The challenge isn't so much with the designing on your own, but dealing with the clients. 95% of them are crazy, and 60% of them will try to get a bargain out of you. . You must ask for a small percentage upfront, and you must stay on top of them with payments. Nevertheless, the amount of knowledge gained from each new client is stupendous. Be sure to keep good records.
As for designing on your own, many of these issues can be resolved by asking your client what I consider the golden question: "What websites do you like that you would like your website to look similar to?" This question takes care of a lot. And use kuler.adobe.com for color.
Pros of the business:
You set your own hours, in your own house. (the latter is an enormous pro). I watch movies on my couch in my sweatpants, while drinking wine, while working on the laptop in front of me.
Also, even if you are on your own, you can always go to forums like this one to ask lots of questions.
Cons of the business:
1. Many clients are not capable of differentiating between a task that takes 30 seconds and a task that takes a full day.
2. I am often burdened by useless meetings. For some reason, local clients feel the need to meet all the time. The purpose of the internet is so that people do not need to be in the same physical location to view/share the same content.
3. It takes a few months to get rolling with a good client list, and if you are just starting, you may be putting in a lot of extra hours for your first few clients.
It's a fun job. You also learn a lot from the different business that you work for.
Good luck.
What skills (software/technical) do you have?
