Freelancer vs Entrepreneur: Choosing the Right Path for You

Working outside the confines of a 9-5 job is a liberating experience, right? You’re free to explore different opportunities that fit your needs and the current demands of life.

However, you still need to understand the kind of profession you must associate with to help you build your career on the right path. Not having a clear way might lead you to the wrong destination.

So in this post, let’s discuss the differences between freelancers and entrepreneurs. This way, you’ll better understand what you should be.

What is a Freelancer?

A freelancer is self-employed. Because they don’t have to report to a boss, they can simultaneously work on several jobs and offer their services to multiple clients.

What they can bring to the table is just about any service. They can provide services at home like writing and virtual administrative assistance. They can also be corporate professionals like paralegals and doctors.

And usually, freelancers earn money per project. They can charge their clients after completing a project. Or they can go by hourly rates.

To look for work, they would rummage through their contacts to find people who need their services. They can also create profiles on freelancing sites such as UpWork, Fiverr, and the aptly named Freelancer.

You won’t be disappointed if you want to know if famous freelancers are out there. Stephen King, Jimmy Page, and Meg Ryan are three big names.

What is an Entrepreneur?

If you believe you can handle more tasks than a typical freelancer, you should consider walking a mile in an entrepreneur’s shoes.

An entrepreneur takes on more tasks. And they are willing to take “the less travelled roads”.

Like freelancers, entrepreneurs can bring anything to the table. But unlike freelancers, they’re not limited to offering specific services.

Elon Musk is an example of an entrepreneur. As a technology entrepreneur, he’s the genius behind many promising companies and innovations. He’s the founder of SpaceX, co-chairperson of OpenAI, product architect of Tesla, and more.

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Aside from Elon Musk, there’s also Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett. And there are still more entrepreneurs out there.

You Should Be a Freelancer If:

The freelance workforce continues to grow stronger. That’s because freelance work opens opportunities for people of different skills and skill levels.

Plus, if you’re freelancing, there’s usually no age limit. Assuming you get the job done, your employer couldn’t care less about how old or young you are. This means you could be aged 55 and above and still get to offer freelance services.

Beyond that, you might want to take into account these reasons, too:

You want a stress-free life

Simple. That’s how you can describe a freelancer’s life. The idea is to earn money without stressing about how to make the world a better place.

Freelancing also involves limited risks. This includes the absence of opportunity, career, and financial risks.

This means that you can build a freelance business based on the kind of person you are. You don’t have to work every day or even eight hours a day if you don’t have or want to. This provides a better work-life balance, which is beneficial to your well-being.

You prefer to fly solo

To be clear, freelancing doesn’t mean you won’t encounter any problems. You still work for a client and must manage hours to complete your projects on time.

But the difference between freelancing and being a business owner is that you’re a one-man army.

Freelancers tend to take care of matters on their own. They’re not team players, but not in a bad sense. They function much better on their own devices.

They don’t have to deal with constant meetings that only hamper productivity. Instead, they must focus on the work at hand, finish it, and use the remainder of their time any way they want.

Of course, there may be instances when freelancers will be forced to work with other people. But that’s only in the context of the project, and it’s only on a case-to-case basis. It ultimately depends on their arrangement with their clients, and they have the right to decline the project if they wish.

You want a predictable career

Freelancing provides more stability and gives you a steady job instead of entrepreneurship.

First, its business model is akin to a traditional job in which your client gives you a profile you must complete on time.

Depending on your clients, you can constantly receive new projects to work on for the foreseeable future. If not, you can always try your luck by applying to new clients to gradually increase demand and income, thus strengthening your freelancing business’s foundation.

At the same time, a client pays you an hourly wage, or s/he can pay for every project completed. This means you’ll be able to sustain your lifestyle without the unpredictable risks of being an entrepreneur.

You Should Be an Entrepreneur If:

Around the world, 582 million entrepreneurs exist. And according to the same source, this number is rising.

If you also want to venture into entrepreneurship, here are some reasons you might want to consider.

You dream big

As the example above suggests, Elon Musk is a lot of things rolled into one. Apart from the mentioned companies, he also founded The Boring Company and PayPal.

He’s a visionary. And by playing a pivotal role in establishing different companies, he gets to do more for himself and his dreams.

So if you’re like him in that you want to be your own boss with your own business, you’re cut out to be an entrepreneur.

Also, the thing about entrepreneurship is that you use preferably someone else’s money. So the capital you’ll receive from venture capitalists and angel investors depends on your idea and its feasibility in the long run.

This means that the risk is on the investors and not on you. There’s still pressure to turn your idea into a long-term profit machine and make the business bigger. That said, you can tap into your creativity and resolve using other people’s money.

You’re a generalist

Did you know that 37% of business owners raised the number of their part-time employees? And if you can understand where they’re coming from, you’re thinking like an entrepreneur.

That’s because an entrepreneur knows the idea is to accomplish a more significant task.

And because you prefer to see the big picture, you’re a generalist. So you have no problem stepping into different roles. You also don’t mind hiring help if necessary.

A famous generalist is Arianna Huffington. She authored 15 books and led The Huffington Post to success. But while those accomplishments make her great, she longs to do more. So it’s no wonder she also dives into the health and wellness scene with the startup Thrive Global.

You want to focus on products — and not services

Entrepreneurs focus on outcomes. That, or they would sell services as products.

You see, having a product is like having an idea. And entrepreneurs would go to the ends of the earth to develop their plans.

If that’s what it takes, they will learn new abilities, invest resources, polish communication skills, and more. They’re up for anything as long as their idea can reach the next level.

With their mindset, you get why they’re walking a very profitable path.

Take it from Deepinder Goyal. With his company, Zomato, his focus is on a product that assists with the selling of services.

He founded a product allowing restaurants to provide food items on the platform. And there, people can order whatever they want and have their treats delivered to them.

Conclusion

Freelancing and entrepreneurship are great career paths if you know what you wish to achieve.

Whether you should be a freelancer or an entrepreneur is up to you. If you want to play it relatively safe, you might stick with freelancing. But if taking risks makes you happy, the life of an entrepreneur is the way to go.

And here’s a brilliant idea:

You can start freelancing and transition to entrepreneurship. That, or you can have it the other way around.