What is Freelancing?
Freelancing may be a profession that has been growing in popularity, mainly due to the benefits it provides. Freelancing defies traditional job standards and requirements and brings equal opportunities for people worldwide. No more job commuting, no more 9-5 workday, and dress code. People who were not able to fit into work environments and are unable to commute long distances can excel as freelancers.
However, things are not always as they seem. As with any other of these opportunities to make money online, freelancing also has drawbacks which is why the job might not be the right fit for just about anyone.
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| What is Freelancing? |
Who is a freelancer?
A freelancer is a self-employed person. This person works with clients, and this often includes working with multiple clients at an equivalent time. Freelancers offer their services to other companies or even to individuals.
In terms of working hours, a freelancing job is quite a flexible one. Usually, there are not any specific work hours during the day that a freelancer must work which provides them the liberty to arrange their day more independently, as long as they leave enough time to finish all the work by the instructed deadline. Occasionally, clients might require for a freelancer to be available during a specified period of the day, but this is often something both parties should agree upon upfront.
Freelancers can do this job as a full-time job which means they will devote all of their time to finding freelancing gigs. What this suggests is that their income entirely depends on the work they are doing and therefore the projects they complete successfully. Unlike with traditional jobs, freelancers don't have a hard and fast salary. The income usually differs from month to month.
A certain a part of freelancers retains their 9-5 job and do freelancing in their free time. This is a well-known road to starting freelancing full-time. People keep their regular job until they need enough clients and knowledge to form their living through freelancing only. Keeping the old job provides security regarding steady income and type of a “safety net” if things don't go as planned with freelancing.
Advantages of Freelancing:
Here are the most important advantages to have in mind when you consider becoming a freelancer:
Again, this is often the simplest advantage one can get with freelancing. If you are not a morning person, you can set your workday to start at noon. Because, why not? The job allows you to do this, as long as you do all your tasks during the day.
Independence
As a freelancer, you're employed as an independent contractor. Unlike employees, you have more control of your work and you do not have obligations to complete the work you do not want. However, during this case, your reputation is at stake, and you risk losing a client.Freelancers usually get paid more than employees. First of all, besides work hours freelancers even have to hide their overhead and other expenses which regular employees don't have. All of this needs to be calculated in the freelancer’s price. Furthermore, as a freelancer, you get to decide how much you are worth. You get to set your own price and only work with clients who are willing to pay that price.
If you already skills to supply a specific service, you presumably even have the equipment needed to try to that. For example, if you're an internet developer, the likelihood is that you have already got a computer. This means that your costs to startup your freelancing career are going to be pretty minimal if existent in the least.
Growing marketThe global economy is developing in such how that it welcomes more and more freelancers annually. Unlike traditional employees, freelancers become a far better choice for companies preferring not having to plan to an employee and to supply long-term contracts. Instead, working with freelancers gives them more flexibility also, which is why freelancing services are in such high demand.
As a freelancer, you'll work from anywhere within the world, for any company within the world. There really should be no barriers stopping you from seeking jobs globally. This opens up so many exciting opportunities.
Disadvantages Of Freelancing:
To realize that things are not always as ideal as they seem, you also need to take into account these disadvantages of freelancing.
Even if your work hours are flexible, you will be working with clients who have deadlines and busy schedules. This means that occasionally you will have to work even if you have not planned on doing so. You might also end up pulling an all-nighter when the situation is urgent. Sometimes, you might even have to adapt to the client’s time zone, which might be the opposite of yours.
Although you would possibly be ready to get some regular clients and ensure a comparatively steady monthly income, generally freelancing may be a gig work. This means that sometimes you'll have such a lot of work to try to that you simply will find yourself sitting glued to your computer for hours. Other times, there might not be enough work. This means that you simply will take opportunities albeit you recognize you're pretty busy, just to make sure that you simply earn enough to hide for a less busy period.
Lack of consistency in work also will require you to find out to manage your clients and tasks. From time to time, you will even have to prioritize one over the other, and you have to be able to make the right decisions because these affect your relationship with the clients.
Many future projects will depend on your reputation. You need to possess a shiny portfolio and good recommendations to be ready to score better projects within the future. It is also important to maintain a good relationship with your clients and to be able to do so, you will have to be successful at communicating well with people.
Freelancing does not come with perks such as health insurance, paid taxes, and similar expenses. These are all expenses defined by the country you live in, and you will need to take care of all of them on your own. When you are a freelancer, it's not required to start out your own company to be ready to work on projects, but there are specific regulations that you would like to explore. Since this is often a comparatively new career, these regulations are frequently updated, so it's best to remain informed.
Freelancers usually don't have sick or maternity leave. They can take a few days off, and most clients won't mind that, but unlike traditional jobs, most freelancers aren't getting paid unless they work and provide results.
Getting started as a freelancer
There are many different ways to start freelancing. One of the most common ways is to use freelancing websites such as Upwork, Freelancer, and many similar platforms.
The main reason why these are a
jumping board for those starting with freelancing is that they enable you to
begin immediately. All you need to do is to create an account, and you can
start browsing the jobs. Also, these platforms have established a reputation in
the online world and already have a considerable number of clients looking for
freelancers. You will simply browse the platform looking for the specific jobs
or skills, and you instantly get access to a massive number of job posts that
match such search query.
What most freelancers see as a drawback is the fact that you will mostly find less paid jobs on these platforms. Have in mind that this is not the rule. But the idea with clients who post ads on freelancing platforms is to find good freelancers usually at the lowest price. The whole system works kind of a sort of bidding, and your price quote is some things which will usually influence the choice.
In addition, these platforms charge a
fee or a membership. Either way, a certain percentage of the payment goes to
the freelancing platform. This means that a certain fee will be reduced from
your payment, and sometimes you will have to charge your clients more to be able
to cover this fee. When placing a bid on a job proposal, you need to take a
look at who is paying the fee. In most cases, the fee is deducted from the
freelancer’s fee. For example, Upwork usually takes a 20% fee from freelancers,
but the fee is reduced if you have long-term clients and reach a certain
threshold regarding payments. Occasionally, there may be an additional fee for
the client as well.
On the other hand, you can avoid
freelancing platforms and start on your own. It might be more difficult to
promote yourself and get job opportunities, but it is not impossible, and you
have a lot of promotion tools to help you along the way. The main benefit is
that you are completely independent. You are not at risk of getting your
profile suspended out of the blue or paying extra fees. Being your own boss
gives you more freedom and flexibility.
Once you've got the expertise and
reputation, and maybe a few long-term clients, it's much easier to become
fully independent.
In both cases, regardless if you choose
to start with one or the other, here are a couple of things that are good to
have:
Create an online profile
You should create an online profile
people can check out to find out more about you. Share your portfolio as a part
of the profile. Use social networks such as LinkedIn or Twitter to create your
social media profiles and help you with building your reputation. You could
also create a Facebook page. In general, social networks can help you interact
with other freelancers, share experience and get in touch with potential
clients.
Also, it is helpful to have a website.
It doesn't need to be anything professional fancy or whatever. A simple website
with a couple of pages, maybe with a blog if you are hoping to get writing
projects or to share your best designs or photos. All of this is going to help
you show off your work and advertise your services.
Choose a niche
Even though you might be willing to
try many different freelancing jobs, there is usually a specific niche you can
focus on. For example, design, translation, writing, web development, etc.
When you determine this field you work
in, you can go even a step further and be more specific. For example, you would
possibly be a designer that only works on logos. Or a writer who writes only
about a particular topic.
Even though this limits your potential
contracts at first, in the long run, it gives you sort of an edge. It is like
this. When you begin your freelancing career, there will be a sort of a
learning curve. You will need more time and effort to complete jobs that will
later become your routine. If you are doing more similar jobs, you'll acquire
this routine much faster. This essentially means that you will get better at
your job. And the better you are, the better your reputation is. Of course,
you'll be ready to charge more as an expert and someone who concentrate on a
particular niche.
As a beginner, you might avoid
choosing the niche at first, and take the opportunity to try out many different
job types. This is also a helpful approach because you'll see first hand what
quite jobs you wish and luxuriate in doing.
Determine the target clients
Having a niche and knowing precisely
what you want to do is also going to be useful when determining who your
clients are. While freelancing platforms mainly specialize in browsing jobs,
not clients, if you're starting solo, you'll benefit tons by knowing who your
potential clients are. For example, those can be small or medium-sized
companies. Or companies that employment during a particular industry or are
established during a specific location, etc. You will create a portfolio that
is more effective and you will shape your approach to make it more relatable to
them.
Also, you can contact the clients
directly when you know you could potentially be interested in your work.
Set your rates
A lot of people are uncomfortable
discussing money, especially those starting out. They do not know industry
standards, they do not even know how much they are worth. However, it is essential when starting out.
Start with an hourly rate, as it is kind of easier to decide. Try to determine an hourly rate you are comfortable with. Have in mind that the money you get needs to cover your expenses related to being a freelancer (health insurance, website hosting, etc.). Try to explore the rates in your industry and in your country.
Have in mind that rates can be quite
different from industry to industry. Even if you are in the same industry,
people from different countries have different rates for the same service, simply
because they are adapting their rates based on the living standards. It is a
lot to think about, but it is a calculation that will help you narrow down the
jobs you want to pursue, and avoid wasting time on jobs that just do not pay
enough. Also, your rate could be different for weekend work, working under a
brief deadline, etc.
When it comes to project rates, you
will usually discuss the rates for each project individually. To make an
estimate, you will need to have insights into the work that needs to be
done. You should also be able to roughly estimate the time you will need to
complete such a project. Based on all of those, you can create your project
rate.
Types of work you can do as a freelancer
There are a lot of different types of
work you can do as a freelancer. The choice of labor you're getting to do is
predicated on your knowledge as a number of these require specific education.
For example, you cannot be a Spanish to English translator if you do not know
Spanish.
Still, there are a lot of jobs that do
not require specific education or experience. Instead, the client will probably
walk you through the process and show you how the job is done.
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| https://www.upwork.com/i/job-categories/ |
Admin support
Admin support
group includes a variety of jobs, and some of those do not require any
knowledge on the matter, especially if the client provides instructions.
- Personal assistant
- Virtual assistant
- Project management
- Data entry
- Web research
Customer service
This group of
jobs may come with fixed working hours during which you will need to be online
and provide support to the customers. Alternatively, you can provide support
through emails, but still, it is expected from you to be quite responsive and
avoid making customers wait.
Development
This is such a
vast area which includes the actual development work as well as management of
such projects. It includes:
- Web development
- Mobile development
- Web and mobile design
- Game development
- Other software development tasks/projects
- Project management
- Product management
For these jobs,
some experience and knowledge is usually required to get you started, even if
it is an entry-level position.
Translation
Even though you
will narrow down your search by focusing on those languages you speak, you can
go even a step further and specialize in a particular area such as: 62
- Medical translation
- Legal translation
- Technical translation
- Economy and business translation
- General translation
Design
Design career requires knowledge and creativity to be able to work on such projects. Some crash courses could help you with more simple projects, but in general, learning the software for photo, video and audio editing is the main requirement.
- Graphic design
- Logo design
- Photography
- Presentation
- Video production
- Audio production
- Animation
Writing
Having
in mind that writing is quite a popular job in the freelancing industry, you
will find a separate chapter on writing later on in this ebook.
At this point, you can notice that the
scope of potential freelancing jobs is quite vast. The best of all is that
there are jobs that do not require specific expertise or even experience, which
actually gives an opportunity to almost anyone to try this as their career.
Where to find a job as a freelancer?
Like you have seen, having your own
website and promoting your services can be a good start, but if you would like
to start with freelancing platforms, here are some of the most popular
currently on the market.
Fiverr
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| Fiver.com |
Fiverr was founded in 2010. as a
platform to buy and sell digital services. So far it has maintained its $5
reputation as all the services start at $5. Jobs on Fiverr are called gigs, and
the basic value is $5. Once freelancers reach a minimum number of sales, they
will add so-called "gig extras" and thus increase the worth.
The company takes $1 for each $5 you
earn or 20%. When you first start as a freelancer on the platform, the amount
of active gigs and gig extras is restricted, but as you stay active and
fulfill the wants, you will get to unlock more benefits.
Upwork
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| upwork.com |
Upwork was introduced in 2015 as a
merged platform of two global freelancing platforms Elance and oDesk. You start
by creating a profile and submitting your proposals when you find interesting
jobs. With a free membership, you get 60 connects per month, which limits the
number of jobs you can apply to. Roughly, you'll apply up to 30 jobs all
requiring 2 connects.
Rising talent program is built to help
increase your visibility when first starting out. There is also a top-rated
program, which helps you make a good reputation and get access to better jobs.
The starting fee for freelancers per
contract with less than $500 is 20%. The platform encourages you to go for
long-term projects, so once your billing with the same clients exceeds $500,
the freelancer’s fee is reduced to 10%. For billings with the same client that
exceeds $10000, the fee is 5%. Upwork offers a paid membership with 70 connects, the possibility to buy more connects, hide your earrings, to view competitors’ bids
and customize your profile.
Freelancer
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| freelancer.com |
Freelancer represents an outsized
community and opportunities to seek out jobs across many various categories.
Freelancer has several sorts of jobs, therefore the fee can vary. You can apply
for fixed-price projects where you have an introduction fee once your bid is
selected and then 10% or $5 whichever is greater. For hourly projects, there's
a fee on every payment, and it's 10%. It is free to apply to contest and the
fee (10% or $5 whichever is greater) is charged once you are awarded the
project. When you are offering services, the fee is 20%. The fees are charged
upfront.
As you build your reputation, you can unlock access to a preferred freelancer program, where the project fee is 15%, and no charges are made upfront. Free members have 8 bids per month. Freelancer also offers paid membership plans with 5 sorts of plans with increasing number of bids, contest entries, and skills added.
Final recommendation
When you search online, you'll
probably find more platforms for freelancers, and a few of them might
concentrate on one industry (such as 99design). These companies here are some
of the largest currently regarding the number of jobs offered and the number of
registered freelancers. This means that they offer a lot of opportunities to
find work. At an equivalent time, the very fact that they need numerous
freelancers means they're quite competitive markets. Although this should by no
means discourage you, it is simply worth having in mind that finding jobs is
not always easy, especially if you are first starting out.
Since your career will depend on the
work you do on one (or several) of these platforms, it is very important to go
through the terms of service document. You need to be familiar with the
processes that are allowed or prohibited. For example, most of these platforms
prohibit taking clients to another platform or even communicating outside their
own messaging system. This is why it is important to know your rights and
obligations and keep your profile in good standing.
