What downsides are there to freelancing with a young family?
The main downside is arguably time, or your lack thereof. If you have a baby or toddler at home with you, for example, you might constantly feel as if you don’t have enough hours in the day to juggle your parental responsibilities with everything you need to do work-wise. This constant ‘juggling’ can, in turn, result in the infamous parental guilt that many mums and dads find themselves haunted by.
Financial pressures will also feel amplified when your child depends on you. From chasing up overdue payments to scrambling to find new work, you might feel the burden of trying to make money more than ever before. Try to not feel too frantic and instead:
- Calculate out how much you need to make each month, and work with that figure in mind.
- Consider revising your fees if you haven’t in a while - do research into how much competitors are charging and see how you compare.
- If you haven’t already, do a recce of your expenses and cancel any costly services that you don’t use.
Another downside of freelancing as a parent is that you might find it harder to switch off properly. If you’re working around your baby’s nap routine, for example, you could find yourself doing a lot of out-of-hours work, which can make it difficult to relax. As such, you could find yourself with an ‘always on’ mindset, which can be exhausting and contribute to burnout.
And finally - freelancing as a parent can make getting away from home harder. Whether you want to travel into town for a big industry event or are meant to be meeting an important client for lunch, it can be tricky to swing when you’ve got a toddler in tow. However, do remember that WFH has opened everyone’s eyes to a more flexible approach to working (in some respects, at least), meaning that many people are a lot more accommodating and understanding than they perhaps were pre-pandemic.
Dealing with the emotions of self-employment and parenting
There will be times when it’s tough - when your child wants to play but you also desperately need to send an email to a client. Guilt can very easily creep into your typical working day but it’s important to keep things in perspective and remember that you’re certainly not the first self-employed parent to feel this way, and you certainly won’t be the last.
It’s also far from the only emotion you’ll find yourself staring in the face as a freelance or self-employed parent. Others can include:
- Worries about finances: this will hardly be a new concern if you’ve freelanced for a while, but it can feel even more daunting when you have a child who is dependent upon you.
- Comparison: you might find yourself looking at the work created by other freelancers in your industry and feel envious - be it of their talent, of their client or the fact that you imagine they have a lot more free time than you do. Equally, you might compare your parenting style to that of others and worry that you’re not taking your child to the park enough, for example.
- Overwhelm: if you have a lot of work to do and no idea where to begin, it can feel overwhelming. Factor-in caring for your child at the same time and it can feel almost impossible. However, our Practical Tips for Freelancing with Small Children section above might hopefully help!
If you’ve just welcomed a new baby and are returning to work after maternity leave, it’s going to be an emotional time regardless of how hard you stick to a to-do list or manage client expectations.
To tackle that ‘running on empty’ feeling that so many of us experience, make sure you:
- Read our guide to improving your sleep as a new parent
- Drink at least 2l of water every day and aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet
- Talk to someone you trust if the emotional overload is beginning to feel too much
- Write it down: empty your thoughts onto a piece of paper so you’re not carrying everything mentally
Coworking spaces with nurseries, or hiring help
The downside of working from home is that it can be hard to get the work-life balance quite right. WFH left many Brits developing a serious case of cabin fever during lockdown so, now that we’ve got the freedom to do so again, you might want to consider finding a co-working space that can offer childcare.
The benefits of this are manyfold, and include:
- Leaving your home. It might sound obvious but stepping outside and going somewhere else can make a real difference to your productivity and mental wellbeing.
- Meeting other like-minded people. Whether they’re also freelancers with children or work in the same field as you do, it’s a great way to network.
- Integrated childcare. Knowing your child is being looked after by professionals will obviously make it a lot easier for you to feel confident that you can focus on work.
Admittedly, co-working spaces - let alone those with childcare attached - are few and far between at the moment, with the majority based in London. However, as the hybrid-working trend continues to rise in popularity among the employed, chances are that we’ll see more and more co-working spaces open up, which can only be a good thing.
If a co-working space isn’t financially feasible, consider creating a distinct workspace at home. There are numerous benefits to doing this - if you have the room - not least because you can close the door behind you once you’ve finished for the day.
“Ideally, it will be in a room where you can close the door, to remind your loved ones that you’re on the clock,” says Augustine. “You’ll find it easier staying on task and ending your workday on time when you commit to working from only one place in your home.”
If you can afford it, hiring a nanny could be a consideration. Whether you have a small baby or a school-aged child, do your research and ask friends and family for recommendations to find the perfect help.
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