This is the First Post in a Two Post Series looking at the positives and negative of freelancing.

I love freelancing. Yes, I can take the negative’s from freelancing and outweigh them with the good – and I do, on a regular basis. Things will get rough, but life is rough – work through it . I only felt that it would be right to share the positive side of freelancing before telling you some of the challenges that are involved with it.

15 great benefits to freelancing

1. No boss breathing down your neck – You’re the boss – you make the rules, which generally leave you more relaxed and happy.
2. Spend more time with family – During the summer, I was able to hang out with my brother (who was home from school) whenever I wanted. Often times, we would go play golf every afternoon and with the freelance lifestyle, it’s easier than ever before.
3. Job security – If you lose your job, its often times because you slacked off too much and/or did something stupid. The harder you work, the more you’ll benefit.
4. Creating your own hours – If you want to work late into the night, or you enjoy getting up early in the morning, you can set your own hours, build your own schedule and fit work around your personal life – instead of the other way around.
5. You learn more about personal finances – I took my accounting and finance classes in college. But being a freelancer will help you learn how to manage money and also keep up with your financial paperwork (which is always a plus).
6. No daily commute (and traffic jams) – Roll out of bed, put your slippers on and head to the computer.  My bed is right next to my bed. Somedays, I’ll even sit in bed when I have a lot of email to catch up on. It’s that simple
7. Complete control over your rates – If you want to charge more, do it. If you feel you’re making too little money per hour, change your hourly rate. No more begging for a raise.
8. You can do the work you love – Are you passionate about designing or developing, but you’re stuck in accounting? Leave that all behind with a full time freelance career.
9. Wake up whenever you want – This is a great plus for me as well as a lot of early risers or late risers. I literally woke up at 11am this morning before sitting down to write this post. There’s no need for an alarm to wake you up at 6am to get to work by 7am anymore.
10. Unforseen emergencies are easier to deal with – As stated above in number 2, any time something pops up, you’re able to leave and don’t have to worry about taking a sick day, lose pay or jeopardize your position with your boss. Also, you can also take care of the spontaneous need to Breakdance:
11. Mobile workstations make work fun – Like the picture for this post, you can work anywhere there’s internet connection (and if you’re a writer, you don’t even need that – just a pen and pad). I love going to the Starbucks down the street, hanging out in bookstores, or even just sitting outside on my porch.
12. No need to spend 4-8 years in college – I haven’t even graduated college (still have 1.5 years to go), yet I know more about web design and development than some people I know who spent years in college classes. Plus, I got started early and didn’t have to wait to graduate before I started working and learning the ins and outs of business. (See my resume for my list of accomplishments and credibility)
13. The ability to pick your own clients – When working from a big office for a big corporation, you take the clients they give you. When working for yourself as a freelancer, you can choose and pick the jobs you take. If you have any unruly clients, you’re able to go your separate ways. You can keep the ones you love and nurture those relationships.
14. No one is to blame for your stolen red stapler – Anyone who’s seen Office Space will know that a stolen red stapler can be a big problem. Noone is around to steal yours though if you’re a freelancer – except your kids or your cat/dog
15. Working in your underwear is not a crime – It’s no secret that working from home can give you a ton of added benefits – the biggest (in some peoples eyes) being that you don’t have to wear pants – even if you’re doing video chats or talking on the phone. In fact, I caught @markrickert doing just this last week –

Are there any other benefits you don’t see on the list – or the ones on the list you do agree with?