Ever tell someone you’re a freelance writer and have them look at you funny?
Have your friends or family ever advised you about getting a “real” job?
Does the idea of telling people you’re a freelance writer make you cringe?
If you answered yes to even one of those questions, I have to tell you…
You’re not alone.
Elna Cain has been freelancing for two years and she hasn’t formally told anyone yet.
“I’ve been a freelance writer for over two years but I haven’t really told anyone about it. What I mean is I don’t offer this topic unless someone asks me what I do. I don’t make it unknown that I freelance write.
My personal Facebook profile links to my blogs and mentions that I’m for hire.”
Yup, that was how I handled it too for a looooong time.
A distant relative once commented “What a waste of intelligence!” when I told him I was a freelance writer who worked from home.
That’s not the only comment I’ve heard over the years, but it’s definitely the worst.
Most freelancers have similar stories to share. So if you shy away from telling folks about your freelancing, you aren’t the only one. Most freelancers do – and with good reason!
Below are 43 unbelievable reactions these freelancers routinely get when people find out they freelance, work from home, and have an online business.
1. “No, I mean what’s your REAL job?” – Samar Owais
I’m starting this list with one of my own. This is by far the most common reaction I get.
“Freelance writing is my real job. I usually counter this by giving the person a link to my writer site.
They may have never heard of the bigger sites I’ve been published on, but they definitely understand the numbers on my pricing page.”
2. “Hey, can you do me a favor?” – Kayla Sloan
According to Kayla, what they really mean is: “Can you do me a favor (since you don’t have a “real job”)?”
3. “Oh, so you’re a stay at home mom, then?” – Elizabeth Willard Thames
I don’t know about Elizabeth, but this one would make want to punch the person’s face.
There’s no such thing as a stay at home mom. Where else is a mom supposed to stay? The moon?
4. “Do you make any money?” – Pinar Tarhan
I don’t know about Pinar, but my snarky response would be (at least in my head), “No, I work for free and don’t eat or pay my rent.”
Pinar says there are two versions of this question. One is “How do you make money?” and the other is “Can you make money?”
5. “Oh, that’s nice dear.” – Christine C. Renee, Allie Nimmons, and Alma Campos Diaz
All three of these incredible freelancers mentioned some variation of this reaction.
“They basically treat it like my job is just a cute little hobby and I’m a privileged millennial that I get paid to do, what they believe to be, nothing.
“However, most people in their 20s and early 30s go “Wow, I wish I could do that!” And they ask me a ton of questions and tell me they think I’m brave.” – Allie Nimmons
“I’m a copywriter. Their response: “Oh, how nice.” (As if I’m sitting on the beach with my laptop writing $500 articles).
Freelance writing is like any other occupation, you just do it in a non-office setting and your form is 1099. ” – Alma Campos Diaz
6. “Not a REAL paying job.” – JoAnn W. Johnson
JoAnn narrated the following incident.
“Just this week, during a regular check-up with my internal medicine doctor, this was the conversation we had:
DOC: What do you do for a living?
ME: I am a freelance writer.
DOC: Really? My daughter wants to be a writer. Do you make a lot of money at that?
ME: Not at first. But most writers do not do it for the money.
DOC: I keep telling my daughter to try and get A REAL job.
ME: So, are you saying I do not have a REAL JOB?
DOC: Well, not a REAL paying job.
I was dumbstruck.”
7. “Oh, unemployed.” – Sara Beth Duggan
Anyone who hears this and doesn’t resort to sarcasm is a god damn hero in my book.
8. “Hey, I need to work late, can you pick up my kid?” – Brenda Crawshaw
Even though Brenda’s son is out of school, this attitude still raises her shackles!
“One of the most challenging [situations] for me when my son was school-aged was other Mums thinking my being “home” meant I spent the day watching TV, surfing the web and leafing through magazines.
I would get frequent requests to take a kid home because they had to work late, ask if they could drop off a kid who was not quite up to feeling like going to school (“Just let them watch movies all day”) or if I could transport someone from one place to another.
I know I am not alone in having experienced this! Grrrrr…”
9. “Oh, that’s cute that you found something to do while you raise your babies” – Kaylene George
Kaylene figured out a way to have fun with the reaction she gets. More power to her!
Them: Oh, that’s cute that you found something to do while you raise your babies.
Me: My husband quit his full-time job this year to help run my businesses.
Them: What?! Like, you actually make money!?
Yes, enough to hire her husband. Go figure.
10. “That must be great! You can keep up with housework and make awesome meals!” – Jodi Harvey-Quibell
Jodi gets to deal with moms who think working from home is such a breeze.
“I had a mom say to me once: “You work from home? That must be great! You can keep up with housework and make awesome meals!”.
Um, no. Not when deadlines are constantly staring you in the face…”
I hear you, Jodi. Deadline day means chances of my kids eating cereal for dinner are high.
11. “When are you going back to work?” – Kimi Kinsey
Kimi’s got her priorities straight!
“I quit my job in August 2015. I still get asked pretty regularly by family and some friends “When are you going back to work?”
How about never? I make more money sitting on my butt at home, doing what I love. And when someone annoys me, I get to leave my desk to drink.”
12. “Wow, I’d love to lounge around and get paid!” – Bethany Joy Johnson
Gotta love the ones who think it’s so easy. According to Bethany, she often has people say that to her.
*insert a few choice adjectives here*
13. “So, you don’t actually have a job” – Kristen Vanderwerff
Not the kind your tiny brain can imagine, anyway.
Luckily for the folks who say this, Kristen is a better human being than me.
She responds with:
14. “Don’t you want to go to college and get a real job?” – Amber Kristine Howick
Umm… why when no degree or job can give Amber the creative and financial freedom she has now?
15. “Can my kids come to your house after school?” – Jaimie Myers
FYI: It definitely doesn’t mean that your kids can come over to Jaimie’s house after school.
16. Chatting with Foreigners – Abie Dizon
The reactions Abie gets are at an all new level.
17. “Have you lost your mind?” – Chinyere Joyful
Chinyere’s family said what all of ours were probably thinking when we started out.
“You can always count on family members to say you have lost your mind.
I can’t remember the statics, but I believe it states by 2020, one-third of the workforce will be freelancers.”
18. “Sleeping till noon.” – Jenna Fletcher
19. “Your house must be so clean with all that time at home!” – Ciara Kelly
“I often get ‘your house must be so clean with all that time at home!’ Or ‘Do you make sure dinner is ready for when your fiancé comes in?’
What these people fail to realize is that I work pretty much solidly from 8 am to 11 pm most days (which isn’t always a good thing, of course!), I don’t have the bloody time to cook 70 meals and vacuum 20 times a day!”
20. “Are you sure you want to waste your degree?” – NoorJehan Arif
“I graduated with an MBA from Asia’s top business school. Even random people whom I meet in social settings have pointed out ‘Are you sure you want to waste your degree?’
I mean you could be working for a multinational.
My mother thinks I’ve lost my marbles and my dad refuses to ask me any questions except is it making you any money? Technically I don’t work from home I have a physical office space now.”
21. “My dad thinks I make a couple of dollars as a Virtual Assistant” – Kelly Snyder
“Every time I say something to my dad about my blogging or what I do as a virtual assistant, he gets a blank look on his face.
He thinks a make a couple of dollars as a virtual assistant and that I play online all day.
My mom understands a bit more, but both don’t get how much time I put into anything.”
22. “You’ll tire of it soon.” – Kathrin Hartrampf
Kathrin deals with what looks like low-key jealousy.
“I get confronted with, ‘What is a Digital Nomad?’ and ‘Ah, soon you will be tired of wandering around.’
I just started! Cannot wait to explore the world!”
23. “So, how’s your little business going, you need more clients probably?” – Alexandra Morinello
“I just always get ‘So how’s your little business going, you need more clients probably?’
Like no, I had a baby eight months ago and make triple what I made at my “real job”, and we don’t have to pay for daily child care. I’m good!”
Yeah, tell them, Alexandra!
24. “So, you just sleep all day? Wow, I could do that too.” – Alejandra Abouhamad
25. “What do you do for a living? I mean if you freelance, you hardly make any money…so how does that work?” – Neelam Kaur
Neelum found that this attitude carried over in her clients too. According to her,
“Most of them were not willing to pay. It made me join the ‘Freelance isn’t Free’ campaign which gave me the confidence to change my approach.
I now markets herself as a consultant and haVE seen a clear difference in how my work is perceived.
“I still face such situations at times but now I’m more experienced in addressing them.”
26. “Can you help me with this thing since you’re at home?” – Ankita Sonawane
“People fail to understand that even though I work from home, I have a schedule to follow. I have to be very firm with my availability to friends and family.
I’m a social media manager and strategist. I hold my breath and grab popcorn whenever someone asks my parents what I do for a living. ”
27. “When Will You Get a Real Job?” – Ankita Sonawane
28. “Can you design a logo for me?” – Michelle Martin
Talk about mixed signals!
29. “So, you get to draw all day?” – Cheri Hardy
I would like to challenge this person to draw all day and then comment on how easy it is.
Another reaction Cheri often gets is, “Wow, I wish I were creative.”
30. “Oh, so you’re basically a stay at home mom.” – Alexis Alvarez
Alexis often gets this reaction. Her response is usually an enigmatic “Yes, but also no.”
As an event planner, I seriously doubt Lillian does much staying at home.
31. “Would you like to work with us for experience?” – Deepti Jakhar Abraham
“Maybe you will like to work for us for the experience.” is something she was asked once. I’m willing to bet they meant working for free.
Another reaction she gets is the timeless ‘Do you get paid?’
32. “Oh, I’m sorry! You couldn’t get a company job?” – Chloë Romengas
This isn’t the only gem Chloe’s got. She shared two more reactions listed below at 33 and 34.
33. “Hey, I have a day off tomorrow. Maybe we could hang out since you’re the only person not working.” – Chloe Romengas
Me: “I’m working.”
Friend: “Yeaaaah well, you know what I mean.”
Me: “NO I DON’T.”
Love how Chloe nipped it in the bud!
34. “I hope you’ll be able to get a real job soon.” – Chloe Romengas
My grandparents asked me, “I hope you’ll be able to get a real job soon.”
To be honest, grandparents get a pass.
35. “How nice of you to get a hobby to do at home while the kids are young” – Rebecca Olsen
I don’t know who said this to Rebecca, but it sounds like they don’t have kids. Because having a hobby and kids are oxymorons.
36. “I wish I had time for my hobbies like that.” – Stacey L. Nash
Aww, look at this wistful soul.
37. “How much do you get paid?” – Shannon McKeogh
Shannon is a badass. She’s got the perfect response for the unbelievably rude people who ask this question.
Go, Shannon! You rockstar, you.
38. “Just explain to me in ‘three simple sentences’ what is it that you’re doing!” – Hena Bilal
Oh wow. I don’t think even three sentences would be enough for the person who asked this question.
39. “Why would people pay you to do something like that?” – Madison Lee
At least this reaction has a language barrier as an excuse!
“When I first told my fiancé’s family that I was quitting my full-time job to work from home, they were completely confused (our German-English language barrier didn’t help matters).
I tried to explain that I would be managing social media for creative small businesses, their reaction was: why would people pay you to do something like that?
I am pretty sure they still think I am just going to be sitting at home all day being a housewife!”
40. “It isn’t working if you’re at home.” – Kaitlin Fontenot
“I’m a web & graphic designer and make more than I’ll ever make in Marketing (my degree field), AND I get to stay home with my son.
I spend my days working with HUGE boutiques and other small businesses, yet I still get these comments.”
That’s not the only reaction Kaitlin gets. She’s also heard the following:
- God, what do you do all day?
- Must be nice to sit at home all day.
- How do you afford anything without a real job?
I have no idea how she keeps her cool.
41. “You’re home all day; you can do the dishes.” – Holly Magnani
“I was living in Los Angeles and had a roommate. I asked her, quite nicely, if she’d do her breakfast dishes before leaving.
She said, “You’re home all day, you can do them.”
I said, “What do you think I do all day?”
“Probably nothing” she said and flounced away, dishes undone.”
Guess who didn’t last long as roommates after this?
42. “What is it that you do?” after my mom HIRED MY COMPETITOR! – Lynn Hegedus
Lynn has a Master’s degree in Education and she’s working on a Ph.D. in Psychology- Learning and Cognition.
“My mom wonders why I don’t just get a “real job teaching in some classroom.”
But my favorite is when she asked ‘What is it that you do?’ after she HIRED MY COMPETITOR locally to consult with her on how to work with my nephew with autism!”
43. “They think I run a scam.” – Sarah-Li Cain
This is by far my favorite. Poor Sarah, though!
Maybe tell them they’re confusing you with the Nigerian Prince who showed up in their spam and disappeared after promising them billions of dollars’ worth of diamonds?
Got a (horror) story to share about the reactions you get? Tell us in the comments!
Ever tell someone you’re a freelance writer and have them look at you funny?
Have your friends or family ever advised you about getting a “real” job?
Do you get fed up at times that you resort to snarky and outrageous responses?
Let’s trade stories and have some fun!
