Many of us dream of going freelance and stepping outside the traditional rat race. There are lots of ways to go about this, whether you take on some freelance web design clients outside of your regular job or invest in a tattoo stencil printer and set up your own tattoo business. Being your own boss can be very rewarding but making the leap can be scary. Here’s why you should consider it.

Be Your Own Boss

The most common reason for deciding to go freelance or become an entrepreneur is the ability to become your own boss. It can be very satisfying to step away from controlling management. You won’t have to clock in and out of an office anymore or worry about being late for work. You’re in charge of your own day.

No More Office Politics

Office politics can sometimes feel like being back in high school, and it can make your job pretty miserable. Many employees hate having to play favour with between competing managers or teams, or deal with the gossip from Karen from Accounts. When you start working for yourself, you can drop all of that forever.

Control

As a freelancer, you can make your own decisions. You won’t have to debate with anyone else which version of your website to use, what your office dress code should be or anything else. You get to make all the decisions. If you want to work in your pyjamas or a three piece suit, you can.

Plan Your Own Time

You don’t have to work the traditional 9 to 5 unless you want to. If you feel that your most productive working hours are late at night, or early in the morning, you can work then, instead of forcing yourself to work at regular office hours when you might feel less like working. As long as your clients know when they can reach you, then there’s no reason to run regular office hours.

You Can Work Anywhere

As a freelancer you can work from anywhere in the world. You can work at home, from your hotel room, or from coffee shops or even by the pool. As long as you can get the job done, you can work from anywhere you like. One of the biggest advantages of freelancing is that you can choose when and where you work. Many freelancers choose to be digital nomads, travelling wherever there’s a WiFi connection to allow them to work.

Choose Your Projects

If you’re a copywriter but you hate the idea of writing for gambling websites, then you don’t have to. If you’re a web designer and never want to build another sales website again, you don’t have to. Employees have to work on the projects that their boss tells them to, but a freelancer can choose their own projects. You can choose based on your expertise and interest. Bear in mind that there will still be some boring work to do, like your accounts and admin, but you can make most of your work day much more interesting and based around the things you like to work on.