To Freelance or Not to Freelance?

Helllooooooo!
Should we declare it summer already, or are we waiting for it to cross 60 degrees?!

Anyway, I was thinking about how next month marks one year of my freelancing journey and the chain of events that led to it.

Maybe you’re contemplating whether you should start freelancing.
Maybe you’ve tried it but gave up.
Maybe you want a side hustle along with your full-time job.

Whatever the reason, this might help.

Here’s what happened in my not-so-successful-yet-fulfilling freelance journey:

I was on my notice period, looking for a remote job.

As part of my New Year’s resolution, I wanted to do something of my own because corporate life wasn’t it for me. But I couldn’t come back home without a job, so I kept looking.

2.5 months into the new job, I quit. It became suffocating, and I wasn’t enjoying the work.

I was home.

I didn’t have to worry about rent or monthly expenses. The only thing on my mind was how my parents would react when they found out I had quit.

If I were in Bangalore, I wouldn’t have taken the leap unless I had at least three months’ worth of savings.

I also didn’t want to be a burden on my parents, so I gave myself two months to figure things out. By the end of 45 days, I landed my first client.

Lower Pay > Lower Dignity

I didn’t like my job. They didn’t like my work. Scope creep was constant, and appreciation was rare.

With freelancing, I was on my own terms. My first client paid me ₹1.5 per word (I quoted ₹2). I’d rather take that, build on it, and increase my prices later than go back to the hellhole.

Of course, this only worked because I could afford to work at a lower pay initially.

Quality > Quantity

As I got a decent number of clients, I started reaching out more mindfully, increasing my rates, and letting go of lower-paying ones.

Could I have kept all my clients? Sure. But that would have meant more fatigue and lower-quality output.

So when I closed a ₹4 per word client, I decided to drop my lowest-paying one (₹1.5). But since they valued my work, they didn’t want to lose me. Instead, they agreed to increase my rates.

To balance things out, I asked them to reduce the number of blogs from 15 to 8 per month.

Client Portfolio

In my last edition, I mentioned closing a dream client at a lower pay because it was through an agency.

I agreed because, duh, it’s a brand I really wanted to work with. Plus, it opens up so many new opportunities for me.

Going Full-Time?

In the last 11 months, did I ever consider quitting freelancing and going full-time? No.

But now that I know how to get clients, manage time, and build a stable freelance income from home, I wouldn’t mind exploring opportunities.

After April, of course. Need to complete 1 year as a full-time freelancer, lol.

To Sum Up:

✅ Go for it if you don’t have to worry about rent/expenses for at least three months.
✅ Quantity is great if you’re chasing numbers, but only quality will help in the long run.
✅ It’s okay to work for lower pay if the client is awesome.
✅ It doesn’t have to be either a full-time job or freelancing—you can do both.

Was this helpful? Reply to this email and let me know.

Also, happy to answer any specific questions you may have!

I wish you cooler winds and healthier skin.

See you next Friday!

Love,
Nikita