Freelancing is useful not only for ordinary people, but also for businesses. Many entrepreneurs and start-ups turn to freelancers to save a little money on work or to order only a narrowly focused task. Below, let’s break down the main benefits of freelancer for business, why professionals benefit from freelancing, and how to get started.
What is freelance
Freelancing is a way of earning money that allows you to work with different employers without a permanent job.
Freelancers are freelance specialists of various profiles who perform the role of a remote freelancer. That is, they take on a certain amount of tasks or a specific service.
In simple terms, freelancing is the fulfillment of orders on the Internet for money, and a freelancer is anyone who works on the Internet. Most often freelancers are called specialists in IT, advertising and marketing, and representatives of creative spheres, who look for orders themselves, carry them out and get paid for it. It is possible to work as a freelancer without any special education. For example, a person wants a website, he does not know how to create them. Then he appeals to a freelancer and asks to make a website for an agreed amount. Freelancer creates a website and gets paid for it. It looks simple in practice. The key point is this: it is sometimes unprofitable for businesses to pay for a full-time full-time specialist (even a remote one), and entrepreneurs optimize their costs by solving a number of problems through freelancing. The important role of freelancers is to save entrepreneurs’ resources on organizing real jobs.
Why it is beneficial to hire a freelancer
In freelance, you can find a specialist for a narrow range of tasks, taking into account your financial capabilities. For example, freelancers mostly write texts to order, and they are also excellent at organizing small advertising campaigns. Employers are more profitable to hire freelancers than office workers for the following reasons:
- Freelance workers don’t need an office. So – no expenses: for rent, furniture, office equipment, consumables.
- No need to make deductions in taxes from the wages of an employee. There are no costs for social guarantees – vacation and sick leave.
- Payment is made solely for the results of the work performed, not for time.
- All expenses incurred can be charged to tax-deductible expenses. Provided that the payment is made under contract and the freelancer is an individual entrepreneur.
- You can choose a contractor for your tasks and according to your criteria. You can at any time refuse the services of one specialist and make an agreement with another. That is, you can choose a more professional specialist, and who is best suited for the project.
- You can order a separate layer of tasks. For example, the drawing of a single logo.
- On average, the work of a freelancer is cheaper than going to a firm or keeping a hired worker.
Existing remote professions
Freelance activities can be divided according to a variety of criteria. We will divide by the main popular directions, which are often allocated on the exchanges. More texts by Yagupov https://yagupov.biz/
Popular professions:
Specialists in working with texts:
- Copywriters (text development)
- Copywriters
- Content managers
- Editors and proofreaders
- Authors of poems, songs and fairy tales
- Translators of technical and fiction literature, websites, etc.
Programmers who perform such tasks:
- Website layout (Web site codifier. Frontend developer)
- Creation, development of sites and adjusting their functions (for example, chatbots)
- Work with 1C
Designers and work with pictures:
- Interior and landscape designers.
- Graphic designers, illustrators who develop banners, calendars, etc.
- 3D graphics and design.
- Ux/ui-design – development of interface designs.
- Web design – comes up with an idea, style and creates a unique website.
- Development of graphics, infographics.
- Product photo processing, such as for placement on a marketplace.
- Game designers.
Working with audio and video:
- Videographers
- Cameramen
- Streamers
- Composers
- Arrangers
- Editors
- Voice actors
Marketing, PR, internet marketing, advertising:
- Marketing and PR specialists
- SEO specialists (promotion and increase of sales with Google and Yandex)
- Traffic-dealers (sells traffic)
- Internal communication specialists
- Project administrator (Youtube channels or social networks)
- Internet-shop or web-site administrator and auditor
- SMM-manager, SMM-specialist (SMM – work on promotion in social networks)
- Ads adjusters in Google Ads
Coaches (trainers) in online education are freelancers who are specialists in some field and offer their services for training. They are:
- Teachers and tutors
- Administrators of online schools
In addition, there are quite a few areas of freelancing that are not directly related to the Internet, and their work can not always be classified as remote (online):
- Engineers
- Designers, architects
- Builders
- Photographers and videographers
- Journalists
- Lawyers, tax consultants, realtors, experts from various professions, incoming accountants, etc.
You can also earn from doing simple requests by performing actions like: subscribe, leave a comment or review, register, type.
What you need to know and be able to do
Freelancing does not require special education or required skills. However, there is a list of conditions that you need to consider and educate yourself. Pay attention to:
- Skills and knowledge for which the Internet can pay well. For example, writing texts, programming, creating designs or illustrations, editing videos, making banners, running social media. If there are no skills, you can do work that does not require special training or learn a new profession on your own from scratch.
- Online courses. There are many sites on the Internet with courses that help you learn different directions.
- Self-learning skills. Many beginners start by learning how to do simple projects and earn money on websites. As their experience and knowledge grows, they move on to more complex and monetary orders.
- Communication. Skill in communication with people, presentation of services, sales – the basis of working with people. It will not be superfluous to understand the psychology and rules of business etiquette.
A freelancer must also have the appropriate qualities that will become the foundation for working for themselves. For example, self-discipline, assiduity, attentiveness. It is important to be able to prioritize work and approach tasks responsibly. In the work at home time passes not very efficiently, so it is not superfluous to study time management.
Pros and cons of freelancing
Like any profession, freelancing has its advantages and disadvantages. Check out the lists below so you know what to prepare for.
Pros:
- Free schedule. This is important if you have children or find it difficult to live on a schedule.
- Saving time and money for travel to the office, clothes and food in the cafe.
- Opportunity to earn more than what is paid in hiring. On average, the income of freelancing can be 1.5-2 times higher than wages in the workplace.
- Great opportunities to realize their potential.
- Stability of income, as there is no dependence on one employer. You can cooperate with 5-6 different entrepreneurs. The loss of an order is not critical.
- The feeling of freedom. There is no boss, no dress code, and no fixed schedule.
- You can live in any city, and work for customers in Moscow and receive income from the capital.
- More opportunities to travel, to travel. You can take a vacation at any time.
- Freelancing is a great solution to start working “for yourself”. For many, it is the first step towards setting up their own business.
Cons:
- You need to look for orders yourself and communicate, clarify details, and respond to vacancies.
- Until you have a client base, portfolio and ratings, it can be difficult to find orders.
- Initially have to take low-cost orders.
- Requires yourself to organize a working day, control yourself, monitor the implementation of deadlines.
- Not everyone can easily work in a home environment. Often distracted by family, household chores or outside noises.
- You need to do your own professional development, pay for courses and software.
- There is no paid vacation and other social security as in a salaried job.
- Need to calculate financial and legal risks.
- Unstable budget and sharp decline during holidays/weekends.
How to become a freelancer and start working
It is never too late to start freelancing. But the main thing is to approach it seriously in order to avoid negativity and a lot of mistakes at the start. Here is a detailed guide for beginners:
- Choose what services you will provide or what you will do. Get acquainted with the list of services, study the interface. We recommend that you choose something that will interest you. This is the basis of success in freelancing.
- Watch free lessons on YouTube and read relevant literature on your chosen profession. Learn the basics of the programs to get the skills you need for the job, close the basic questions. You can learn a lot on your own.
- If possible, take online courses in your profession of interest (there are paid and free). That way you can get your first orders and get a better grasp of the profession.
- Determine the list of services you will offer and their prices. Do not ask how much you are willing to pay. Such questions give away beginners who are unaware of the cost of their labor. Be guided by your competitors’ average prices. You can do this by sorting freelancers by the service you are interested in and reviewing their profiles.
- Make a portfolio. These can be projects for friends, acquaintances, community organizations, or just for showcasing. Need examples of work that you can show.
- Decide on your legal status. Not paying taxes is both dangerous and irresponsible, and characterizes you negatively as a professional. In many countries, you can become self-employed or self-employed.
- Register on freelancer sites. Post your portfolio everywhere and respond to orders that interest you. You can add your areas of employment, market achievements, description and photos to your account. Users are attracted to this.
- At the start, do not chase expensive orders. In the beginning, it is important to get experience, expand your portfolio and build up your client base. So try to take on projects not with the highest prices, but which you are sure to do well and get positive feedback.
- The last thing you can’t forget is that as your experience grows, increase your rates and move on to more profitable projects.
How to avoid being cheated
On exchanges, it is possible to cooperate through a “safe deal”. In this case, you will have a guarantor: the exchange administration or the person who controls the process. And if the client makes unfounded claims about the quality of the work, they will forcibly write off the money and transfer it to your balance. If you interact directly, you can be cheated. For example, they may receive the work done and not pay you, and your contact will be blacklisted.
To protect yourself we recommend:
- Collect information about the client: reviews, rating of the customer on the exchange before cooperation.
- Do not agree to perform complicated test tasks for free.
- Do not do more work if you have not been paid for the last one. For example, do not undertake to write 10 articles with pay-as-you-go. It is better to ask to pay for each.
- Do not pay insurance premiums and do not agree to deals through unverified guarantors. Don’t give clients confidential information that can be used to gain access to your accounts, bank cards.
- Offer clients to break up projects into parts with payment after each stage. For example, you’ve been ordered a website design. You do the layout – get paid. Prepare the layout – get the next transaction. You set up the CMS and integrate the design into it – you get part of the fee again, etc.
- Check out articles on the internet about Scams, visit freelancer blogs. They will help you avoid many of the risks that are in freelancing.
Tips for beginner freelancers
Look for clients, figure out the task, negotiate payment. And if you’re happy with everything, you start doing it. Every order has a deadline. It all sounds simple, but you need to consider a few nuances. Tips for newcomers to making money online:
- Work on reputation – rating, reviews, directory.
- If you need help specifying the task – ask for clarification from the customer. This gives an indication of your involvement in the project and disposes.
- Pay attention to the specified work deadlines. Often customers underestimate the timing of the work.
- Improve your skills in your chosen specialty and in selling your services. Every successful freelancer knows how to present their services and sell them more expensively.
- Try to answer the order as quickly as possible. The history of responses shows first the first requests.
- Always pay attention to the reputation of the customer on the exchanges.
- Never fail the customer. If you are not confident in your abilities or the speed of execution of the task – the best refuse. Reputation is more expensive than the short-term profits.
- Try to use as many channels of attraction as possible – all popular exchangers, message boards, advertising in social networks, etc.
- Prepare cases in different areas of your business. Each case should contain a description.
- When working directly, you should make a sample contract for your services in advance and sign it with each new customer. This document should specify the cost and period of the services, all the data of both parties and list the criteria for assessing the quality of the work. A scammer is likely to refuse to sign a contract.
- To avoid the risk of non-payment, it is better to cooperate on full or partial prepayment, or on a contract.
- Do not agree to do lengthy test tasks. One of the most widespread types of deception in the network – a scammer promises to pay for the test after checking it, but after submitting the task he disappears, or says that your work does not suit him.
- When applying for a job, look at the information about the company or the person: whether such a company exists, what is written in the client’s profile in social networks.
