The term freelancing is a very vast term. We cannot define it in a word, phrase, or sentence. Here, I’ll give you an idea of Freelance work in a simple and understandable form.
Freelancing is a job or work in which a person works for a Client or company without becoming its permanent employee. Freelancing is self-employment, in which a person delivers his service to a company/client on a project/contract basis without becoming a salaried worker of the company.
In this method, a freelancer sends a proposal for work to his client, and the client/company checks his profile/CV and work experience and hires him for a particular project. The freelancer works online through the internet on that project. After examining his career, the client paid him his fee/remuneration, which was decided between the freelancer and the client.
Freelancer
“A person who offers his expertise and does work for the client on a project basis is called a freelancer.”
We also called him a self-employed Person or an independent contract worker of the company. A freelancer has a unique skill and always offers expertise in that particular skill. Here, I’m not discussing Freelancing. That’s why I’m not going into in-depth coverage of Freelancing. I want to give an idea about freelancing concisely.
When we talk about freelancing, the main aim of our article is to earn an honorable employment. This website has another article on how to make money online and platforms to work online. Readers can read that article to learn about online earning media by reading that article. Here, I’m sharing a link.
Read more: How to Earn Money online in Pakistan
Scope of Freelancing
We know that there is a rising unemployment in the world today. Young people are most affected by these unemployment issues. Unemployed people are searching for employment, while those who have already been employed want to create more resources for their income with their current jobs or businesses. But how they can do so? The question arises.
The best platform to do so for young educate is freelancing. It was a part-time job for the job holders a few years ago. It overgrows, and nowadays, Freelancing has become the most influential employment tool worldwide.
But how does a person get started freelancing, and what is the scope of Freelancing? The question is seriously asked by the people who want to start freelancing.
Due to the rapidly growing internet services worldwide, business and job trends changed quickly. Every business person wants to expand his business rapidly, and it is only possible when he hires expert and low-salaried employees. Using freelancing services, a business person can hire someone for his business project from anywhere globally at a low cost. Moreover, freelancers are more efficient and skilled workers than local employees. Due to these reasons, Freelancing will become the work industry’s future in the next few years.
COVID-19 also increased the freelancing work. During COVID-19, people can end their families if Freelancing doesn’t support them. Now, in Pakistan and worldwide, 50% of the educated are freelancers. According to a report, in the United States, 56 million people were freelancers in 2020, and now they have increased 100%. Young, educated people are adopting freelancing as a serious career. Technology and advancement in internet facilities move freelancing upward.
Furthermore, when we talk about the scope of freelancing in Pakistan, the Pakistan government took good initiative. The government offers several courses through technical educational institutes to young people for online earning. Tax benefits are also provided to motivate the people to earn more dollars to boost the country’s economy. Freelancing has a very bright future in Pakistan and all over the world.
How to Become a Freelancer
How can a person become a freelancer? It is a frequently asked question by everyone. I’m not discussing the answer to this question here, so I’m just giving here some essential points. We will discuss it in more detail in our next article.
- Define your niche
- Target your clients
- Write about the pricing plans.
- Create your portfolio with past experiences
- Write a great proposal to attract clients.
- Create a good relationship with your clients for the future.
- Continue developing new skills
Types of Freelance Jobs
Contract work or Contract Project
Contract work is a work for which a person is hired to complete the job in a specific time. OR The work is called contract work if persons are appointed to achieve a specific task or project for a particular fee within the given time frame.
A contractor is also called a contract worker, Contract employee, freelancer, Work for hire staffer, out worker, Independent worker, or independent job holder. Contract workers are mainly hired for their high skill level in a specific area: accounting, finance, marketing, web development, etc.
Contract based job
A contract-based job is a hybrid contract. It has qualities of contract work as well as a regular job. A contract-based job is like contract work because the worker’s remuneration is paid hourly or contract. It has the qualities of a regular job because the employer contracts two, three, or five years with an independent contractor.
Contract consultant
Do you have solid skills and expertise in negotiation or problem-solving related to a particular field? If yes, then you can become a contract consultant. A contract consultant is a professional person who provides his expertise to one or more companies or clients to boost their business. Companies hire consultants to assist their management team and give some advice at the time of need for specific issues.
Contract-to-hire
Sometimes, an employer hires a person to test his skills and expertise on a contract-based project, but his primary purpose is to employ that person permanently after a few months of the contract. After ending the contract, if the Employer thinks the contact worker is fit for his firm, he hires him for a full-time job. This type of job where there are chances for a contract worker to become a full-time employee is called contract-to-hire work.
Fields of Freelancing
Here are some significant fields of Freelancing that freelancers use to earn good money.
- Business Consulting
- Accounting
- Developing Apps
- Copy writing
- Design
- Editing
- Life Coaching
- Marketing services
- Programming
- Teaching/Tutoring
- Video Production
- Project Management
- Administrative
- Writing
- Customer care Services
- Health Services
- Contract consultant
Qualities of successful freelancers
The Freelancer is self-employed and works as his own boss, so he should think like an organization. If he feels like an employee, he will never be an excellent contract-getting person. And as a contract consultant, he should work extraordinary for the firm. A freelancer must have some qualities to achieve success in his field.
There is a list of the qualities of a successful freelancer, but I’m discussing the most important ones here.
Self-discipline
Every work needs some discipline. Suppose you work as a freelancer, a client not bound a freelancer to work from 9 am to 5 pm. But it would help if you were self-disciplined in yourself. You should focus on your work and complete your given contract on time. If you show yourself as a focused person towards your work, your clients will provide you with more contracts in the future time.
Time management
Time is money. But for a businessman, time is the blood of his business. A successful manager or business person constantly accurately tracks his time according to his work. As a freelancer, you should be a good time manager. If your client is paying you on a contract or hourly rate, you must complete the project given to you on time. If there is some meeting scheduled by your client to discuss the project or to make some changes to the project, you must be ready for the meeting on time. There shouldn’t be any flimsy excuse to be late for the meeting. It will make you a more efficient and effective worker in your client’s eyes.
Self-Motivation
Freelancing is not a job; it’s a business of some kind. A freelancer should understand clearly that his freelancing services are his business and must enhance his business through hard work and struggle.
As a freelancer, he is self-employed and is said to be his boss. As there is no one else to give him motivation or advice of some kind, that’s why he must be self-motivated towards his work. As much as he is motivated towards his career, his business will snowball because; seeing his efficiency in his work, clients will trust him and give him more projects in the future.
Professionalism
Professionalism is the basic unit to become a good businessman. That’s why a good freelancer always shows professionalism in his work.
From a client’s point of view, a freelancer is one of the options among the hundreds of persons. A client always expects the freelancer to take his project seriously and in a professional business manner. He also expects the freelancer to complete his project very efficiently and effectively by using his core experience and knowledge.
The basic skills of a professional freelancer are:
- He shows good communication skills
- Always fulfilling his promises related to the project
- Complete his work on time
- Maintaining a high quality of work is a crucial skill of a freelancer.
By using these skills and qualities of professionalism, a freelancer tempts the client towards his quality work. If your clients require a video conference related to the project, you should be more accurate, concise, appropriate, and limited towards your project work. It would help if you didn’t discuss other things irrelevant to the job, and during the conference, there shouldn’t be any background noise from your side, which can disrupt the meeting.
Should be Flexible
Freelancing requires flexibility in work. That’s why a freelancer should be flexible in his work time. Mostly, a client gives his freelancer a maximum of 30 to 40 hours of work in a week. However, a freelancer should be ready to get more workload to overcome the client’s tension regarding his business work. It will be more beneficial for the freelancer to share the burden of his client and make a good relationship between them for the future. If the client wants to do an additional meeting other than their scheduled meeting, the freelancer must be ready to attend it.
Networking Skills
As freelancing is a business, the freelancer must create an excellent network to enhance his business. Good networking skills are required to do so. A freelancer must advertise his services to different working and social media platforms. It will create more of his relations to the market of his particular field. For example, if he is An Accountant freelancer, he must make his relations to the accounting and auditing firms to enhance his work.
Freelancing Platforms
When a person wants to work as a freelancer, he always needs clarification about which platform to choose. There needs to be a proper guideline about different websites or platforms available for new freelancers. That’s why new freelancers always waste their time and money and lose hope. Here, I’m only writing the name of some freelancing platforms. I’ll briefly discuss these platforms in my upcoming articles. I’ll also talk about the most valuable and profitable platform for freelancing.
Some freelancing platforms are:
- Upwork
- Fiverr
- Toptal
- Freelancer.com
- Jooble
- Guru.com
- Flexjobs
- People per hour
- 99designs
- simplyhired
- Dribble
- Servicescape
Conclusion
Due to the rapidly growing internet services worldwide, business and job trends changed quickly. Young, educated people are adopting freelancing as a serious career. Technology and advancement in internet facilities move freelancing upward. Moreover, freelancers are more efficient and skilled workers than local employees. Due to these reasons, Freelancing will become the work industry’s future in the next few years.
FAQ
How to Start Freelancing?
Here some essential points to Start Freelancing:
- Define your niche
- Target your clients
- Write about the pricing plans.
- Create your portfolio with past experiences
- Write a great proposal to attract clients.
- Create a good relationship with your clients for the future.
- Continue developing new skills
What is freelancing?
Freelancing is a job or work in which a person works for a Client or company without becoming its permanent employee. Freelancing is self-employment, in which a person delivers his service to a company/client on a project/contract basis without becoming a salaried worker of the company.
Who is a freelancer?
“A person who offers his expertise and does work for the client on a project basis is called a freelancer.” We also called him a self-employed Person or an independent contract worker of the company.
What are the Qualities of successful freelancers?
The most important qualities of a successful freelancer are:
- Self-discipline
- Time management
- Self-Motivation
- Professionalism
- Should be Flexible
- Networking Skills