How to Take a Vacation When You Work for Yourself
Self-employed? Taking vacations is essential, and easy to pull off if you plan ahead, communicate, and stand your ground.
Being part of the growing independent workforce is exciting, but it’s not without its share of TFW moments. Here are a few you might recognize.
People thinking you don’t have a ‘real job’
Describing yourself as self-employed used to have negative connotations. Thankfully, people are getting with the program—and it’s about time. The Freelancers Union estimates that 40 percent of the U.S. workforce will be freelance by 2020.
People thinking you don’t have a boss
I actually have seven. Thanks.
That lingering paranoia about job security, even though yours is better than most
One of the first things people learn about personal finance is the importance of diversification. We diversify our investments and our retirement savings, but most people do not diversify their income. If you’re living your best freelance life (and have a healthy pipeline), you’re better off than you might think.
Finishing a massive deliverable, only to realize you have 8 more hours of work ahead of you
Freelancing is not for the faint of heart. Why? Because you’re not just managing yourself. You’re running your own business. This means being a visionary CEO, a compelling CMO, an astute CFO, a savvy General Counsel and a kick-ass office manager, all in one.
People thinking you’re available to do things like walk their dog during the day
See “People thinking you don’t have a real job.”
Requiring all the wine to get through an entire quarter of expense-tracking
To be clear, we don’t condone drinking while expense-tracking. But good news! If you sync your bank account with Fiverr Workspace, you can avoid this situation entirely and drink wine at the bar like a normal person. 👍
That moment when your client wants to Skype, but you are by no means camera-ready
That myth that freelancers lounge around their house all day in their pajamas? False. Well, most of the time. And those few days we are? Murphy’s Law says we’ll get at least one Google Hangout request.
Making it to Saturday and having no idea what day, or year, it is
Not having a 9-to-5 job generally means not having a Monday through Friday job. And when you work most days, there’s no line between the weekend and the workweek.
TFW when your friend announces she’s just filed her taxes with TurboTax AND received a $5,000 refund
LOL. What is a refund? If you’re a freelancer, you are going to owe a good chunk of coin. And your taxes might even require (gasp!) a real live accountant.
Getting stiffed by a client
UGH. We hope this hasn’t happened to you, but research shows it has happened to more people than you’d think. Save yourself the heartache by using Fiverr Workspace’s free contract template.
