I'm A Newbie - Talk To Me About Freelancing

In the past few years, freelancing has risen more than ever. In October 2017, an 8.1% increase was reported by Forbes for people who became freelancers in the US in just three years. These statistics summed up to a total of 57.3 million individuals.

I used to imagine a world where we could work from the comfort of our homes. It is no longer an imagination as it's now a reality. Many organizations are now opting for freelancers to handle some parts of their work.

Before we go in too deep, let's define freelancing.

What Is Freelancing?

Freelancing is the act of providing a specific deliverable to an individual or organization in exchange for pay or wage from your chosen preferred location. You can think of a freelancer as a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to an employer for the long term.

Some typical jobs freelanced are:

Content creation, social media management, video editing, Graphics design, consulting, programming, web development, app development, video production, virtual assistant, IT Support, Project management, and Product Design, but to mention a few.

Has Freelancing Done Us Any Good?

Of course, it has!

1. It has helped countries with high unemployment and underemployment rates to earn well because they have access to work for international clients beyond their borders.

2. It has also helped organizations save more on hiring employees needed for a short period and their maintenance costs.

3. It has helped reduce the stress it takes to commute to work from a location.

4. It also helped reduce the cars that daily ply the road. People will work from their houses and only go out when necessary.

5. Another fantastic advantage of freelancing is choosing who to work for and your workload per time.

6. It also exposes you to new things across industries since you are not fixed on a particular job.

Does Freelancing Have Any Downside?

Indeed, it does!

1. Since you don't have direct access to the client, getting your income from bad clients won't be easy. It can threaten your payment. One of the ways you can avoid this is to get clients on a credible freelance platform. The platform will be the contact point and ensure clients fulfill their part of the agreement while you fulfill yours.

2. If you don't have clients, it affects cash inflow.

3. A freelance job is not a full-time job, so you will not have access to health insurance, pension benefits, etc. If you are disciplined, you can set those things up for yourself.

4. You have a responsibility to run your freelance job like a business; the cost of tools you will need, getting clients, managing clients, choosing the payment medium, etc.

5. It can also isolate you as you will most likely work alone. These can be resolved by associating with freelancers in your locality; you can often choose to work from a colocated workspace.

6. There can also be an abrupt termination of the contract, which can discontinue a gig you didn't plan to lose.

Is It Easy To Get a Freelancing Gig?

It's not always a smooth ride when you start up initially. Like getting any job, you must prove that you can get a gig from any client, even as a freelancer. One thing that can help is to talk to people who are actively freelancing to help you.

In the future, I will interview a few people and share with you how to make the process easier and what you need to know.

In conclusion, if your dream is to work internationally from the comfort of your home without any strict commitment to any employer, you should consider freelancing.

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