Dear Jobs Guru: ‘I want to go freelance for flexible hours but I’m scared to lose job security’

Reader Richard is an IT consultant who’s thinking about quitting his job at a large firm and going freelance. Our Jobs Guru James Innes is here with some helpful advice…

Question:

Dear James,

I am working as an IT consultant for a big company and considering going freelance. What are the pros and cons?

I would like more flexibility in my working hours but scared about being reliant on myself only.

What are your opinions and advice for those thinking about becoming self-employed? Is there anything I should consider?

Richard, Portsmouth

Answer:

I can see that you’re faced with quite a major life decision here, Richard! I can understand why you are contemplating going freelance – but you’re absolutely right to be very careful in weighing up the pros and cons.

First of all, I can say that it’s definitely going to be a challenge if you do go for it. There’s a lot of competition for any job these days – and the competition for freelance roles is even stiffer.

The biggest ‘con’ is quite simply the lack of security. You currently enjoy a reasonable degree of job security – and that will be lost. The other side of the coin, of course, is that no job is ever 100% reliable.

What will change most definitely, though, is your security of income. You’ll have to adapt to having ever-changing monthly earnings – and I can tell you from experience that this is something which takes some getting used to.

But don’t let any of this put you off! The advantages are obvious – the flexibility, the variety and, hopefully, the potential to earn quite a bit more.

In terms of advice, I’d say that you need to ensure you have a very strong presence on LinkedIn – and work hard on building and developing your network. That will be vital. What you know is important; who you know might be even more important!

Top Tip:

If you’re thinking of working for yourself then one of the first tasks on your list must be to consider the tax implications. Make sure you consult a good accountant – sooner rather than later!

Spotlight On: Freelancing

Thinking of freelancing? It’s not an option in many lines of work, of course – but if it’s an option for you then it’ll definitely be something which has crossed your mind from time to time. So what is holding you back?

I find that far too many people see freelancing in ‘all or nothing’ terms, thinking that the only way to go is to bite the bullet, quit the day job and then hope and pray that things work out. But there’s really no need for it to be like that.

I strongly recommend a little ‘toe-dipping’. Keep your day job but simultaneously start to build up a little client base and undertake some work for them, even if it means using up some of your holiday allowance. Go for it!

Our Jobs Guru, James Innes, is a best-selling careers author and founder of the world’s leading group of professional CV and resume writers .