From Flexibility to Burnout: The Double-Edged Sword of Freelancing

Blog post by Anand: "From Flexibility to Burnout: The Double-Edged Sword of Freelancing" (published August 16, 2025; categories: Tech, Others). Think freelancing is just laptops, coffee shops, and flexible hours? Let me show you the untold side of the story.

From Flexibility to Burnout: The Double-Edged Sword of Freelancing

Hey folks 👋, First of all - sorry! It's been almost three months since my last blog. Back in May, I wrote one of my favorite pieces: "Financial Freedom is a Long-Term Game. Why?"

Life has been a little busy since then. Some dreams got fulfilled, and I even had the chance to connect and interact with a few dream personalities through meetups. Chennai life has been a whole new experience - full of alarms, rush, and unexpected panic buttons, yet balanced with good friends and moments that make me feel I'm living the life I truly deserve. Along the way, I've been learning new things, making small but meaningful career improvements… and honestly, that's the main reason I went a bit silent here.

But here's the cool part - even during this gap, the reader count for my blogs quietly grew. Not huge numbers, but enough to cross into double digits. And for me, that feels more than good enough.

So, let's not waste more time and dive in.

Disclaimer

The word freelancing is actually very broad. Anyone who works for a certain period of time and gets paid can be called a freelancer. So, it's as vast as the sea, with countless types of services falling under it.

Even in my own journey, I've tried freelancing in two very different ways - one as a trainee (an opportunity I honestly didn't expect), and the other in the IT space through web development, app development, LinkedIn personal branding, and admin support.

In this blog, I'll focus only on the IT side of freelancing - because that's where most of my real experience lies for me.

Freelancing - It's like a coin, it has two sides. We've all heard the usual stuff about the pros and cons a thousand times, right? I don't want to bore you with that old checklist. Because honestly, freelancing is not just about "freedom and flexibility." It also has its share of struggles - onboarding pains, chasing clients, and dealing with the stress behind the scenes.

But wait - you might be wondering: "If not the usual pros and cons, then what's this blog about?"

Here's my plan: We'll quickly touch on the obvious pros of freelancing (can't skip that). Then, I'll share a few surprising things that really shocked me once I entered this world. Finally, I'll talk about the current freelancing scene and how I see it evolving.

Sounds cool, right? So, let’s go.

Freelancing - It's the tool that helped me stand on my own feet and breathe the air of freedom. The best part? It pays you for your skills, and you no longer have to constantly nudge your parents for every need.

To be honest (TBF), I never liked asking for money. Even before 2025, whenever I had to depend on my parents, it always left me with this strange, uncomfortable feeling. Hard to explain, but let's just say it didn't feel right.

Freelancing changed that completely. It gave me independence - not just financially, but emotionally too.

But yes, I totally agree - freelancing is not easy. From finding clients to finishing the project and finally getting the full payment, it's a long, draining, and time-consuming process.

Still, the result is what matters. That's why, even with all the pain, I chose to continue.

Few Twists

1. Intermediate Persons

Here's something you might not have thought about - intermediate persons. It's not just in freelancing. Look around: even when farmers sell rice, there are middlemen between them and us, the buyers. Freelancing has a similar setup. There are people who stand between the client and the service provider.

From my own experience, more than 60% of my projects have come through these intermediates. And here's the interesting part: many of them don't even have the actual technical skills. They simply know how to pick up clients, pitch confidently, and then pass the project along to freelancers like us.

Now, let's be fair. They're not completely useless. In fact, they do play a role. They handle client communication, reduce half our headaches, and sometimes even bring opportunities we would have never found on our own. For that, yes - they deserve credit.

But here comes the catch. What happens when the middleman earns more money than the actual person doing the work? Imagine you're building the entire website or app, putting in late nights, fixing bugs, handling revisions… and then you realize the guy who just "connected you" to the client walked away with a bigger slice of the pie.

That hurts. And that's the painful reality of freelancing. Not all intermediates are like this, but a few of them definitely are, and those few can leave you questioning the value of your effort.

2. Full-Time Employees, Part-Time Freelancers… and the "Unofficial Founders"

This part honestly shocked me the most. I started meeting people who were already working full-time in good companies, holding solid positions, and earning stable salaries. And yet, they were also doing freelancing on the side. Some of them actually had the skill and managed to squeeze in time after work. But a few others? They didn't really "do" freelancing - they just picked up clients and outsourced the work to someone else, while still pocketing a cut.

That was surprising enough. But then came the big twist: the "unofficial founders."

Here's the reality - according to the rules of most MNCs and big corporates, employees are not allowed to do freelancing, let alone run their own company on the side. If they're caught, the consequences can be serious. I didn't just assume this; I confirmed it with a few friends and even my mentor - people who've worked at FAANG-level companies and top Indian firms. The rule is real.

But guess what? Many still do it, purely out of greed. Now, let me be clear: if someone has a genuine dream of starting a company, building something of their own, and chasing that vision - I absolutely respect that. Those are the good ones.

In fact, I personally know people my age who've founded AI startups, become CEOs, and earned clients from across the globe. That's inspiring.

But then there's the other side - people who register a company just for the "status." They don't pitch clients, they don't do the hard work, and they don't even deliver the projects themselves. Instead, they hire a few people, push all the responsibility onto them, and still demand a big share of the money.

Yes, such people exist. And unfortunately, they're part of the freelancing ecosystem too. There is nothing to do.

Ok, we are almost at the end. Let’s discuss about current situation in freelancing.

For me personally, I don't see freelancing as a lag compared to IT jobs. In fact, right now I feel freelancing is actually better. And the reason can be summed up in one word: AI.

Here's why: clients only care about the output. They don't bother much about how we achieve it or the tools we use. As long as the result is high-quality, they're happy. So if we already have a solid foundation of skills, we can easily leverage AI to deliver faster and better - whether it's LinkedIn personal branding, web development, or app development.

And just to give you an idea - even for LinkedIn personal branding, there are now advanced agentic AI tools that can handle. Personally, I haven't used that till now. But yes, it's possible. I won't dive deep into that in this blog, but trust me, the future is already here.

That's all today, guys. Once again, sorry. I try to write and publish a blog regularly. Then, as always, when you feel this content is valuable, follow me for more upcoming Blogs.

Connect with Me:

LinkedIn: Anand Sundaramoorthy. Instagram: @anandsundaramoorthysa. Email: sanand03072005@gmail.com

Read it: https://www.anandsundaramoorthy.com/blog/from-flexibility-to-burnout-the-double-edged-sword-of-freelancing