{"id":30718,"date":"2021-10-22T10:39:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T09:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peopleperhour.com\/discover\/?post_type=guides&p=30718"},"modified":"2021-10-22T10:39:31","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T09:39:31","slug":"freelancing-top-tips","status":"publish","type":"guides","link":"https:\/\/www.peopleperhour.com\/discover\/guides\/freelancing-top-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 3 freelancing challenges and tips to overcome them, from PeoplePerHour freelancer Tahir"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As you look back at your success and wins of last year, it\u2019s the right time to think about what\u2019s there this year \u2013 and make some motivational resolutions and goals. The starting point of every goal-setting exercise is \u2018assessment of the environment, key factors, and trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Freelance Economy is growing as the number of businesses embracing virtual contractual staff is increasing day by day \u2013 and so is the number of people adopting freelancing as a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Study by Freelancers Union and UpWork<\/a>, roughly 57.3 million Americans worked as a freelancer in 2017 \u2013 and by 2020, 40 percent of the total US workforce will be freelancing. The self-employment trend is the most popular among Millennials who now consist of 47 percent of the Gig Economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is not just the United States, even the developing (particularly Asian) countries like India, Pakistan, and the Philippines are also witnessing the rapid adoption of \u201cbeing your own boss\u201d framework and earning millions of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there\u2019s another side of the story as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the number of freelancers has definitely increased, the flow of work, quality of leads, income sustainability and work-life balance have been hit hard. 62 percent of the freelancers agreed that lack of sustainable income and work-life balance are their key challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, there are some issues surrounding healthcare and other social benefits \u2013 because, in most of the freelancing contracts, the client isn\u2019t responsible for healthcare, utilities, and overhead costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve summed these challenges in the three segments \u2013 and listing them down with tested advice. I do believe that you can cope with them and turn these challenges into opportunities in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Unsustainable Income<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No matter your niche, if you aren\u2019t good at client retention, work-flow will continue to haunt your business.  To avoid this, a number of freelancers stick to one or a few clients and keep playing safe. This is a good strategy to some extent but some folks may feel creative burnout if they remain with one client or on one job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you move further into 2018, I would advise you to study the seasonality and trends of your business in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n