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I’m a realist. I’m also a candid person. Something that I will tell any work at home mom is that what I do may not be for you. You may not be cut out to be a freelance writer.
We’re not all cut out for finding clients and getting work done on time. That doesn’t mean you can’t be a work at home mom. It doesn’t mean you can’t make money online.
I know a few people who have wanted to be freelance writers, only to find out it’s not what they expected. The career path isn’t what interest them. It’s not what they want to do to make money online.
So, before you start your business, you need to determine whether you really want to be a freelance writer or not. And there’s nothing wrong with admitting you don’t.
Here are four top reasons freelance writing isn’t the way you should make money online.
You have no interest in finding clients as a freelance writer
The work isn’t going to come to you. Whether you’re willing to write for $5 for 500 words or want to make hundreds per article, you will need to put the effort in.
Those who have no interest or drive in doing this will find that freelancing in any profession isn’t for them. You may be able to get the drive in the future, so it may just be that freelancing isn’t for you right now. But if you know that you’ll never get the drive to find clients, then you shouldn’t freelance, and you shouldn’t be a freelance writer.
It’s not just about clients either. You’ll need to put the effort into your own blog and building your own brand. You’ll need to put in the effort to learn all the ways of writing and find niches that interest you. It’s important to market your business and build your following.
All of this takes time. If you’re expecting your freelance writing career to kick off as soon as you decide to become a writer, it’s not going to happen. This isn’t really for you.
You have no interest in being a freelance writer
You’ve heard that being a writer is a good way to make money online. There are lots of work at home moms doing it, so why can’t you too? Plenty of people use writing to make a living to escape the 9-5, so can’t you too?
Just answer me one thing: do you even have in interest in writing? Do you want to write for clients? Not everyone does.
This isn’t something that’s a means to an end. You need to have passion for writing in general—and the skills to do it too. If not, then freelance writing isn’t going to be for you.
MORE: 5 top tools for time management as a work at home mom
You want to write your own thing
Just because you want to write doesn’t mean you should be a freelance writer. There are two different ways to make money as a writer: you can do it for clients or you can do it for yourself.
If you want to write your own thing, then you’ll want to start your own blogs and may want to write at the pay per view sites. You may want to try out sites like Hidden Remote or Amazon Adviser.
Freelance writing can mean writing about subjects that you have no interest in at all. Yes, it really does happen and there have been days where I’ve written about topics that mean nothing to me. But there are days where I get some great topics from clients.
Those who aren’t willing to work through the bad for the good will find that freelancing just isn’t for them. That’s okay, because there are plenty of other ways to be a writer.
You don’t want to deal with the paperwork
There’s paperwork to do as a freelancer. Do be fair, there’s paperwork to do whatever you do in the writing world or as a work at home mom. So, it’s not just being a freelance writer that isn’t for you if this is an issue.
If you want to escape the paperwork, you’re better off working for someone else. That is the honest truth.
Writing means you’re making money not from an employer, even if you’re making money through pay per view sites. You need to save up money to pay taxes and you’ll need to keep account of any business expenses.
You could hire an accountant, but there are still bits of paperwork that you’ll need to fill out. Are you ready for all that?
MORE: How a blogging niche will give you more time as a work at home mom
Be honest with yourself. Do you want to tackle the world of self-employment? Do you want to freelance? Just because you want to write doesn’t mean you want to be a freelance writer to make money online.
Struggling to decide if being a freelance writer is right for you? Struggling just to make money as a work at home mom or getting the work-life balance in order? Sign up for my email newsletter for tips to manage it.