5 problems of freelancers that are not problems at all

Problems are problems, but an existence as a self-employed person is also accompanied by quite a few bears on the road. We have listed the biggest misunderstandings for you.

Fortunately, the life of a self-employed person is often a bed of roses, but you can also run into problems. At least – that’s what many people try to tell you.

You probably remember it from when you just started as a self-employed person. You received (unsolicited) advice from all sides. You couldn’t actually call it advice at all, because you were mainly presented with nonsense. Too bad, because the life of a self-employed person is not that bad.

Of course you should not close your eyes to certain things, but almost everything can be solved. The following problems, which are not really problems, are good examples of this.

1. You can’t get a mortgage

Misunderstanding number one is that as a self-employed person you cannot get a mortgage. That is possible. Of course you have to meet the necessary conditions, but so do people who work as an employee.

As a self-employed person, you must be able to provide figures. And there are plenty of lenders who only need to see the numbers for the last year – not three years. This also makes it possible for starting entrepreneurs to borrow.

You would do well to choose a specialist in mortgages for entrepreneurs, such as Van Lanschot. Not only because of the best advice, but also because the possibilities are slightly greater.

2. Disability insurance cannot be paid for

Self-employed persons are not insured – in contrast to people who are employed. If you have the flu for a week, you don’t earn anything.

That is still doable, but what if you break your leg or get a burnout? Then you may not be able to work for months. There are disability insurance policies, but those costs can be quite high.

A nice alternative is a bread fund. This fund contains entrepreneurs who deposit a fixed amount every month. Twenty to fifty entrepreneurs participate. As soon as one of the participants is ill for a long period of time, this person receives a benefit from the bread fund. Participation is a lot cheaper than insurance – and it’s also good for your network.

3. You can’t go on vacation

As a self-employed person, you do not receive holiday pay. That means you don’t earn anything when you go on vacation. It means not that you are not on vacation can to go. This is entirely in your own hands.

When the financial consequences of a week’s holiday are too great, something is not going well. Either your rate is too low – or you have too few assignments.

4. The administration takes too much time

This is also great. There are two options to save time. Option one is outsourcing. That will cost you something, but you will get rid of it immediately.

The free option is to do a piece of administration every day – or at the end of the week. This way you don’t have to make a big catch up on the last day of the month.

5. It’s lonely

Of course: with twenty colleagues around you, more happens. However, as a self-employed person you can also provide company. For example, rent a workplace two days a week. You will then be among other self-employed people, who may also bring you something in the long term.