Many moons ago, I took the plunge into full time freelancing. It’s a choice I stand by, and have highly recommend to others. It may not be for everyone, but it most definitely suits me (Doing it for work, makes leaching free Wi-Fi easier to justify) at first it was hard to juggle work, life and everything in between, but things kind of blurred the lines and somehow, that made things easier.

Fast forward a few years and it seems my dive into freelancing paid off. Do I have any regrets? Yes, I keep them stored in the warehouse better known as “self-doubt” It’s not an easy life style and it’s most definitely not for everyone. All that said, it does offer that one thing more traditional career paths don’t: the ability to exert some level of control over your time.

It’s an addicting thing, to the point I can’t ever picture myself selling my time in bulk to a single corporate entity again. As an example, I didn’t have to explain to my boss why I needed to take a day to go camp in a library for research, or that I’m deciding to start 4 hours later because I’m meeting a friend for a cup of coffee because she really needs a break. I can just go do those things, it’s my choice end of story. I can’t ever picture going back to a situation where I’d have to ask permission to do things in my life from someone else.

Time is the blue chip stock of you

It’s all about time, time is an investment. The smarter you can invest in time, the bigger the return. When thought of in these terms, freelancing begins to offer a wealth of opportunities to all kinds of people (not just coffee house Wi-Fi hobos like me) fundamentally it appeals most, to people whose lives are in some kind of transition. Retirees looking to share their vast industry specific know how or stay at home parents looking to re-invest in the work force but without the hassle or commitments. But perhaps more importantly, those looking to enter a new field or simply to step out on their own because they feel stifled or perhaps have sadly been laid off can use freelancing as a means to build direct and effective contacts.

It’s fair to say, that freelancing is on the rise and with it come opportunities. In Yonder years it was only a few select careers like graphic design, writing or editing that offered any real freelancing opportunities. These days however the potential for sustainable freelancing is being found in an ever increasing amount of industries and occupations, such as marketing. I know people in the good old US of A pulling in $46 to $52 an hour in different marketing ventures such as marketing managers and coordinators.

That said, the old stable of freelancing freedoms still lead the pack in terms of brute force earning potential. The creative fields still offer some of the highest potential incomes from freelancing, with content creation fields and social media offering big opportunities in both income and sustainability.

Found any interesting freelance opportunities lately or perhaps have some advice of your own for new people? Let us know in the comments below.

Wolf Vanberg is known locally as the “The Wi-Fi goblin”