The freelance life has a certain charm: better time management, more autonomy, the possibility of building an ideal balance between work and leisure … Perhaps also for this reason, after the experience of the pandemic and its effects on the culture of work, in the course of 2021 approximately 549,500 new VAT numbers were opened: 18.2% more than in 2020, during which however it had occurred. a decline (data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance). For Pietro Novelli, Country Manager Italy of recruiting firm Oliver James, this is the other side of the Great Resignation: «According to our estimates, today 3 out of 10 candidates we contact for open job positions, approach the interview declaring that they are willing to accept the position only as a freelancer. And the figure becomes even more relevant, reaching 75%, if we analyze the “undecided”, that is, those who, during the interview or screening, find out about the possibilities of contract employment ». According to the company’s findings, this happens mainly with Developers, Software Architects, Cyber Security experts, Data Scientists, Data Engineers and IT professionals in general.
Whether you embrace life as a freelancer by your own desire or by forced choice (the invitation, at the limit of legality, to open a VAT number in response to a dismissal or to adapt to the needs of the workplace is a phenomenon that continues to exist ), obviously it won’t be just roses and flowers. And it’s good to come prepared. The founders of Freelancecamp Italia, a long-lived project dedicated to the reality of independent work, born ten years ago from an idea by Miriam Bertoli, Gianluca Diegoli and Alessandra Farabegoli, provide some advice to those who are considering moving on to work on their own. “At the time, after different work paths, we were all three freelancers and we were thinking together about the difficulties and opportunities of our new position”, says Farabegoli. “We had several years of work experience behind us, yet moving from working as an employee or in a structure to working alone involved a series of change factors to think about”.
The Freelancecamp was born from these premises, but over time it has evolved and structured more and more. The very first initiative proposed is a simple day of informal discussions on the subject of independent work in Marina Romea, which gathers about 50 adhesions among the people who were part of the network and social contacts of the founders. Participants increase (the third edition already reaches 200) and in 2017 the appointments outside Romagna are inaugurated: first Rome, then Lecce … Always remaining faithful to the original spirit of the initiative: to create a moment of confrontation, self- training and limited number of meetings, informal, useful and also pleasant, which makes those who participate feel welcomed. “We don’t have the ambition to become the freelance union,” explain the founders. “We are interested in discussion and collective sharing, including opportunities, but always in a logic of community and not of economic marketplace”.
Then comes 2020. “The pandemic has disrupted everyone’s life, but it has also normalized things we had talked about for years: having an office at home, working remotely, coordinating flexibly, using digital to optimize work … It was even more necessary to continue to reason and confront each other. This is why we have transformed what until then had only been face-to-face events into a permanent, membership-based community that meets online every month “. Today Freelancecamp Italia is, in fact, a community of about 2000 people that keeps in constant contact. It is a series of recurring networking and collective training events. It is also a site which collects the stories of various freelancers and a video library of all the talks proposed from 2015 to today.
Among the participants in the project, among other things, sometimes there are people still without VAT, interested in understanding if and how to take the plunge. “There is no single way to become and freelance, but many possible solutions: the more experiences are shared, the more we can understand which is the right way for us”, say the founders. So what are the things to know to be prepared for the (eventual) decision to change the way of working?
Following the heart is thrilling, but devising a plan is better. The first thing to ask yourself, explains Diegoli, is what kind of freelancer you want to be: «Not everyone, especially at the beginning, takes care of the entire“ supply chain ”, from customer research to invoicing». One option may be to position yourself as an expert in a particular industry and collaborate externally with a company.
«You need to have ideas about what value can be offered, to whom, how to offer it and how to sell it. We must also be aware of the fact that we must know how to organize ourselves and make ends meet », adds Farabegoli.
«Normally you need to play only one role in a company, basically the one we have studied for, and there is an entire structure around that takes care of the other aspects. When you become a freelancer, however, you have to be the administrator, the economist, the marketer, the person who manages the negotiations at the same time … and in addition to do the work for which you are paid », explains Farabegoli. It is a crucial issue and particularly discussed in Freelancecamps in all its nuances, from optimal budget management to the best practical tools for organizing work.
One of the reasons for the continuing success of Freelancecamp is certainly the fact that it responds to a widespread need among self-employed people: to break down loneliness and create connections. “When you are addicted, the community is your colleagues, but when you are a freelance you potentially don’t have one”, comments Bertoli. Building a community is useful because it improves the quality of life, enriches the sphere of relationships (human, even before professional) and can foster new opportunities. But it’s not just about this: counting on a network of contacts in our own work situation allows us to share difficulties, doubts and problems. And, of course, the solutions.
Money is the taboo par excellence. The restless sleep of many freelancers is plagued by recurring questions that you don’t dare to ask aloud: how much should I get paid? Am I asking too much or too little? How long do I need to live? How should I set up the quote? Those who intend to switch to self-employment, therefore, be ready to overcome any reluctance in dealing with the topic of money. Again, sharing experiences with other colleagues helps.
In companies, there is usually someone who takes care of this aspect for employees, offering training courses, workshops or events. As a freelancer, on the other hand, you need to take care of it independently. The long-term alternative is to exit the market.
«This too is something to know!» Jokes Bertoli. But there is a grain of truth in the joke: “The positive points of being freelance make it very difficult to go back to work as an employee, when this eventuality arises for various life needs”. All warned, then: despite everything, being freelance can be addictive.
Source: Vanity Fair
