> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.techstories.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Avoid this subtle trap of freelancing at all costs
- URL: https://www.techstories.co/avoid-this-subtle-trap-of-freelancing-at-all-costs/
- Published: 2025-06-13T14:05:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-14T16:26:46.000Z
- Description: Don't fall quietly into the trap of overwork.
- Author: Paul Mah
- Tags: Unfiltered, Productivity, Writing

Freelancing, self-employment, or being a solopreneur can be an incredibly lonely journey, one prone to the trap of slipping unknowingly into overwork.

The death of a private-hire driver who reportedly spent 15 hours behind the wheel to support his family stayed with me all week.

This *UnfilteredFriday*, let's talk about being your own boss, a notion often romanticized by those comfortably employed in 9-to-5 roles.

### The accidental writer

I've shared how I never studied journalism or arts in school. I loved tech, taught myself coding when everyone was studying for their "O" Levels, and went straight into IT.

And yes, I secured full-time IT roles right out of school.

But then I needed more funds, and an opportunity presented itself. Before I knew it, I was hustling a writing side gig before they invented the word.

After a year, I quit my 9-to-5 role and went into full-time freelance writing. In effect, I became an accidental freelancer. And oh, that was over 18 years ago.

### Going freelance

Yes, there are many advantages to being your own boss.

- Work my own hours.
- Can take on a variety of work.
- Purely focused on things I loved doing.

And I'll be honest; it's also the substantially higher income: I doubled my income within the third month of quitting my job. And it doubled again after some years.

### The flip side

The downsides doesn't get much airing. But let me lay some of them out here:

- When working more hours means more money, it's a slippery path to drawing the line, especially as costs creep up due to inflation and the demands of a growing family.
- Income can fluctuate greatly. The danger isn't the fluctuation itself, but when we unwittingly use high-income months as the basis for purchasing decisions.
- Becoming a specialist can yield greater income in the short term but often leads to neglected upskilling - and narrow roles are more vulnerable to sudden disruption.

The result? Working too long hours, overspending, and being locked into a spiral with no time left to broaden one's skills to stay relevant.

So why don't I start hiring and growing a company? It was many years later before I understood why that never appealed to me: I wanted to keep writing and not end up doing business development.

### Advice to myself

What advice would I give myself 18 years ago? There isn't much space left to explain in detail, but it boils down to two things:

- Consciously seek balance.
- Constantly upskill.

I'll love to hear from you, both solopreneur and full-timer. How do you maintain balance and upgrade yourself?