The question all freelancers should ask themselves

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.

There is a simple question that all freelancers should ask themselves now. It is a question that can lead to decreased stress, improved work satisfaction, and even more money. That question is….

[Drumroll Please]

“Why?” or more specifically, “Why are you freelancing?”

Freelancers start freelancing for many reasons. Some start out of necessity. Others for the flexibility that does not exist in a traditional 9-to-5 does not permit. Some start because it is the best way to get work in their career path. Every freelancer has a story about how they started freelancing and they are all different.

As time passes, circumstances and motivations change. The graphic designer who quit his corporate job to “temporarily” freelance so that he could spend more time with his newborn child, may find that five years have passed. He may miss the stability of a 9-to-5 job and realize that there is no longer a reason for him to continue freelancing.

The photographer who started freelancing to have more time to travel might have the same motivation two years later but have become so busy she has not traveled in half a year. Remembering why she is freelancing might lead her to take on fewer clients at higher rates to ensure that freelancing serves her goal.

Take a few minutes tonight and assess your own situation. Ask yourself why you are freelancing. The answer may reveal that freelancing is no longer the best approach for your goals. It may reveal that you need to charge more to meet your goal of earning more money than at a full-time job. It may reveal that you should take on different types of projects. Or it may reveal something else altogether.

Have an open mind, see where the question takes you.

Larissa is a Florida and California licensed attorney who focuses on helping small business owners and freelancers grow and protect their businesses. In her spare time, she is a freelance writer who muses on her adventures at sortoflegal.com.