Freelancing means to work as an independent company rather than be employed by someone else. Freelancers are self-employed and often referred to as independent contractors.
Not only is it more popular to become a freelancer than ever before, but companies are getting more and more comfortable hiring freelancers rather than full-time employees. It’s also an incredible new challenge where you’ll need to learn everything about running your own business.
A lot of jobs can be done remotely, and companies don’t need to provide the same financial or healthcare benefits to freelancers as they do full time employees.
So maybe it’s time for YOU to become self-employed and start a freelancing business.
The easiest way to go freelance is to choose a job that uses the skills you already have. But if that’s not possible for you, you’ll need to be willing to upskill. Here are a few places you can start to gain the skills you need.
Why People Turn Freelancers
Becoming a freelancer is an exciting move for your career. You’re embarking on a new adventure where you’ll be able to make your own decisions about what you work on, when you work, and where you work from. There’s a huge opportunity for you to be your own boss and make a living on your own terms.
Freelancing provides a lot of flexibility and control to the individual. Most freelancers choose their own hours, the work that they do, the clients they work with, and may even be able to work remotely.
Business Model behind Freelancing
Freelancers accept payment in return for providing some sort of service. That agreement is generally part-time or short term.
For example, if I hired a photographer to take new headshots for me, I could pay a freelancer for that session and that would be the end of it.
Sometimes people pay freelancers to work a set number of hours per week or per month. That arrangement is often referred to as a “retainer.”
A retainer refers to when you retain the services or right to someone’s time. A lot of legal professionals work on retainer. Every month, they bill a set amount of time to the client, regardless of whether that full time is used or not.
It’s really one of the simplest and most pure forms of entrepreneurship: the freelancer provides a specific service or outcome, and the buyer pays them a fee directly.
How Much You can Earn as a Freelancer
the median freelance income is $20-28 per hour. Of course with so many different freelance jobs available, that number can vary quite a bit.
Transcription services may only earn $5-10 per hour, while software engineering roles may earn $75 or even hundreds of dollars per hour.
It’s best to compare the freelance rates of your particular skill set to get a good estimate of the expected income you could earn as a freelancer. Depending on your level of expertise, it’s possible to work part-time hours but make full-time pay.
Best Freelancing Platforms for getting projects
Freelancing platforms are incredible way of getting projects & growing your business. Another way is to sign up for a freelancing website. There are plenty of them, and you can search and start applying for jobs that you are fit for. These sites have a customer base that is always looking for freelancers. Some freelancing sites offer different membership levels for freelancers. I am sharing most incredible platform for your freelance business.
Upwork :
Upwork has over 12 million registered freelancers and about 30 million jobs available every year, making them one of the biggest freelance service platform.
They host everything from hourly-paid gigs with start-ups, to larger projects with some seriously high-profile clients, too.
