MAKING A DECISION: Factors to Consider When Deciding to go Full Time or Part Time In Freelancing

One of the key decisions to make in Freelancing is deciding whether to go full time or part time but often times I have discovered that many Freelancers really do not plan towards that effect. What do I mean? 

What I’m trying to say is that many Freelancers don’t think it’s really a decision that requires serious thought talk less of a less-serious thought. At times, Freelancing came for certain people as a sudden thing or a thing of circumstance – that is, they just found themselves Freelancing; someone probably helped define their nature of work to them by referring to it as Freelancing. My point? My point is that a person’s entrance/transition into Freelancing determines his/her attitude towards it; be it seriousness, dedication, and commitment.

Having said that, deciding whether to be a full time or part time Freelancer is a very serious decision no one should make without pondering on it. Being a full time Freelancer means quitting on any other 9 – 5 jobs that you have and becoming a Freelancer by day, noon and night while being a part time Freelancer on the hand means, you get to keep your 9 – 5 job and every other side jobs that you do together with your Freelancing career. So, if that is the case, how do you decide whether to go full time or part time? And when deciding, what are the factors to consider?

I for one think one of the foremost questions to ask is Why do I want to go Full Time or Part Time? – This is a very important question you have to ask yourself and the ability to give an answer to that goes a long way in deciding whether you transition full time or part time. Some of the questions you need to ask yourself are, ‘Are you going full time because a friend of yours is a full-time Freelancer and it’s really working for her? ‘Cos believe me, often times, what works for another person might not really work for you. Or are you probably going full time because that’s your dream and you’re daring yourself to embrace your dream no matter the odds or challenges? And if you are going part time, are you scared that if you go full time, you might go broke, so you’d rather play it safe first or keep playing it safe? Or is it because you probably enjoy the idea of working for people officially and getting to work for yourself and others through Freelancing? These and many more questions are what you need to ponder on and answer.

Second, another factor to consider is asking the question ‘how committed do I want to be’. I think one of the reasons people go from being a Full-Time Freelancer to being a Part-Time Freelancer over and over again is because they failed to ask themselves important questions and one which include how committed do I want to be? Knowing how committed you want to be helps you decide if full time or part time is the best way to go. As a Freelancer who is still very much interested in and tenaciously dedicated to keeping her 9 – 5 job or probably still struggles with keeping or letting his/her 9 – 5 job go, claiming the title Full-Time Freelancer won’t be the right way to go. Also if you are the type who is utterly worried about financial security and insecurity and you have little faith in Freelancing, it’s better to still keep to part time while you’re building your faith enough to go all the way full time. And if you are the type who shows more dedication to your Freelance work and maybe your 9 – 5 job is suffering due to the divided attention and you are very sure going full time is the best for you and you probably do not mind letting go of your white collar job, by all means, take on the title Full-Time Freelancer.

Finally, there are a lot more factors to be considered when deciding apart from the aforementioned but the aforementioned are enough factors to make you decide because this is one of those defining decisions in one’s career as a Freelancer. Also, one thing a Freelancer should never do when deciding whether to go part time or full time is to underestimate the power of proper planning. When you plan ahead, you save yourself a lot of going back and forth and also, you save yourself a lot of instability with your customers, potential customers, and prospective jobs – it would never have to be a case of he/she is here today and not around tomorrow. This is not a decision you plunge into without thinking it out thoroughly and properly.