“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn

“Freelancing is hard.”

“It’s impossible to find freelance clients.”

“I will never be able to support my family on a freelance salary.”

“Freelancing isn’t scalable.”

All these opinions and others make up The Freelance Myth: the assumption that life will be easier and things will be better if you work for someone else, not yourself.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15.5 million people in the U.S. were self-employed as of May 2015. That’s an upswing of over a million workers since the previous report a year earlier.

There are many benefits in switching to a 1099 paycheck: flexible working hours and locations, independence, the possibility of pants-free working, and the boon of being one's own boss. On the flipside come fiscal uncertainty, long working hours, no benefits, and no support group to push you through.

The modern world has adapted to make freelance working much easier. Coworking spaces have cropped up all over the world, internet connections are faster and more mobile than ever, and freelance aggregator websites make finding work easier. On the other hand, the sheer number of people applying for each job means modern freelancers often take much less than their desired hourly rate and can be found begging for scraps on the very websites created to empower them. It doesn’t have to be this way.

At Vitreous, we believe in the power of working for yourself, but hear time and again The Freelance Myth being repeated by our clients, friends and colleagues. “Freelancing is hard,” they declaim. “I’m getting tired of the hustle.” We set up the Freelance Myth Project to silence these naysayers and educate our readers on how they can create a working life of their own making.

For the next 365 days, we’ll do the following:

• Secure a new freelance gig at our minimum viable rate through job boards and resources that are readily available to everyone;
• Blog about each gig including the nuts and bolts of how we closed the deal and how we turned it around quickly, and show you the finished product; and
• Work with the largest varieties of states, countries and regions possible.

From these gigs and our approach to completing them, via guest posts and blogs we will teach you how to:

• Create a sustainable business from freelancing which pays your bills and more
• Travel while you work
• Grow your potential client database
• Craft a pitch
• Monetize your existing skillsets
• Build a portfolio while earning money
• Learn while you earn
• Manage your freelance wages, what to spend, what to save and how to save for your tax bill
• Make money from your hobbies
• Know when you have reached capacity
• Scale your freelance business
• Create a life of freedom
• Grow your local & online support group so you never feel alone

We believe that freelance is the future. Join the revolution!