What are the Barriers to Becoming a Successful Freelancer
August 2, 2021 sayudurDigital MarketingNo Comment
Hurdles for Women as Freelancers
Freelancer
In this article I will write about a few common challenges women face when they aim at becoming a successful freelancer. In the previous article (Link to the previous article) I have discussed how rapidly the gig economy is expanding in Bangladesh and how good a place it is for women to start working. Even then most of the women feel insecure to take up the challenge.
These insecurities are based on a number of factors. Some of them are personal whereas some are social and educational. I will discuss each of the factors in this article so that you can be aware of the barriers before joining the league of fellow freelancers.
Misconceptions about Freelancing
The first barrier that you need to overcome is about the misconception regarding freelancing. Many in Bangladesh think that Freelancing is only about Graphic Designing. However this idea is not true. It is a hub of content writers, web designers, developers, etc. You can also create online lessons to teach something to others. The choice depends on what skill you have.
In Fiverr, those who are working as freelancers, they are selling their skills to earn money, nothing else. At first it might seem a mammoth task. But if you stick to it for some time and acquire relevant knowledge you will survive the battle.
Lack of Motivation
As soon as a person becomes a freelancer, she steps into a dream world. She begins to think that her profile is seen by thousands of people across the world and dozens of orders from her clients will be pouring in into her basket. So when she does not get a response in a few days’ time she feels her dream is lost. She gets broken hearted and becomes heavily pessimistic. At that time it is she who must rise above this emotional barrier. She has to know that getting order is a matter of time.
In the early days she had to keep patience. She must believe that if she has enough competence she will surely get orders from clients if not today, she will get it tomorrow or the day after or maybe within some days.
Procrastination
Closely related to this is the habit of procrastination. Do you have the tendency to think that it is better not to try at all than to try your best and face failure. You are not alone. This is a prime barrier to success in freelancing.
If you are delaying taking up a course or reading a book on freelancing you will lag behind in following the latest trends not only in technology but also in other areas. The buyers sometimes ask for orders that are aligned to modern developments. So there is no time to waste in freelancing. You have to keep on updating yourself.
High Prices of Devices
I know many of the women who cannot afford a computer or laptop to work as a freelancer. Besides, many of them work on their smartphones. Again, if you want to make your own channel and videos you need a number of gadgets to ensure the quality of your videos. Many women cannot afford enough money, so they are compelled to lag behind.
Lack of Family Support
To become a successful freelancer for a woman, support from her family is of utmost importance. She simply cannot do even for a day without the support of the members of her family, be it her parents or her husband or even her children. Their support can make it easy for her to cut a good figure in freelancing. If it is otherwise, she is damned. She will find it very difficult to continue as a freelancer, let alone earn success.
Feminine Qualities
Many women are seen to be under the impulse of negativity for being a woman. They speak to themselves, “I am a woman, I can’t make it.” This sort of negative attitude must be shunned and the sooner they do it, the better. Instead they must rise above this belief.
They must be confident enough to think that they can do anything and everything if they want to. Moreover to become successful as a freelancer is rather comparatively easy for them. For many reasons the job of freelancing is best suited for them. Just they need some basic knowledge on computers and proficiency in English. That’s all.
No Fixed Income
The income from freelancing is not fixed. Like any other field of work, you have to use your expertise in freelancing and deliver the best. Here like any other occupation, quality matters. If you have a positive attitude towards your work you can earn more. There is no limit.
Lack of Proper Training and Guidelines
Unlike men, women are lagging far behind in the use of computers. More often than not, most of them have little or no knowledge about computers. In the ICT sector, as low as only 16% of women are working. They have a phobia regarding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
To speak the truth, only a few women are seen to be computer literate. So the reality is against the women in respect of doing well in freelancing. For this, the greatest and urgent requirement for them is to gather knowledge about all the computer-based fields and become computer literate. Coders Trust in this regard has designed courses exclusively for women and too for free. Their purpose of running such courses is to empower women.
Lack of Confidence
Lack of confidence is another common deficiency in women. When a job, if it is a little unfamiliar, is entrusted with them, they tend to say, “I can’t”. It happens in most cases. This mental make-up must be kept aside if they want to succeed as a freelancer.
Being a freelancer, a woman enters a vast global field. She will come across so many unknown people from so many unknown lands. They must equip themselves with technical knowhow and other skills so that they can shoulder the new challenges with confidence and courage.
Social Barrier
Bangladeshis have the same age-old common belief that women are meant to be within the four walls of their houses. Their main job is to give birth to children, look after them and perform all domestic chores. Now in this age of science, the notion about keeping women confined in the house is obsolete.
In this case, becoming a freelancer can be one of the easiest solutions. However women may have to face no’s from their families and friends. They will say that freelancing is no job at all. They might raise the issue that a freelancer does not have any office. They do not have any fixed income either. So, women have to work hard to do well as freelancers. They must prove that they themselves are their boss and they can earn as much money as in a full-fledged job.
Command over English Language
Deficiency in English is a great hurdle for women. They need good command over English as all the works in freelancing are done in English. Most of the women do not have any idea how to brand themselves. They don’t know how to advertise their skill either. And all these are due to their poor knowledge of English. However, huge competition is out there. If women have to contest they have to acquire a good command over English.
Working Alone
Freelancing is not any social work where one has to deal with a lot of people. Here, in freelancing, each woman has to work alone. It can become a serious issue for many. Moreover women may also feel about vacations, which is an unknown term in freelancing. Well, they must believe that while working as a freelancer you have freedom to relax and you have scopes to create leisure for yourself. That’s the charm of freelancing.
And again as a freelancer you don’t have to confine yourself at a particular station. You can play your role by being anywhere on this planet – only thing if you have access to computers and the internet.
Handling Rejections and Criticism
In Freelancing, there are chances of getting your work being rejected by the buyers. You might have delivered a quality product, but it might not have impressed your buyer. Take it easy. Look into your work and check if you can improve upon it. Accept criticism bravely. Try not to see constructive feedback as barrier. Learn from them and eventually success will be yours.
Challenges are everywhere. For women, in particular, challenge is synonymous to their life. They face them at home and outside. If a woman thinks of becoming a professional, freelancing can be the best go for her. By being a freelancer she can not only fulfil her domestic demands but also become economically self-reliant.
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