What Is Freelancing? This question would have come to your mind at some point in your life and you might even know what it is, but you may still be unsure how this thing really works. But don’t worry I got you covered as today we will be discussing what is freelancing exactly, what are its benefits & drawbacks and what freelancer jobs are trending these days.
What if I told you, that instead of working for someone else and doing a tedious 9 to 6 job you may simply become your own boss. This thought seems interesting, right? but you can actually become a fully self-employed person and start earning some good money by being a freelancer.
In order to start freelancing, you need to first understand how it works, where you can find clients & provide professional services to them.
So first let’s get to know about how the process of freelancing is and what all things you need to keep in mind while working as a self-employed, then we can proceed further with other information.
A Journey Of Becoming Self-Employed Person, How To Get Started Let’s Look At It Below
A freelancer is someone who is self-employed, takes projects/tasks of the short term, and earns money by providing their professional services to the client. They don’t work with a particular company but with multiple clients & companies. A freelancing career may seem easy to some people, but it really isn’t.
You work as an independent contractor/freelancer and take projects from multiple clients. Make sure that when your clients ask for it, you must be ready with the work. If there are any further changes in the work, they will be conveyed to you by the client.
In order to get good clients who give you big projects, you need to build trust and networks through which you can get some good gigs. Working with big clients will give you a good opportunity to make more money.
Also, you need to showcase the skills you have, your unique selling proposition (USP) that makes you different from other people in those fields, and what services you offer.
Because there are other freelancers who possess the same skills as you, you need to stand out differently and offer the best services so that your clients can get back to you whenever they have a project.
Some people are full-time freelancers whereas some people do it side by side with their other job. So if you are planning to work independently, then freelance jobs can be a good choice for you.
Now the main question that comes into people’s minds is where can I find clients, without having any contact or network. Well, today development of various freelancing websites has made it easy to find clients who hire you for work or projects.
Freelancing Sites For You To Check-Out
- Fiverr
- Freelancer.com
- Upwork
- Design Hill
- Upstack
- Kimp
- Dribble
- People Per Hour
Tips For Becoming A Freelancer
1. Know what your expertise is and what services can you offer to your clients & companies
2. Advertise yourself as much as you can, not just by writing sweet words online but by putting your work out there for people to see.
3. A strong digital presence is important, this will not only help you in showcasing your work and skills but also in building networks and finding clients.
4. Though you have flexible working hours and you can work from anywhere, it’s also necessary to keep a work-life balance and to manage your time accordingly.
5. Know your worth, the freelance market, and the value of your service, then charge your clients accordingly.
6. Don’t be rigid always be open to learning some new skills and showcasing them as well, so that it brings in new clients.
7. Build networks around you, let everyone know that you do freelancing work.
8. The more you grow, learn, and work on projects, the more experienced freelancers you become.
9. Today as we all have access to the internet, you can find a lot of freelance opportunities, all you need is to seek and grab the opportunity.
Benefits Of Doing Freelancing
1. You can work flexibly, according to yourself. You are your own boss so you decide how much work to take, it totally depends on you.
2. You work with different people/clients who come from a variety of fields, it gives you good exposure, enhances your skills & experience.
3. You get to decide freelance rates, according to your expertise, time spent, and expenses for the project
4. All the profits are yours, you don’t need to share them with anyone.
5. With big projects comes more money, as you become an experienced freelancer you can take as many projects as you can and earn big in a month.
6. You get to keep your work from home life, with flexible hours and work from anywhere across the globe
7. In this “gig economy” you don’t have to depend on your employer to give you a raise, you are your own boss so you upskill, gain experience and earn money.
8. There are tax deductions as well in a freelance job, as you can deduct expenses of the things that are required for freelance work like furniture, office supplies, or any other equipment.
Drawbacks Of Doing Freelancing
1. You have to pay self-employment tax, every year.
2. You don’t receive paid holidays, a health insurance policy, or any other benefits like a full-time employment job, as a freelancer you have to pay for it.
3. There is a lot of risk in a freelance business, as there is no surety that you will always get clients and get paid. Because as a freelancer you also face a few challenges like some clients don’t give you the payment on time even after the work is done, so you need to be aware of such clients.
4. You work all by yourself, you don’t have colleagues to surround yourself with and help you in your projects.
5. As a freelancer you sometimes may have a lot of work to do, and it might happen at times that you give lesser time to your personal life, that’s why it’s important to have a balance between work and life.
6. You are on your own, right from finding clients, working on projects to managing multiple clients at once.
9 Types Of Freelance Jobs
1. Freelance Writers
A freelance writing job is to create content for the client, the written text should match the expectations and instruction given by the client. The topics can be of any field like entertainment, branding, automobiles, finance, technology, and so on, it depends on your client, on which niche he/she gives you to write on.
You have to be creative and follow the instructions given by the client to deliver quality work. You will be writing content for websites, blogs, booklets, books, posts and so. Make sure that you have clarity in your mind about the instructions given for the projects so that you can work on them without any confusion.
Types of freelance writers:
1. Ghostwriting
You write for a client and it becomes totally their content in exchange you get paid for it, your name doesn’t get published anywhere.
2. News:
Writing news for various media like print, digital, or magazines.
3. Business & Public Relations Writing:
Writing various content like press releases, company manuals, public statements, company memos, and others, for business
4. Websites:
It includes writing web posts, blog articles, social media posts, product descriptions for websites, and so on
5. Copywriting
Writing copies for ads, print ads, campaigns, product pages, scripts, and others.
2. Translation Jobs
As a freelance worker, you have to translate text or audio from one language to another. For example: if my client has a french written text and he/she asks me to convert it into English, it’s called translation.
In order to be a good translator, it’s necessary that you know the language properly so that you can convert the text or audio appropriately without changing its meaning.
3. Transcription Jobs
People often get confused between translation and transcription jobs, so let me clear it for you. The translation is basically when you change a text or audio from one language to another whereas transcription means to convert the spoken language into a written or digital text form.
You can become a good transcriber if you have great listening and understanding abilities. Because in order to write what is being said in a speech accurately it’s important to listen and write accurately.
The three types of transcription are:
1. Edited Transcription
This type of transcription means editing and removing the phrases or words which are not required. The essence of the speech still remains the same, just the non-required elements from the text are edited so that it delivers quality content.
2.Verbatim Transcription:
This is a little difficult transcription work, as it requires you to write verbal as well as non-verbal communication. You have to jot down everything their expressions, slang, speech, and so on. That’s what makes it complicated, so you have to be really careful and attentive.
3. Intelligent Transcription:
Editing all the unnecessary pauses, stammer, and repetitive words from the transcripted document. As it focuses mainly on the idea of the speech and that’s why it eliminates the non-required parts, to make the written text clear.
4. Website Development
As a freelancer, you will develop appealing and attractive websites, for your clients. You need to make sure that the website you create is convenient for the users to use and also has all the elements which your client needs.
5. Computer Programming
This freelance job is for those who love coding. Your projects will be based on coding for various websites, games, software, and others. Your duty would be to develop a program through coding, test it to see whether it works or not and maintain the program.
6. Software Development
As an independent software developer, your role will be to develop various software, games, applications, and many more. Make sure to read all instructions given by the client, so you add all those things in your final output of the software.
7. Graphic Designing
Today, graphic designing has become an in-demand career not only for job seekers but also for freelancers. A graphic designer is someone who creative visuals and illustrations for clients. If you are someone who is great at creating and designing digitally then this freelance job is for you. Don’t be afraid to put out your work out there, also platforms like Behance, dribble, cargo, and others, help you in showcasing your skills and creating a portfolio.
8. Videographer & Editor
As a videographer, you need to have video production equipment that you can use to produce videos for your clients. You should have a good knowledge of filming, cinematography, and videos.
As an independent editor, your work will be of editing videos it can be advertisements, films, youtube videos, and so on
9. Tutor
You can take tuitions as a freelancer, not only of academics but also of other activities or you say skills like singing, dancing, piano, yoga, and others. You will help the students in learning things, improving in activities and exams, developing skills, and also providing them with assistance & feedback whenever they need it. Many parents keep a home tutor for their kids, so you can also be someone’s private or home tutor.
With this we come to the end of the blog, I hope you got a good idea of freelancing. So if you were dicey before, about whether to start a freelancing career or not, because you didn’t have clarity in your mind about this field, Now you have all the information in front of you about the same.
Consider this blog as a sign, don’t hold back, and start your freelancing career now! Because a little late is better than never!