The Biggest Myth About Job Security That Keeps People Stuck In Corporate And Stops You From Fulfilling Your Freelance Dream [ Freelancing to Financial Freedom ]
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What if the job you think is your safest option is actually the biggest obstacle to getting financial freedom?
If you've been holding onto a corporate job because the steady paycheck and benefits feel too risky to leave behind, this episode challenges that belief.
You'll discover why traditional job security may not be as dependable as it seems and how freelancing can provide more control, flexibility, and long-term stability when approached strategically.
By listening to this episode, you'll learn:
How to rethink job security and separate the myth of stability from the reality of building a sustainable freelance business.
My top strategies to replace your corporate benefits WITHOUT sacrificing your financial security.
Why you need to diversify your income if you want to create greater resilience than relying on a single employer.
Play this episode now to discover the mindset shift that could help you confidently move from corporate dependence to building a freelance career with greater control.
Connect with Kiri, the host:
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Episode Transcript:
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In this episode. We're going to be talking about the biggest myth about job security that keeps people stuck in corporate and stops you from fulfilling your freelance stream.
Welcome back to the show. We're on day 4 of this 7-part series, where I'm answering some of the biggest questions that keep a lot of freelancers stuck, either aspiring freelancers or current freelancers who have a corporate background, so that you can make your next move with clarity. Instead of fear. And today is really gonna speak to that. It's about the fear of losing stability. What we covered in Day 1 was the real cost of staying too long in your job. Day two was about corporate mindsets that all of us need to break if we've had that corporate job. And then on day 3, which was yesterday, we talked about how much money you actually need before you quit your corporate job. If you're interested in any of those, go back, take a listen. Today, we're talking about the fear of losing stability. this is real, and I… I mean, it… to me, it's a myth, because I think the more you think about it, the more scared you get, and you think of stability as this, like. one thing. And stability is the same paycheck that you get week to week. That is stable, right? And that keeps people stuck in their corporate job, and then it stops them from fulfilling their freelance dream. So here I am to talk about and break down why it's a myth.
Now, yesterday we talked about money, okay? And we talked about the importance of, while you're freelancing and building up your business, while you're working, siphon away that money. All the money you make from freelancing. Keep it organized, but keep it away. Set up a separate business bank account. Don't look at it, because you are making that money. And I think that was one of the biggest mistakes I made early on in my career, was that I, unfortunately, continued to pay myself money, and it felt like a huge, cool bonus. But there was really no need, because my corporate job was covering a lot. Sure, it was tight. But it covered everything I needed. First of all, that… this ties into yesterday. Put that money away. Now, the loss of stability, and what most people think is just, like, the paycheck, and then they say, oh, wait, but what about the benefits? I lose all my benefits, right? Health insurance, vacation time, life insurance, short-term disability, all of that, I lose that! Well, let me tell you one thing, honey. If you've been putting away that money for… that you've been making, right, as you freelance. you can use that for your health insurance, because you have that saved. And a lot of the times, if you're by yourself, which I know a lot of people start off by themselves, the health insurance can actually not be that much money, especially if you use the marketplace. A lot of the freelancers I talk to do use the marketplace. And if they're relatively healthy people… now, again, if you are immunocompromised, totally different, okay? If you have, a propensity for having multiple knee surgeries, like myself, maybe not the best idea. If you have kids that break their arms all the time, like my son, currently. But, like, I want you to think about, honestly, like, if you have a partner, you can think about going on health insurance with them. Obviously, that's a big one, and I think people are afraid to ask their partner, but at least look into it and see how much it is for them, and if they'd be willing to support you. Otherwise, take a look at the marketplace. There are a lot of good options, and a lot of times, you can just factor that in, use my money mapper, that's in the show notes, factor it into how much you need to start making. In order to feel good about that.
Secondly. Keep in mind, like, there's a lot of stuff out there, like short-term disability, life insurance, a lot of that stuff, you actually don't have to worry about that much if you're a healthy person, and if you're gonna be working from home. you don't need to worry about it, because a lot of times we don't move from our… we're very boring people, freelancers. I know we… we give the impression that we have a very flexible life, which we do. But we just basically stay at home, right? And there's not… like, even when I had my knee surgery, right? And my corporate job would have helped cover that, right? And they would have, like, put me on disability and stuff like that. I didn't need that. I could just work from bed. I could just work from the couch, okay? So I didn't really need that at all. Life insurance is a big one. And I can understand, if you have a family, why you'd want that. We actually… like, my husband and I, when we were working corporate, didn't even do life insurance through the company. We did it through an outside broker, and it's 80 bucks a month. Trust me, there are definitely many options around there that's not that expensive, okay? And vacation time, like, please, everyone, get that out of your head right now. Get vacation time, even as a benefit. the United States is so stingy on vacation time, it makes me so angry. Maternity leave, vacation time, like, every other country in the world gets such better benefits. Like, I now have taken so much vacation sometimes. You can digital nomad and work while you travel as a freelancer, which you couldn't really do… well, it depends on your company. Most companies are not very flexible with that, right? I basically have unlimited vacation, real unlimited vacation. Like, I know there are companies that are, like, unlimited PTO, but then they start questioning you if you actually do use your unlimited PTO, right? Like, I had a client once who… she made me track people's PTO time, because she was like, I feel like people are taking advantage of this, and I was like, hey, you have unlimited PTO, what do you expect, right? So, like, the benefits of… That was a pun. I was gonna say the benefits of the benefits of unlimited vacation. The benefits… far outweigh the positives of this whole benefit, quote-unquote thing, right? Like, it's not even a question. I think the biggest one is health insurance, and you'd be surprised how easy that is to factor into your freelance business and the income you need to make. I'm gonna go to the second, like, big one, right? Paychecks. My god. Everyone's like, I like having that paycheck every two weeks! Yeah, but how about having a bigger paycheck, right? You have way more potential in freelancing to far exceed your corporate salary. Like, I remember when I was in corporate, some years, I would get a $5,000 raise. Holy shit, that was amazing, right? And then one year, I got $1,500 Raise. Per year. Do you know how easy it is to surpass that in freelancing? I can make, like, 4 grand more than I did last month. Not in one year, right? So people are like, oh, but I'm always going to be paid different things. They think, like, different amounts, right? Like, my paycheck's gonna vacillate, but they think for some reason of the going down and not of the going up. Let me tell you, if you have a stable business, if you have the strategy of business correct, which is what I help people with and teach them in order to build a stable business. You will not really have to worry about going down to a point that you're on rock bottom with payment. You only have to worry about going up and surpassing, and you have way more potential to make more. So, like, of course you're gonna have different amounts on your freelance paychecks, absolutely, but guess what? They're probably gonna be way more than you made in corporate if you're doing it right. Another thing that people, like, worry about losing out on is they think about their retirement. There are options for you out there, friends. There are options. So, I contribute to a SEP IRA. And I'm not gonna lie, I didn't do it right away, because it took me a little bit to build up my freelance income to a place where I could contribute to it, but my money mapper has an actual amount in its last tab that shows the calculations of how much you can put towards your SEP every single month, if you desired to. It's really helpful, and that helped me to realize, okay, some months I can contribute to it, some months I can't. But it's there, and I know the amount, so that I can contribute the max, if possible. So that is so easy to set up, like, you can do that for free through Fidelity. I think people get, like, oh my god, to set up a retirement account, what do I do? And, like, I felt like that, too, because your corporate job handles all of that. Now, I can't… guarantee a match, right? Like, that's one thing I can never say freelancing can do. Like, there are companies out there that are amazing, that match whatever you put into your 401K, You can't do that with freelancing, but the more money you earn, it's not going to be an issue. Make sure that you just set it up through Fidelity. As you get more wealthy with freelancing, you can actually hire someone who can manage it for you, which means you'll make more. And it's just not… it's a non-issue, that… basically.
The last point I want to talk about is, like, people are like, well, what if I lose all my clients? Or what if I lose some clients? Or, like, hello, have you been seeing how many people have lost their jobs recently because of this economy? I have, even in my worst spots. I've never completely lost my income. Even my student who just quit his corporate job, even when he was at his worst, he still was making a little bit of money from freelancing, okay? So in that way, it can be more stable than employment, because when you're… I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Sometimes you do lose clients, right? And when you lose those clients, you lose that income. You still have the income coming from other times. And what I tell people is, like, okay, now that free time that you have from that client that you dedicated those hours to, now you're gonna go out and prospect and try to replace them, right? And I also have cancellation fees built into my contracts so that If someone cancels on me early, I do get a little bit more money to help stem the tide, and so that I'm able to earn not worry so much about my earnings right at that moment, right? So, in that ways, I think it's more stable than employment, because I've never completely run out of money. I've always had something there to see me through. So, I think this whole Fear of losing stability in a corporate job, I hope I helped speak to that a little bit, because I think it's a big myth that revolves around job security. And I don't think job security is even real. I do not think employers care about you one iota, and I think they will get rid of you the moment that they can, and they don't care. So that, to me is why freelancing is way more stable. You are in it for yourself, you control your destiny, you control your finances, you control everything. How much you pay yourself, how much you can earn, the benefits. That's all you, and that gives you the control and the flexibility versus just getting what the employer gives you and being supposedly happy with that, right?
Please, think about that. Benefits, we talked about that. Paychecks, you can earn way more. Retirement. And you never completely lose your income as a freelancer. Very rarely, right? I hope this helps you guys. Please realize that if you're afraid of losing stability, it's a myth. All right?
Join me tomorrow, we're gonna be talking about why you don't need that full client list before you quit. Keep flourishing, see you then.
