https://nasacademy.com/blog/article/how-to-get-freelance-work-6-beginner-steps-to-freelancing-your-way-to-freedom
Freelancing seems to be the new career direction of many workers in 2021. In fact, it was reported that over 50% of working Gen Z’ers landed freelance work back in 2020.
More and more millennials are also taking on the freelance lifestyle every year. After all, job markets are tough and freelancing allows lifestyle benefits that the soul-sucking, 9-5 life just can’t offer.
Especially since the pandemic, greater emphasis is being put on the work-from-home life. Jobs with greater work-life balances are being favoured. With each passing day, it’s becoming more apparent that people need more time off. They need more freedom, creativity and excitement within their careers.
Everybody is also spending more time at home and struggling to find job opportunities these days. Which means that people are looking deeper into their interests and hobbies, and are finding innovative ways to make money on their own.
The creator economy is rising faster than ever – especially in this post-pandemic, online-oriented world we’ve stepped into. The individual is becoming more and more empowered, and institutions are losing the control they once had over people’s lives.
Now, people are taking control. They are starting to share their work, voices and stories – and making money from it.
Being a freelancer means you are self-employed and working as an “independent contractor” – generating an income through contracts or gig work rather than being on payroll at a company. You are hired temporarily by organizations (or sometimes on an ongoing basis) to get a specific project done. Ultimately, you don’t work under any one particular boss – instead, you are your own boss.
Being a freelancer normally means that you take on short-term contracts and collect income through invoicing companies for whatever service you provide. You are in control of removing taxes from your income, and doing the administrative work that would normally be done for you by the company if you were an employee.
People often find the word “freelancer” to be vague and juvenile. It makes it sound like you don’t have much of a direction in life, and aren’t really doing any work. This is why people will often use the term “self-employed” or “independent contractor”. It sounds more professional when describing how you hop around from gig to gig for a living.
However, you are also labelled as a freelancer if you are working for a foreign company. Even if you are on a continuous, full-time contract and earning a set salary like you would as an employee. This is because the way you are paid and do taxes is virtually the same as a self-employed person.
The terms of your job and responsibilities as a freelancer will change from contract to contract. And, it will depend largely on where in the world you are working. But most of the time, freelancers work shorter jobs in shorter bursts of time – so you work less, but you work harder.
Overall, the concept of freelance work sounds pretty great, right?
Well, while there are many perks, there is a reason why not everybody adopts the freelance lifestyle.
Freelancing allows you many freedoms and perks, but it also has its downfalls. This lifestyle is one of uncertainty, adventure, stress, and passion – a constant roller coaster of unpredictability that may not be for everyone. So, what are the pros and cons?
As a freelancer, you often have the ability to flex most of your hours, and create your own schedule. You work when the work comes, and you finish when the work does. This ultimately allows you to establish your own weekends, your own vacation time – and once you start growing, you can be even more selective in who you work with, when, and for how much. While being on certain contracts may be life-consuming at the time, and you may be at the disposal of your clients all day, everyday – the minute it ends, you get to pick your next adventure.
As a freelancer, you create your own rates. Although you might get offers and have to negotiate with clients sometimes – the more experience you get, the more you can start to raise your rates, and decide how much your work is worth.
This means that you aren’t stuck with a fixed salary, and you can always take on more work to grow your yearly income. Better yet, you can do all of this without being afraid that you’ll lose your job and seniority if Terry from HR doesn’t appreciate your tone and boldness in asking for a raise when you’re clearly being underpaid.
And yes, you can lose clients for being too expensive – but often, you can negotiate and fluctuate your prices easier as a freelancer, and switch them depending on clients and projects. There’s less bureaucracy, and if you’re good enough and your rates are within reason, companies will often agree – after all, they’re paying you for a single project, not committing to a yearly salary.
Freelancing often means jumping from contract to contract – and while this can be overwhelming, it also means you get to experience a lot of new adventures along the way. You get to work on projects you are passionate about. You can try new things, you can work with different people and explore different companies.
This kind of experience is invaluable to not only grow at your craft, but also as a person. Freelance work lets you encounter new challenges, opportunities, company cultures, and perspectives. Each time you will meet new people, learn new lessons and develop knew skills to take with you.
Not to mention, becoming a freelancer means you get to ditch your day-job, and pursue your passion. Freelancers often take on this life because it’s something that doesn’t quite feel like “work” to them. Yet, it can become a way that it supports them just as well.
The one good thing about having a 9-5 desk job is that, typically, you know you will have a set amount of hours every week, and receive a consistent salary every year. While some contracts you work for might be ongoing – many will be simple, one-off jobs that will send you back to job searching the minute they’re over.
Especially when starting out, you have to be okay with not knowing exactly how much money you will have at the end of each month, and you have to be comfortable with sacrificing security or stability.
While you can write off certain purchases, equipment, gear or resources that you invest in for your freelance work, depending on which industry you are freelancing in, there’s a lot of money that can be spent to help you effectively run your services.
For a lot of jobs like videography or photography, you’ll eventually have to invest a lot of money into cameras and tripods so you can deliver quality results for your clients – after all, if you want to get hired, you have to provide good value. Not to mention, repairs and replacements and maintenance all fall into your hands when you’re using your own gear.
As a freelancer, a lot of the time, you might work less hours in a day to make an income – but there is a lot more behind-the-scenes effort that gets put in that you don’t get paid for directly.
While self-motivation may not be an issue for some, it can be for others. Freelancing requires a consistent effort to job-search, market yourself, connect and build your network – all while keeping up with the boring, administrative duties that often aren’t seen when you look at freelance life from a distance.
You need to have an entrepreneurial spirit, ability to manage (or resources to hire someone for the job), as well as the conviction and passion to work alone, self-motivate and hold yourself accountable. Being your own boss and living on freelance work also requires you to be diligent in how you manage, save and organize your money, resources and time.
The first step to becoming a freelancer, is knowing what exactly you are going to offer your clients. Take some time, find your niche, make a solid plan about how you are going to execute your work, and how you will reach your target audience. Make sure to pick an industry that matches your skillset, interests, and your resources, and find what unique voice you have within that industry to offer your clients.
When you pick your services, you have to be both ambitious and practical. If you only have access to a computer and have less than $100 in your savings account – being a videographer might not be your best choice right now. Instead, think of something that won’t require you to buy and maintain gear, but that still fulfills you, and that has enough of a demand to make you a solid income.
If you want to know how to become a freelancer, you must build an online presence. Being online is what will help you find clients, and build a solid, recognizable brand.
Invest into building yourself a website for yourself. Show your clients who you are, and provide a portfolio with pieces that showcase the best of your work. Don’t worry about showing off everything you’ve ever created – it can actually be overwhelming for clients. Instead, try only including work that best demonstrates your style and what you have to offer. Include testimonials, contact information and make sure to position yourself. Tell people what you do, and how you can help them.
While making a website can cost you money, there are many free options out there to get started – like Wix, WordPress.com or Weebly. You can use these sites as supplements to your social media profile, so you have a solid landing page that expands upon who you are and what you do.
But as you start to grow as a freelancer, consider investing in building a solid site. Maybe work with a designer and invest in a domain name to help you really stand out. These upgrades show credibility. It shows that you are committed, and helps give clients the confidence that you will do your best work.
A common struggle for freelancers is coming up with a rate. You don’t want to charge too much to scare clients away, but you also don’t want to be underpaid for your hard work. There are 3 common types of rates that you will choose between as a freelancer: hourly, daily, or a flat. Which type of rate to decide on will depend on the project at hand.
Often, smaller projects will go by hourly rates – but this also requires you to be vigilant in tracking your hours, and providing them to your client when you’re finished. A day rate means that, regardless of how many hours you work in the day, you get paid that amount of money at the end of it.
This provides more flexibility, and is similar to offering a flat rate – which is simply one, fixed amount of money that you get paid at the end of the whole project. It doesn’t matter how many hours or days it takes you – it could be 2 or 12, and you will get paid that rate regardless.
So…how do you know how much you should charge for any of these? There is no one, set way to come up with your rate as a freelancer. It simply comes with taking the time to research into what rates or salaries are often offered for your type of work, and how much you need to survive. Think about how long tasks normally take you to complete, what the work entails, what your expenses are as a freelancer, and what your living expenses are.
There are many resources out there, and different rate calculators that you can use to help in nailing down your own – but often, it comes with working for a little less until you get the hang of the industry you’re in. It will take some time to get used to asking for the money you think you deserve, learning what the norms and expectations are from other freelancers in your industry, and testing out how clients respond.
To find freelance work online, you should build a website, be on social media and use networking sites like LinkedIn – but you also have to put yourself on sites where companies are specifically looking for freelancers.
There’s a long list of freelance sites that companies will use to hire people when they’re looking to get a quick job done. On sites like Upwork and Fiverr, you simply build a profile, set up your rate and display your portfolio. Then, if an employer likes you, they will hire you right on the spot.
Being on freelance sites can sometimes lead to dead ends. But if you are persistent and you brand yourself properly, they can be great ways to build up credibility, and get found by companies around the world. While these websites usually take a percentage of the income you make on them, they are great to connect with clients, land quick gigs, build connections and get testimonials that will help you find future jobs.
The line “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is probably burned into your brain so deep that you see it every time you close your eyes. And while we don’t want to bore you with another lecture on how connections are everything – we’re going to anyway. And here’s why.
Freelancing means that you are selling yourself. You are your biggest fan, just like every other freelancer out there – so, of course you’re going to say that your work is extraordinary. You want money, you want a job – you’re (understandably) desperate. But what will actually get people to believe you, is if your claims match up what other people say about you. And especially if those people saying it are friends or coworkers of your prospective client.
Reports show that in 2020, the top two ways that people landed freelance work was through working with previous clients (41%), and through word of mouth (38%). While skills, talents and self-promotion is significantly important, you will have a much easier time finding work if you have other’s vouching for you along the way.
Especially since the pandemic, connections have been strained. This has encouraged employers to turn towards those they trust, and those they are already comfortable with. This year, it was reported that almost ⅔ of employers hired people through networks on LinkedIn. 57% also say that since COVID, they’ve been hiring more based on their networks and recommendations.
Even though just hiring within your network can negatively impact the job market and communities at large, it’s the reality of the world right now. It’s simply how people are comfortable working – especially during these uncomfortable times.
But the term “networking” might seem daunting. It doesn’t mean you have to be the most outgoing person in the world. You don’t have to be slimy, and schmooze your way through cocktail parties. You don’t have to act over-confident and pitch to anything in the room that moves. If you don’t recognize yourself while you network – you’re doing it wrong.
Networking is a two way street. You take and you give with the purpose of helping lift each other up. As long as you can find your own voice, and find an authentic way of getting people to hear it – building connections will be a breeze.
Use social media. Sign up for freelance Facebook groups. Use LinkedIn, or simply go to the occasional event to meet new people with similar interests. Down the road, these people might lead to being someone you can help.
Overall, your reputation matters. Building connections matters. And word of mouth is key. After all, why do you think companies invest so much into influencers for product marketing? Because we listen to those that we trust.
Finding freelance work isn’t always easy. The initial switch to this lifestyle can be daunting – especially when looking at it from the comfort of your cubicle and benefits package. But in reality, the hardest part about leading the freelance life is taking the first steps.
And this is totally understandable – it’s a big change. You are putting yourself on the line, putting full faith in your abilities and you are taking charge of your own life. But believe us when we say: the sooner you take it, the closer you will be to financial freedom, and leading a life you love.
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Become a freelancer
By Admin Nas Academy
By Admin Nas Academy
WE EMPOWER CREATORS.
