A freelancer is self-employed individual offering services to one or more clients at a time. The type of work freelancers do varies. They can offer services in marketing, writing, technical support, design, programming, financial services and many more.
Freelancing is so flexible, you can set your own hours, working full or part-time on the projects of your choice. You don’t even have to quit your current job. Further, freelancing allows you to set your own price, which is often higher than what you’d make as an employee doing the same work. Freelancers typically charge by the hour or day and are not required to register as a business.
According to Forbes, the most paid freelancing jobs include:
- Marketing managers ($46 to $52 an hour.)
- Business Project Management ($34 to $46 an hour.)
- Web Development ( $36 to $43.)
- Writing – Bloggers, copy editors, and content managers ($25 to $30)
- Accounting – ($16 to $30)
- Teaching/Tutoring – ($20 to $28)
- Social Media Management ($20 to $25)
- Graphic Designers ($21+ )
- Administrative Assistants ($17 to $20 an hour)
To start working as a freelancer you have to possess specific skills, have internet connection and a laptop. You can start looking for clients yourself but the best places to acquire them is on the well-established freelancing platforms like freelancer.com and upwork.com. If you want to be more independent from the freelancing platforms where you will face worldwide competition, you could start your own web business, or do both.
The most challenging task for a begging freelancer would be to acquire the first clients and build his/her reputation. If you already have a decent portfolio of done work, you will have a better starting position. Either way, you will have to build your reputation gradually and in time you can achieve the desired payment rates and loads of work.
Working as a freelancer might seems as a dream job but besides its advantages, it also has several disadvantages.
Advantages of working as freelancer may include:
– Being your own boss
– Earn more money or work less time
– Lower Taxes
– Work-Life Balance
– More dedicated to your family
– Work from home or any other place on earth
– Additional income (If you keep your regular job)
– Earn for a living while you build your online business
The disadvantages are:
– It takes time to build your reputation/brand,
– Earnings may be lower at start
– Worldwide competition
– No job security and Inconsistent work,
– No additional job benefits
– No social engagement at work
Working as a freelancer and starting an online business are complementary activities. In some cases, being a freelancer wouldn’t differ from starting a business online. In addition, nothing stops you form starting and running own online business while you work as a freelancer at the freelancing platforms. On the other hand, if you don’t have skills to work as a freelancer, start building an online business now using our guide and if you don’t succeed you will eventually end up with a sets of skills that will help you start a career as a freelancer.
