Why I’m building a freelance business

A few months ago, I did something I never would have imagined myself doing. I quit my job without a solid backup. No shiny new position waiting in the wings, no windfall profit to sit on for a year or two, just a desperate need to escape a toxic work life and a decision to take a risk on myself.

Now to be clear, I did have a pretty solid savings account and a husband who makes a decent income, but cutting our income in half was still a pretty shocking blow and put a lot of self-imposed pressure on me to come up with a solution fast.

Frustrating hours on Indeed wielded nothing, no one I knew knew anyone who was hiring, but in the year prior to quitting my job, I had repeatedly come across people with the same story I was living - toxic managers, low pay, no flexibility, wasted hours in the office or stressful overtime.

These were friends, streamers, authors, YouTubers, bloggers - all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds changing their life by starting something for themself. All year, I had found myself envious of these people, thinking I would never get to have what they did, that some people were just lucky. And maybe they are lucky, but they’re also brave, persistent, and hard working.

So, I decided to do it for myself - give myself a year to create a business from scratch and make money doing something I designed and built, not a startup, but a business run by only me, marketing nothing but myself. Freelancing.

What is Freelancing?

What a terrifying and loaded word. Freelancers are broke! They’re gig-based scavengers who spend every waking hour fighting other freelancers for the crumbs of low-paying clients. They wear beanies and squat in coffee shops. I have a graduate degree gosh darn it, I can’t be a freelancer.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s be real with what a freelancer is - just someone who works with clients under contract rather than accepting a position as an employee (with benefits, automatic tax deductions, HR, etc.). It only describes your relationship with clients and how you work, not the work you do. A freelancer can have retainer clients who pay a regular (and high) wage for years on end. They can offer just about any service under the sun, make a few extra bucks on the side or build a multi-six-figure one-woman empire.

Freelancing is an extremely legitimate way to earn an income, and once you detach the scary connotation, doesn’t it just make you feel like you’re flying? I mean come on - freeeeeelance. Just what a lovely word. Though I don’t know what the ‘lance’ is doing there honestly, are we jousters or what? Being a freelance jouster would be pretty cool. Anyway.

The Goal: Sustainability, Not Rapid Growth

A ‘start-up’ business is focused on growth - as much as possible as fast as possible. Scaling up, hiring more employees, expanding reach and services and money. Now I’m not disparaging people who decide to start this kind of business. There are some very cool businesses out there that follow this model, it’s just not for me.

A freelance business can certainly grow, but the primary goal is sustainability. You choose the number of hours you can work and the amount of money you need to live the lifestyle you want, then calculate what you need to charge and do to make that happen.

While you can (and should) increase your rates as your skills grow, and evolve your business over time, freelancing is about sustaining a livable income and enjoyable lifestyle. Freelancing allows me to be content where I am, not constantly chase more.

Low Starting Costs

Freelancing has allowed me to self-fund my businesses without loans or investors. For most freelance work, all you need is a computer and internet connection. There are other optional fees, such as client management programs, a website, business cards, etc, but even with a $600 course and some new hardware and software, I started my business for less than $2,000. If I had been in a tighter situation, I could have easily started it for less than $1,000.

This puts so much less pressure on a business. There are no investors to impress or please, no banks waiting for your first paycheck, and no employees putting pressure on your immediate success. I will never say freelancing is easy, but it is easy to start making a profit over your business costs, which is not the case with many businesses in their first few years.

Success is Self-Defined

Larger businesses and start-ups rely on the elusive ‘market’ to define their success. As a freelancer, you decide what success means to you. Success could mean pulling in an extra thousand dollars each month while you raise your children, it could mean matching the salary of your previous job in a year, or it could mean charging $100/hour and making a six figure income part-time.

You define your success and you make it happen. This is scary in a way, as we are often harder on ourselves than even the ‘market’ could be, but it’s also empowering. Be confident in yourself, kind to yourself, and proud of yourself for any and every success!

Freedom - how corny

I mean, it’s in the name, but yes. Freelancing gives you freedom with your time that few other jobs can afford. You define your own hours, your own time off, and how much effort you put into each hour. This means you can be wildly productive and tailor your schedule to perfectly match your lifestyle, but it also puts a lot of pressure on you to hold yourself accountable.

You may choose your hours, but you still have to deliver quality work to your clients at the end of the day (or week, or month). It takes a lot of self discipline and organization to keep track of your own deadlines and keep your own schedule, but it’s also incredibly rewarding.

I love fitting a job around my lifestyle and choosing how I allocate my time and productivity. I find the organization a fun challenge and feel so gratified every time I accomplish a task without anyone breathing down my neck. For me, the freedom of freelancing is the true reward of this business.

So

As of 2026, I’m still pretty early in my freelance journey. I am doing work that I’ve done for years with companies, but it is a new endeavor serving clients and having full autonomy over my work. It’s terrifying and exciting and frustrating and hard, but I am still confident in my decision and can’t wait to see where freelancing takes me.