FREELANCERS UNION BLOG

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5 reasons to love freelance writing

This is a post from a member of the Freelancers Union community. If you’re interested in sharing your expertise, your story, or some advice you think will help a fellow freelancer out, feel free to send your blog post to us here.

Freelancing is never something I thought I would try in this lifetime. I never thought I'd have the chance to be my own boss or set my own hours.

I never thought I'd be at the point where my anxiety would be at its worst either. Having your own business can do that to you, though, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

I've loved freelancing since I began to do it a few years back. This was a time before I knew what freelancing even meant so it gave me a taste for a life I didn't know I could have.

I know there are people who don't like freelancing or think you'll never get enough money to survive. These are the people I want to sit down across from with a cup of coffee.

I want to explain my reasons for my love of freelance writing to those who are on the fence about it or a little curious.

So here are five reasons why I love what I do – freelance writing.

I love to write and be able to express myself.

I've always had this love for writing that never went away. I would get into trouble in school because I'd get caught writing instead of doing classwork.

That's not my proudest moment, to be sure, but it did give me the practice needed to get my business started. My love for writing has only grown since learning how to blog.

Blogging has been a learning process for me but it's one I have sought out rather than winging it. There are a lot of things I'd wing but this is definitely not one of them.

I can create my own schedule.

One of the things I've come to love about freelance writing is the ability to make my own schedule. To put it simply, I can decide when I write the blog posts meant for clients.

As long as I complete the blog posts on time, I can write it whenever I want to. I don't have to have a set day where I do all the writing unless I wanted to do things that way.

I do batch my writing when it comes to my own material, though it's around the time I dedicate to clients. I don't need to be doing my own work when I should be doing work for clients.

I am my own boss instead of someone else's.

I've always wanted to be my own boss. I tend to chafe at the idea of working under someone else. I try my hardest to push the envelope when it comes to doing what I'm told.

I want to say I'm wired that way, though I'm not sure. Having a boss who happens to be your parent might have something to do with it as well. Either way, I don't like working under someone else.

This is why working as my own boss and setting my own pace appeals to me on so many levels. I can go outside and exercise at the park whenever the heck I want to do so.

I can run out on errands in the middle of the day rather than waiting to do the errands on a lunch hour. Who's to say I can't do it at 11:00pm? This is exactly why I chose to be my own boss.

I'm working on my own dream instead of toward someone else's.

I'm all about creating my own dreams instead of someone else's chaotic dreams. I want to make my own dream a reality instead of following after someone else like a crazy zombie person.

My dreams have evolved over the years since college. I now want to create a business that helps others with mental illness. I want to know how I'm going to do that while working for someone else.

How can I chase my own dreams when I'm unfulfilled while chasing someone ELSE'S dreams? How can I be happy with my life when I'm in a job that makes me miserable, I ask you?

This is why I created my freelance writing business. I want to do what I love, writing, while fulfilling my own dreams instead of someone else's dreams.

I can pick and choose who I work with.

When you work under someone else, you have to help whoever comes through the front door. When you're freelancing, though, you don't have that issue.

When I was in customer service, I needed to help everyone who walked through the front door. I couldn't choose who I helped in the end, even if I didn't like the person at all.

When I'm freelancing, this is not the case at all. I get to choose who I help with their blog. I get to choose who I get to help when it comes to building up their content marketing.

I don't have to help every single person who e-mails or calls me. I get to send the prospect to someone else if that other person is better fit to help them. I don't have to worry about it after that.

Being brave enough to chase my own dreams

Being brave enough to chase your dreams, like I am, can be a challenge in of itself. Loving your job while doing it is a whole other world.

Make sure to follow after your dreams because they won't fall into your lap. The universe doesn't work completely for you: you have to want it and go after it. So go after what you love like I did!

Lisa is the founder of Mystique MGMT, where she is a freelance writer for the mental health niche. Her website is http://lisafourman.com. When she is not writing for clients, she is writing guest blog posts and networking on Facebook.