I have been fascinated by freelancing for quite some time. After almost 13 years of working as a IT Consultant for an employer, I have switched to freelancing in March 2023. Now it's been almost six months that have been working as a freelancer and clearly this has been one of the best decisions I have taken as of late.
Although I absolutely love the field in which I am in, Digital Transformation, I have not been satisfied with the idea of working for an employer. As an IT Consultant, I would work on client or clients' projects and I got more experienced, I had to take up more responsibility within the company I have been working-in. Although this sounds fascinating, managing clients and meeting my objectives within the company meant working a lot more hours and often it would take-up more and more of my personal time. Personal time where I could spend time with my wife and my kids or going out with friends and family. On top of that, I always had personal projects which required my attention.
So, there came a time where I could no longer make my ends meet which made me switch to Freelancing.
It took me around six months of proper preparation before I could actually resigned to set-up my shop. I have to admit that I have been very lucky getting my first client. I got my first major client even before quitting my job. I prefer having one major client where I could work on time & resources over a longer period. I prefer developing a relationship with my clients, so opting for longer projects really helps.
One of the first things that I could really feel from the very first month of freelancing is the free time that I am able to get to either spend it with my wife and kids and or concentrating on my side-projects. Other than that, as I only have my client to respond to, I am truly able to focus and work on the projects that I love.