Become a Freelancer
Become
a Freelancer
The phrase ‘I am a freelancer’ gets
thrown about a lot nowadays when someone is asked about what he does for a
living. It could be a friend, colleague, or even your family member who left
his regular 9 to 5 job to become a freelancer.
Many reasons contribute to this sudden shift in the mentality of
people’s perception about jobs per se causing them to shift to freelancing.
But why do they do that?
Can freelancers sustain for long without a job?
What exactly do these “freelancers” do?
Here’s a comprehensive guide to answer all your questions.
What
Is Freelancing?
Freelancing is a contract-based profession where instead of being
recruited in an organisation, the person uses his skills and experience to
provide services to a number of clients.
In simple terms, freelancing is when you use your skills,
education, and experience to work with multiple clients and take on various
assignments without committing to a single employer. The number of assignments
or tasks that you can take just boils down to your ability to deliver on them
as asked from them.
Freelancing usually involves jobs (called gigs) that allow you to
work-from-home situations. But don’t associate freelancing as the same as
having a work-from-home job.
1.
Freelancing doesn’t always mean that
you’ll work from home. You might have to work at your client’s office too
depending upon the type of work and the client’s requirements.
2.
A work from home job involves a
contract between you and a single employer who gives you a salary while
freelancing doesn’t.
It is just that many of the jobs that freelancers perform can be
delivered over the Internet without their presence at the company or clients
place.
Who
Is A Freelancer?
A freelancer or freelance worker is a self-employed person who
earns money by providing services to multiple clients. These services relate to
the person’s skills and are not necessarily provided to just businesses.
Freelancers either use third-party platforms like Fiverr, 99designs, etc. to
get business or use their network to get more business and provide services to
their clients directly.
But is it a good choice for a career? Can you sustain a lavish
life while freelancing? How do you start with freelancing jobs?
Well, when 11 percent of the working adult population in the United States is
working primarily as full-time freelancers, there must be something good about
this industry.
Freelancing
As A Career
The rise of freelancers has resulted in the development of a new
concept – the gig economy. In the gig economy, a person, instead of
working for a single employer full-time and getting a fixed salary in return,
works for multiple clients at his own terms and at a price he thinks his work
deserves.
Freelancing is an enticing profession. It takes care of almost all
the problems of a usual service-class human.
How Much Can Freelancers Earn In India?
According to a recent survey by
PayPal, freelancers in India, on an average, earn about Rs 19 lakh. The
survey further breaks it down:
·
About 23 per cent freelancers earn in
the range of Rs 40-45 lakh annually
·
23 per cent earn in the range of Rs
2.5-5 lakh a year
·
13 per cent earn between Rs 10-15
lakh annually
·
11 per cent earn Rs 2.5 lakh or less
annually
·
8 per cent earn Rs 7.5-10 lakh
annually
What Are The Types Of Freelance Jobs In
India?
·
Content Writing
·
Graphic Designing
·
Architecture
·
Photography
·
Digital Marketing
·
Health & Fitness Coach
·
Baking & Home Food Business
·
Beauty & Modelling and Styling
·
The types of a freelancing job may
defer as per the industry you choose. However, there are mainly two forms of
freelance roles.
·
One is a project-based role where you
get paid at the end of the project.
·
The other is a long-term retainer or
consultant role. Here you can sign a form of contract for one year and promise
to provide a specific service, for a certain number of hours, for a fixed
payment.
There are also other cons to freelancing such as –
§
Work-life
balance: If you don’t know how to separate
personal life from work, freelancing becomes tougher than a regular nine to
five job.
§
No
benefits: Freelancers are in charge of
their own holidays, sick days, vacations and must be good financial and
time-management planners.
§
Difficult
Clients: You may find some clients who are
extremely difficult to manage. They may fail in giving the right instructions
and information for completing the job or may be inaccessible to clear any
doubts. This can be frustrating and might result in wasting your time.
There are always pros and cons to every profession and it’s up to
you to balance it properly for a healthy footing. If you think freelancing
could be beneficial for you and the cons don’t matter much. Read on to find out
how you can become a freelancer.
How
To Become A Freelancer?
Becoming a freelancer is just as easy as ordering something over
the Internet. You visit sites that offer freelance jobs and tasks and take them
on. This is a wonderful way of starting out and getting your name out there.
Here are a few sites that you can try for freelancing jobs:
§
Fiverr: the world’s
largest marketplace to look for freelance jobs. Just create an account post
what you can do, add few links and you’re done.
§
Upwork: Upwork is a
more professional looking freelance marketplace where you’ll find more business
clients.
§
Freelancer.com: Freelancer.com is among the oldest freelance job
marketplace which you can choose in your initial year when you have little or
no freelance experience.
(We have a complete list of best outsourcing websites here
if you want to check out more options)
Working on a few gigs from these sites helps in understanding how
freelancing as a job goes along and helps you get the hang of it.
But before heading to these freelance websites, you need to set up
a freelance brand for yourself. Follow these steps for the same –
1.
Decide what services you’ll offer
2.
Determine your target market
3.
Find the platforms (freelancing
websites) you’ll be serving on. Choose a uniform username on all of them. It
helps you build your brand identity.
4.
Decide your rates
5.
Create an online portfolio on your
niche-specific portfolio platforms; GitHub for developers, Behance for
designers, etc. We also suggest you create a personal portfolio
website to showcase your skills and talent.
6.
Market your services: market on social
media, offer something for free or at a very less cost (helps
in getting more traction), ask for referrals, and
use email marketing.
We don’t suggest you leave your existing source of income and jump
into freelancing per se. Try it as a part-time venture to see how it works out
for you in the initial months.
It is entirely not necessary that you have to freelance full time.
It is up to you to decide on whether you’d like to do it full time or keep your
existing job and make a buck during your free time.
If you feel that you really like the way the things are headed,
it’s time to move onto the next step.
Next Step
Once you feel that you can provide for yourself and work this way,
the next course of action is to take on multiple assignments for multiple
streams of revenue. This should include gigs that you got personally using
methods mentioned above as well as from the freelancing sites.
Another possibility is that you could make it a full-time gig.
Freelancing full time also means you can create diverse forms of income. You
can:
§
Negotiate monthly retainers
§
Negotiate commissions on sales projects
§
Create referral systems to reward
clients who send you new clients
§
Market yourself directly: Here’s a
helpful guide on marketing and creating a perfect personal
branding for you.
Take Care of
Your Finances
While in a job, most of the “money stuff” is taken care of by the
company you work for. You get a regular pay check without having to ask; your
taxes are deducted automatically, and insurance is likely also taken care of by
your employer.
Things are different when you’re on your own and you’d have to
take care of the following by yourself:
§
Getting
your Paycheck: This is considered to be the
trickiest part to manage, be it for the freelancing veterans or the newbies.
Negotiating and communicating properly with your client to get them to pay for
your service at the specified time proves to be much of a challenge. Take care
of this properly and you are well set to do great in the freelance field. Check
out this guide on negotiating like a pro to
help you gain more tips and insight.
§
Taxes: You need to handle your personal and professional tax
complexities yourself.
§
Insurance
and retirement benefits: You
need to look for the best insurance policy and plan for your retirement
yourself.
What it all comes down to is that being a freelancer and working
in the gig economy means taking a lot of responsibility for your own finances,
whether that’s negotiating your pay, finding insurance, or paying taxes. But if
you love the freedom, flexibility, and earning potential that comes with being
independent, then freelancing is an ideal situation.
The
Takeaway
Freelancing is equal parts positive and negative. You just have to
decide if you’re willing to take the risk that almost always accompanies it.
Freelancing means professional freedom, but it also means instability and the
risk of failure. And that may not be what you need in your professional life.
But if you risk your stability for something more in tune with your
professional goals than a traditional job, you have the opportunity to build
your name and reputation and reach your professional goals.
What Is the Difference between Freelancing and
Working From Home
While individuals regularly will in general use outsourcing and
telecommute exchangeable, there is a major distinction between the two jobs. A
consultant is fundamentally independently employed perhaps with an agreement.
Though somebody accomplishing telecommute occupation may not act naturally
utilized. They are in all likelihood working remotely for one organization and
are a representative and not an autonomous laborer.
What Are The Advantages Of Being A
Freelancer?
Freelancing
offers you a lot more freedom and flexibility than
a regular desk job. You get to choose the type of work you do, who you work
with, how much time you spend on a project, and the location you work from.
Research
also suggests that employees who work more than 50 hours per week suffer from
decreased mental and physical health. Work stress can also increase your risk
of cardiovascular problems, including heart attack, by 60 per cent. You can
maintain a sufficient work-life balance when you are a freelancer.
Some
other advantages include:
·
Getting to be your own boss/entrepreneur
·
Getting a chance to work with your favourite companies
·
Charging as per the work that you put in
·
Flexibility of schedule
·
No office politics
What Are The Disadvantages Of Being A
Freelancer?
Like with
every other job, freelancing also comes with its own set of disadvantages that
you should address.
For
starters, if you are working from home, it can get lonely. As a freelancer, you
have minimum interaction with coworkers which can lead to you feeling isolated.
You also
have to give up on job benefits like a PF account, health insurance and paid
holidays.
Some
other disadvantages include:
·
Your income depends on the workload. So you cannot take too many
off days.
·
Working round the clock to meet deadlines
·
Apart from your work, you also need to invest time in
administrative responsibilities like marketing yourself, following up on your
payments and chasing clients.
·
There is a certain lack of job stability -like having
intermittent periods of time where you may get no work.
·
How Do I Charge For A Freelance Project?
Your
rates largely depend on the kind of work you are putting in and the client’s
requirement – which means no two projects can be the same.
When I
had shifted from a full-time job to consultant role here what I did: I took my
current drawn salary and broke it down in five days a week and eight hours a
day to find my exact hourly rate. I added 20 per cent to it – to include health
insurance and PF that I would not get as a consultant – and quoted an amount
for my consultancy role.
If you
are just starting, you can ask your fellow freelancer friends what they charge.
You could also ask a question on message boards like Quora to
find out the current market rate.
Set up
a primary rate card of sorts for the services you offer. Here’s how you can get
started if you are a content writer.
·
6 ruppees per word for one article
·
Rs. 36,000-Rs. 50,000 (depending on the research work) for 20
articles a month for 300 words each
·
And finally, Rs. 5,00,000 for an annual project ( articles +
social media posts)
What Expenses Do I Need To Factor In While
Charging For A Project?
There are a couple of fascinating focuses while
charging for an endeavor. First up, fix a base rate that you charge for all of
your errands. This is the rate that you will never choose paying little heed to
what the undertaking is.
At the point when that is done, incorporate your
costs. Consolidate things like development if you have to go for various
get-togethers for the endeavor and an item charge in case you have to purchase
new programming for the errand.
By then consider the days you will spend working on
this broaden and copy those by your hourly/least rate. In case you feel that
the client is a problematic one and may demand various changes, uncover to them
that you will charge an extra cost after the second or third change.
All in all, recall that you are paying a specialist
obligation on this bill – attempt to factor in that 10 percent.
What Do I Do If I Cannot Find A Freelance
Project?
One of
the biggest risks of freelancing is not having fixed projects. You may have to
spend a month or more at times without getting any project, which is why it is
vital to create an emergency fund. Figure out the basic amount of money you require
each month to live comfortably and deduct that amount – say 10 per cent – from
your earnings.
You can
also use this time to revisit your strategy and figure out why you are not
getting projects. Ask fellow freelancers for help, attend events and talk
to experts and try to get a new perspective.
Is There Any Specific Requirement To
Becoming A Freelancer?
As long
as you have the skill sets that a business or individual needs, you don’t need
anything else. However, it is a good practice to:
·
Have a set of contacts who can give you freelance jobs or introduce you
to the right people who can hire you
·
A basic blog/website where you can showcase your work
·
Updated social media profiles to let people know you are looking for
projects
·
A basic understanding of handling your finances and marketing yourself
Is Freelancing A Good Career Option?
Yes.
Currently, India has the second-largest freelance workforce in the world after
the US. By next year, 50 per cent of the workforce is expected to take up
freelance jobs. At present, 43 per cent of freelancers are millennials, all
driven by a desire to be working for themselves, and also have the right
work-life balance. According to a survey by PayPay, currently, 10 million
people are freelancing in India.
How Do I Avoid Scams And Fake Jobs?
According
to a PayPal survey, in India, 61 per cent of freelancers report not having been
paid at least once through their career. While the best thing to do is sign a
contract with every individual or project you associate with, not everyone is
willing to do so.
In such
cases, what you can do is send out an email detailing the terms you both have
agreed upon before you start the job. Make sure to mark one
department head in the email, so that even if the person you are coordinating
with leaves the company, your payments will not get lost. Don’t start working
till you get a confirmation response on your email and treat that as a form of
informal contract later.
Another
good idea is to insist on one face-to-face meeting with the client before you
start the job. Visit their office to get an idea of their work culture and how
genuine the company is. If’ it’s a fake company, there are most likely going to
refuse your request.
Another
red flag to watch out for is when companies ask for money from you to give you
projects. Refuse that deal instantly; it reeks of fraud. Remember it’s okay to
say no to deals that don’t seem genuine or don’t interest you.
You could
also ask around in your freelance communities before starting a job with a new
client. Check for other people’s experiences, and ask them about the frequency
of payments.
Go On, Tell
Us What You Think!
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