FREELANCING 101

Introduction- Welcome to Passionate Workaholics, the show where we have the passion to perform.

I’m your host Police Hemanth Kumar and today we’re gonna be talking about the pros and cons of freelancing

with our guests. 

 

Rasha- Hi I’m Rasha Ayyad I’m currently working as a social media account manager for Trukkin, thank you

for having us

 

Razin- Hello my name is Razin Nizar, and I’m a professional filmmaker and I’ve been doing projects with the

UAE government and the recent EXPO 2020, thank you for having me on the show Hemanth.

 

Kamal- And I’m Kamal Mavalwalla, I work as a social media account manager for the Seva cafe. It’s great

being here and thank you for having us.

 

Hemanth - I’m glad we could make this happen. Today on the show, I’m excited to have these guests with

me as I'll be asking them various questions about freelancing, and giving advice to all the students out there

who are interested in freelancing.

I'm very curious to know how you guys balance freelancing while being full-time university students. Is it easy,

is it hard, how do you do it? 

Hemanth - How do you balance freelancing while being a university student? 

 

Rasha- So, I think it’s a bit of both. Freelancing is great especially when you’re a student because no one

really interferes with your work and it’s very flexible, you know earning some cash and gaining experience.

But, at the same time, it can be a bit stressful. You know, working and studying at the same time can get

overwhelming. So, there will be days where you work for long hours and just never make time for your

personal interests or studies you know?
so, yeah, freelancing as a student provides easy means to earn money but you still need to be careful.

I remember working in a PR agency and it was more interesting than my studies, so I was working all day,

going to events, meetings, all of it. It was fun, but as a result, I couldn’t deal with my assignments on time,

and it was very stressful. Like, I ended up skipping my classes and I don’t remember learning anything that

semester. 
So, I’d say just don’t get too excited about the job because you still have some papers to write and classes to attend. 

 

Razin- Well, as Rasha mentioned I think it could be stressful and overwhelming at times. But it also depends

on the type of field you are working in for example copywriting or making posts for social media like Rasha,

then it really takes up all your energy and time into these projects. In one of my experiences, where the rta

dept had called me in for filming the train that got special the future museum decals on it, this event, the

shots I took were deemed exceptional by the officials and were very much pleased and all the media was

asked publish the posts I have done, this was a great motivation and happy moments from my recent work.

So I am really happy with what I am doing because I am passionate about filming and it's easy to carry it out

ecause I do enjoy the style of my work. Because if you love  what you do, then it doesn’t feel like a work 

 

Hemanth - I do agree it can be stressful, and overwhelming for you Rasha, whereas it’s pretty easy and enjoyable for Razin. Well, we face the same situation as being a social media account manager, you have to be scheduled and disciplined , is it the same for you Kamal ? 

Kamal- Well, being a full-time university student can be quite demanding on its own and freelancing on the side does tend to take up most of your remaining time. Sticking to a schedule does tend to help as you can balance your work and add in slots of free time which I find incredibly important in order not to burn out. It is extremely important to understand your priorities because once you have those set, it helps you draw a line when required. Freelancing can get very demanding, taking away precious time that could possibly be used to study for a test, for a quiz or to complete an assignment. For example when I was freelancing for the first time I had not bothered to set up a schedule for myself, which was 100% not a good idea. I ended up missing quizzes, my freelancing work wasn’t up to par and it was just a mess. That’s why I really believe in making an agreement with yourself that when the time comes you put aside freelancing and focus on what is most important which would be - for me especially- my education. So that's my advice; prioritise, allocate and stick to the plan.

 

Hemanth -  Totally, having a schedule makes a huge difference when you're working with clients, and also letting your clients know about your university schedule is beneficial as it can manage expectations, as you mentioned kamal freelancing is demanding. Would you consider it as a viable full time career ? 

 

Kamal- So it would all depend on what your current situation looks like. If you’re still studying or have something else that occupies a good chunk of your time, freelancing full time is obviously not a viable option. However, if you’re done with university or you’ve got a summer break freelancing full time can definitely work out. 

 

Rasha- So, I agree with what Kamal is saying, about freelancing just to fill in your free time. But like I think, having it as a full-time job can be challenging. So, this can depend on the person, but like, freelancing is usually undisciplined, so, when you’re working in the office, I think it's just different because you’re under the control of your manager and you gotta finish work on time, so there’s this slight pressure you know? But, when you’re freelancing, you get to be your own boss, and hence, can often lack self-discipline and can end up procrastinating or just don’t feel like working. So, in my personal experience and opinion, I wouldn’t consider freelancing as a full-time job. 

 

Razin - So I’ve been freelancing as an individual and being self built at my early age since i was a teenager, and I must say I gained a lot of knowledge from the experiences I got to from working  and i don't think there is lack of discipline…, rather it requires to be more responsible handling different clients and multitask at times. Especially when you are organising your studies and work life. I would say always work with professionals .And it is most important, it makes you happy and self-confident having your own income which is the best motivation to thrive forward.Freelancing for students is definitely something that offers far more advantages than any disadvantages. 

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Hemanth- Well I know having self discipline & a strong work ethic is important in all aspects of your life from my own experience makes a huge difference, and I would like to know how freelancing benefits you ? 

Hemanth - How does freelancing benefit you, and would you recommend it to students ? 

 

Razin - Being a professional at work, before you graduate your University is a great achievement, students can gain a lot of practical experiences, confidence to approach your clients and have a mature mindset while handling clients especially if you are planning to pursue this as your career and full time job in future. And Working since at your early ages not just helps you start earning, saving and spending wisely but  it makes you independent.  It gives you all the freedom that you wouldn’t have if you’re work for someone else. You’re essentially running your own business, and you can be selective when it comes to your clients, and choose what’s important at times. . one shouldn't neglect such opportunities Especially when the society itself gives us opportunities to work as students and experience the real world. Freelancing can give you the several options to work with different clients and not just stick to one kind of field. I would definitely grab some opportunities to work while you study, cause not  all the education comes from books. 

Rasha- So, I think freelancing has equal parts both negatives and positives. But, I don’t think there are many benefits from it. Like, you earn a lot of money, build your resume, and explore opportunities, yeah, but there’s no stability. You could be working one day and the next day, the company can easily tell you that they don’t want to proceed working with you. So, it’s a bit painful sometimes to find a good and reliable one. Or, you can just get bored and leave, because why not? It’s just freelancing in the end and no one is controlling you. 
So, I really don’t think freelancing is for everyone, because It can definitely get tough sometimes, and you will lose your mind at some point. Like, I think you should definitely prepare yourself mentally and physically for the hard work you’ll be putting out there and for the feedback you’ll be getting from your clients. If you want to go into freelancing then you gotta be able to juggle both work and studying at the same time. 

 

Kamal- As a university student, it is quite often that I find myself low on cash. Expenses tend to add up even without accounting for birthday parties or going out with friends. That’s where freelance comes in, making that extra cash to either save up or sometimes even spend on yourself really does come in handy. That being said, I only find freelancing worth it if your boss treats you well because in my opinion, your mental sanity should be above everything else. When you start to earn, you can learn to save and spend wisely, it's one of the best lessons a student can learn at an early age. It teaches responsibility.  And there’s a multitude of apps out there that make it so much easier. Like Canva and Procreate for creating presentations or graphic designing, there’s audacity for sound editing and DaVinci for video editing and this makes it really easy for someone starting off.
So I most definitely recommend freelancing as it is an excellent way to get introduced to work-life. Freelancing is a great way to build on experience which is extremely handy when trying to apply for a full-time job, and as Rasha mentioned, building a substantial CV. 

 

Hemanth -  Freelancing is a fascinating field, it does have its ups and downs , with an example of razeen being a passionate photographer and videographer, he loves his job as he doesn't mind being a workaholic, Rasha on the other hand who’s a social media account manager and finds it demanding because of her client’s needs and Kamal who actually found a perfect balance of university and freelance work. Whereas I dedicated a good chunk of my time to clients & university, I make considerable amount of sacrifices when it comes to social life, I do not have any friends since I am not able to commit to events or hanging out in general, where as I do have a certain income that I am able to spend on myself rather then depending on anyone else as well as getting well needed experience in my field. I definitely recommend freelancing to students who are willing to make certain sacrifices, but in the end they do pay off. 

 

Conclusion - Thanks for tuning in to passionate workaholics, we had a lot of insight from our guests today, until next time. subscribe to our podcast and keep updated with our guests as you can follow them on social media.