[Aliventures newsletter] 3 Reasons I'm Glad to Be a Freelancer (Especially This Week)

[Aliventures newsletter] 3 Reasons I'm Glad to Be a Freelancer (Especially This Week) - Plus Start Freelancing Sale

Published: Wed, 03/30/22

Hello!

Quick reminder: my online course Start Freelancing is on sale for $25 instead of $50 until the end of tomorrow (Thursday 31st).

Head here for all the details:

aliventures.com/courses/start-freelancing

Recently, I've been trying to get into the practice of noticing and writing down the good things that have happened, or things I'm grateful for. This week, I've been incredibly glad to be a freelancer! I wanted to share a few reasons why.

3 Reasons I'm Glad to Be a Freelancer

Do you ever have a week that's going smoothly and according to plan...

...until 6.45am on Monday morning?

That was how this week started for me! I woke up my 9 year old so she could say bye to my husband, as he was going to be away for the next couple of days.

She wasn't feeling well ... and our week only got more complex from there. But being a freelancer, rather than an employee, has made it so much easier. Here's why:

1. I Can Change My Hours Without Asking Anyone

Normally, I fit my freelance work in between 9am and 3pm, while my kids are in school. But with one child home poorly (and a couple of complicated errands to run during the day), it was hugely helpful to be able to work at different times from usual.

I worked in the evenings on Monday and Tuesday to finish off a big article and hit my deadline ... and though that was a little tiring, my client didn't mind at all when I worked.

2. No-One's Tracking How Long I Work

I was chatting to a friend yesterday who works remotely: she told me she'd had to take a phone call about her child during the working day, which took up 25 minutes ... and she's only supposed to have a 10 minute break. Her boss was far from thrilled.

As I was hearing that, I was so grateful that I'm a freelancer. If something comes up in the middle of the day, it's no problem: I can take short breaks, long breaks, whatever I need. Plus, if I get through my work efficiently, I can stop early ... whereas as an employee, being efficient doesn't mean you get to clock off early, you just get landed with more work.

3. I Can Easily Adjust My Workload

A couple of other clients have sent assignments this week, and I've told them it'll be a few days before I can get those completed. The great thing about freelancing is I can relatively easily adjust my workload: I can simply turn down work or let clients know it'll be a while before I can get to it.

Of course, it works in the other direction, too. I'll be sending out my invoices for the month tomorrow, and I think this is going to be my highest-earning month yet! I took on some extra work earlier in the month when my husband was on strike (he's an academic and a member of the UCU, a union which has been holding a number of strikes at UK universities to fight for improvements to staff pay and working conditions). He's lost out on a chunk of his wages as a result, but we've been able to make up for that with me working more.

If you're a freelancer, what is it you love about it? Or if you're thinking about freelancing, what would be the biggest benefits for you?

For several years, Start Freelancing was a six-week group course. And I loved running it like that: it was always a joy and privilege to watch new freelancers take their very first steps, and to see slightly more experienced freelancers begin to grow their business.

But ... it was tough for me to commit the time to running group courses around my own freelance work. So Start Freelancing didn't run nearly as often as I wanted ... meaning a lot of people missed out, because it wasn't on when they needed it.

In fact, when I was reworking the materials, I realised the last time I ran Start Freelancing was almost a whole year ago, in April 2021.

I've now updated Start Freelancing and changed it into a self-study course.

That means:

You can take the course whenever suits you, going as quickly (or slowly) through the materials as you want
It's cheaper than before: $50 full price, discounted to $25 until the end of TOMORROW (Thursday)
Once you buy Start Freelancing, you get lifetime access to updates, new bonuses, and so on
You can still get support along the way, through the Aliventures Club (a private Facebook group open to everyone who buys something from me)

I'm excited to have Start Freelancing available again ... and if you're thinking about freelancing, getting started with freelancing, or wanting a bit of help getting your freelancing business off the ground, I hope it'll be just what you need. :-)

You can find all the details and buy the course here:

aliventures.com/courses/start-freelancing

Until the end of TOMORROW, it's on half-price sale: $25 instead of the usual $50.

That's just $25 for the whole course: all six modules, plus the bonuses, and lifetime access so you always have the most up-to-date versions.

The sale ends after tomorrow, so do check it out as soon as you can!

Happy writing ... and freelancing,

Ali x

P.S. Wondering about Freelance Confidence (my other freelancing course)? That one follows on from Start Freelancing and it's perfect for established freelancers, or for anyone who's already taken Start Freelancing. I'm updating that, too, and I hope to have it ready for you by the end of May at the latest.

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