Freelance your way to freedom!
What is freelance about? Working as a freelancer is self-employment. It is contracting yourself to do a job for a fee. As a freelancer, you choose jobs and set your pay.
As a freelancer, you choose to work full or part-time and on short-term or long-term assignments. You can have one or many clients. Companies outsource jobs to online freelancers for a variety of reasons including as a way to cut costs and gain flexibility.
Becoming a freelancer is an easy, fast way to start working for yourself. As you gain experience in a field, you can command higher pay for your work.
What you should understand about freelancing
As a freelancer, you are responsible for your own income taxes. Companies that contract you for work will not withhold payroll taxes or contribute to workers compensation or unemployment insurance.
An exception would be if you chose to work for an agency that contracts you to companies. Such as an employment agency or temporary employment agency. Agencies will withhold payroll taxes and contribute to workers compensation and unemployment insurance.
Many companies prefer or even require to contract a potential employee temporarily before they will permanently hire. If you are looking for a permanent position with a company, applying with an agency and getting them to place you is a very good way to find a permanent position with a company.
What is freelance about? Freelance is about self-reliance. Being an independent freelancer takes discipline and determination. You have to be self-motivated and there is a lot of competition out there. Also, you should create resumes to target the types of jobs you are seeking. Companies hiring freelancers will require you to qualify.
Types of freelancers
- Independent Contractor. A worker who provides services to a company but is not an employee or agent of the company.
- Moonlighter. A worker that has an additional job second to their traditional full-time job, as at night.
- Diversified Worker. A worker that has a traditional job moonlights and does some other type of job on the side.
- Temporary Worker. A Worker that is hired temporarily to fill a need for a company.
Some things to consider if you want to freelance
Freelancers as independent contractors are often isolated working at home alone. If you crave the company of others, it may not be right for you.
You have to make your own schedule. Just because you are working at home, doesn’t mean you are not working hard. You must create a schedule for yourself and you cannot burn the candle at both ends so to speak. If you are not careful, you can end up working day and night. Plus you will still have all of your family and household responsibilities.
The companies you contract with are your clients. You will need to communicate with them professionally and always be respectful. Any customer service experience you have will help you here. Customer service skills is a subject that would be good to research.
You will need to learn to negotiate your fees. Payment for freelance work varies. Depending on the job, you may charge by the day, hour, number of words, or a set fee for the job or piece. Some companies will require you to sign a contract.
Types of freelance work
Blogging is a type of freelance work. You are working for yourself and your website visitors are your clients. By having a blog, you are providing a service by delivering information. It is your responsibility to be accurate. Your content must be reliable and trustworthy. You can also freelance as a writer for other blogs. There are job boards posted for bloggers to write content for a fee.
Other areas popular for freelancing are journalism, photography, graphic design, and computer programming. Work for consultants and creative specialties are available too. Opportunities also include insurance inspection, project management, accounting, website development, social media marketing, academic writing, research, infographics, virtual assistants, and translations.
Becoming a freelancer means joining the new workforce. The days are gone when most people work for the same company for 25 years and retire. The job market has changed and there is not the security our parents and grandparents relied on in working for one company or in one trade. Learning to be a freelancer can provide the income you need and the autonomy you crave.
What is freelance about? Freelance is about independence. You should highly consider starting your own website or blog. Wealthy Affiliate provides thorough training and resources to create your own website or blog. The education you receive will provide you with skills to help you in your quest to become self-reliant. Learn to blog and earn a living online.
Freelance Job Resources
https://www.elance.com
https://www.upwork.com
http://www.simplyhired.com
http://jobs.problogger.net
http://www.guru.com
https://www.freelancer.com
References
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2013/01/28/the-best-freelance-careers-job-openings
http://mashable.com/2013/06/09/freelancing-getting-started
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michakaufman/2014/10/31/freelance-without-fear
Thank you for reading What Is Freelance About?. Do you have a freelance job to recommend? Leave it in a comment.
Good day! This is kind of off topic but I need some
help from an established blog. Is it hard to set up your own blog?
I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick.
I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you
have any ideas or suggestions? Cheers
My page – web site, Eddy,
Hi Eddy, It is not hard to setup your own blog. You are technical enough, I assure you. I suggest you create a free account with Wealthy Affiliate and take advantage of 7 days of premium membership. Whether you choose to join or not, you will find an amazing amount of training and information there to help you get started and they have SiteRubix (built with WordPress) where you can build websites for free. Gina
Wow, your explanation of what is freelance about is very clear and precise.
I have actually been thinking of my working options recently as a backup plan should I need to change jobs. This information has been very helpful and I will be looking into the other resources that you have provided.
Thank you for this timely article.
Lis.
Hi Lis, I am glad you found my post helpful. Thank you for leaving a comment! Gina
Dear Gina,
This is a nice summary on freelance jobs. I think persistence and patience are needed. It is very important to have supportive friends and family members to be around us, just like Wealthy Affiliate. I hope you will have a great success!!
Regards,
Alex
Hi Alex, I agree and thank you. Gina
Hey thanks for providing the reference and job site links. Landed a writing gig!
Hi Gina, I found your post packed full of great information, and I am grateful for that. I am just curious if you are required to have a portfolio of some kind when looking for a Freelancing job? If so do you have any recommendations?
Also if you have a blog can you use your blog as your portfolio instead, I curious as I am really interested in freelancing.
Thanks again I look forward to your comment.
Cheer’s
Hi Jennifer, I recommend having an electronic portfolio using an online program so you can send a file link for viewing to a potential employer. You do want to provide your blog and other writings as samples, but I would create a description and a guide to your writing relevant to the job and provide specific URL’s or compiled samples rather than have a potential client search through your entire site on their own. Employers are very busy, so provide relevant information to them in the most efficient way possible and be prepared ahead of time so you can send a file quickly if asked. Thank you for your kind comments and questions. Best of luck, Gina
I believe what you published made a lot of sense. However, what about this? suppose you were to write a awesome title? I ain’t suggesting your content isn’t good, however suppose you added a post title that grabbed a person’s attention? I mean What Is Freelance About? is a little boring. You should look at Yahoo’s home page and see how they create post headlines to grab viewers interested. You might try adding a video or a picture or two to grab readers interested about what you’ve written. In my opinion, it might make your posts a little livelier.
Hi Duane, I agree the title is not exciting and I am working on my skills to make my blog posts more interesting. The thing is the title is searched by thousands of people every month interested in freelance work and this post is actually one of my most popular articles. Still it could use some work and I appreciate your suggestions! Gina
Hi Guys thanks for this blog and public don’t know what is the freelancer and you shared a good information with us.
Hi Prachi, I am happy you found the article helpful. Thank you so much for reading and leaving a comment! ~Gina