that your baby will wake up screaming just as a client finally answers the phone or your toddler will ‘play’ on your laptop and delete three hours of hard work. Sorry!
It’s possible to deal with quick tasks while your children are scooting round the park or napping. However, if you’re serious about becoming a freelancing mum, you need to carve out some uninterrupted work time. This could mean getting up an or two hour early in the morning (yes, that slither of time after the last feed and before your kids wake up), ploughing on through the night to meet those deadlines or investing in childcare until they start school.
The approach you take is up to you but do think it through. And remember, it’s important to also leave a little time for those other valuable parts of your life, like your partner and your friends. And sleep!
Are you happy working alone?
Whisper it carefully but many parents like going out to work. I don’t mean doing a job. I mean physically leaving the house and going into a workplace. You have colleagues to bounce ideas off, you get to share gossipy cups of coffee with grown-ups – plus you’re invited to the office Christmas party.
If you’re a freelance mum, you’re likely to work alone. If you regard office life as full of enforced socialising and political minefields, this could well be a huge bonus to freelancing. On the other hand, if you love the social side of a paid job, freelance work can come as something of a shock.
Only you will know how much human interaction you thrive on but do bear in mind that even the biggest introvert can find life as a freelancer quite isolating at times. If you work best with others around, find out if there are any local coworking spaces, look for freelance networking groups to join (real or virtual) or explore working collaboratively with other freelancers on specific projects. Alternatively, think about whether you can get the human contact you need through your friendship groups – perhaps you could meet a friend for coffee after dropping off the kids at school and then relish your time working alone.
Do you want to freelance or work flexibly?
A big reason why many mums are attracted to freelancing is the flexible working hours. And it’s certainly true that, as a freelancer, there’s no-one staring accusingly at the clock when you leave to pick up your kids but… there’s also no-one to cover for you when your child is sick or you’ve got no childcare over school half term or a client needs an urgent document just as the nursery Christmas show is starting. Plus, as a freelancer, you miss out on all sorts of benefits that are open to employees, from sick pay to parental leave.
While flexible working can be a positive aspect of freelancing, if this is your only or main aim, don’t rule out being an employee too fast. Once you’ve worked for an employer for 26 weeks, they’re legally required to consider a formal request for flexible working which could be anything from a job share, to a part-time role to compressed hours to working from home. Freelancing might be your answer – but it’s definitely not the only option for flexible working.
Can you afford to be a freelancing mum?
If you aren’t currently working, any money you earn as a freelancer is likely to be a bonus. However, if your family finances rely on you bringing in a regular salary, it’s important to do your sums before you hand in your notice on a paying job.
Work out how much you need to bring in to cover your living and personal costs and then calculate how many hours and days of work you need to deliver to make the numbers add up. Remember that, even when you’re established, you need to be ready for quiet patches and/or clients who don’t pay on time - as well as building in ongoing time for non-paying tasks, such as sending out invoices and creating client proposals.
At some point you’ll have to take the plunge but it will be a whole lot more straightforward if you’ve done your figures first.
Do you want to be a freelancing mum?
Freelancing is definitely not the easy option so many blithely assume but it can be super rewarding, as long as you go in with your eyes wide open. And there definitely are huge upsides to go alongside the challenges. Quite apart from the thrill of being in charge of your own business, just picture the excitement on your daughter’s face when you say ‘yes’ to helping out with the nursery trip or claim the front row seat at assembly. It can make those late night shifts to meet your deadlines all worthwhile!
Find out more…
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