Becoming a freelance web designer is well, easy. You can do it at any point, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy job. It’s tough work like any other job, but there are some truly great benefits that I can attest to and many other have made pretty clear.
Being the Boss
Like sleeping in? Wearing t-shirts? Well, as a freelancer you can. More often than not you will be working from your personal office so you get to set the rules for yourself. Sure the client will have deadlines and different stipulations for the job, but you’re pretty much in charge of the rest. This can have it’s downsides if you aren’t willing to motivate yourself, but in the long run this will help you be as relaxed as possible when working.
Selecting Your Clients
As the boss, you get to select your work. After meeting with the client and going over a creative brief, it may occur to you that you do not wish to work with this person. As a freelancer you are able to decline the job whereas when you are working for a design agency you may get some jobs you are not so fond of.
Multi-tasking
Working on one site can get pretty boring. Well luckily you need to make a living so asa freelancer you may be working on multiple projects. Sure this can be stressful, but it will take away the monotony of working on the same project day in and day out for a month or more.
Learning
If you’ve chosen to be a web designer, chances are you’re passionate about it. As you do more and more jobs you will constantly be learning. This could be anything from learning new Photoshop effects, increasing your CSS knowledge, or implementing some Javascript you found on the web. Eventually you may be teaching yourself new languages like .php or learning how to integrate your designs into frameworks like Joomla and WordPress. It’s all up to you!
Finding a Niche
On a personal level, I enjoyed getting a variety of jobs when I started freelancing, simply because it was exciting getting into the industry. Job after job I realized something; while I love designing sites, what if I designed for sites I love? Since then I began looking into industries based on my hobbies. The two main ones have been golf and video games. I am currently working on a website for a local golf course that opened a few years ago but is already in desperate need of a makeover. I also began a personal project based around the Indie video game market that I can hopefully expand into a wider audience of gamers and game designers. It’s really exciting to be working a job I love, on projects for companies that I love! So, find what you like and look for some design jobs in the industry!
Sure, there's probably hundreds of other benefits including financial ones, but these 5 have truly made freelancing for myself a happy experience. So, give it a shot and do a little freelancing on the side. If you think it could work for you then go for it! It's not everyone's cup of tea, but everything's worth a shot!
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