Today, freelancing most often means periodic remote work via the Internet. It is usually in any way connected with the IT industry – the creation, refinement and promotion of sites, filling online stores and other sites, design, contextual and targeted advertising, as well as other marketing mechanisms, maintaining social networks and many, many others. At the time of this writing, I have been conducting professional activities in this field for eight years and do not plan to return to traditional hired labor. My work is often quite difficult, but very interesting.
Freelancing, it seems to me, is a cross between traditional hired labor and your own business. That is why, before turning your life in his direction, it is important to answer yourself a number of questions. They will help you understand whether such a mechanism for conducting professional activities is suitable for you.
Which direction to go?
Yes, first you need to think several times about the direction that you want to do in the freelance format. There are quite primitive ways to make money remotely: it happens that they are willing to pay even for imitation of communication on forums with a narrow topic – for example, automobiles. However, the more unskilled remote work seems, the less generously it is paid. I advise you to pay attention to software development in any of the current languages, testing the written software and everything related to this area. Yes, the initial training will definitely take at least a year, but the prospects are worth it.
Which countries to work with?
Most often, for remote professional activities, you do not need to be in the city or even the country of your customer. On the one hand, this is a big plus, because any in-demand freelancer who has yet to become has an excellent opportunity to choose between a very wide range of employers. On the other hand, it is also important to take into account the potential presence of a language barrier, the legal nuances of interaction with the relevant company, the amount of remuneration, as well as the possibility of receiving remuneration for their work without the restrictions that the border can create. All this needs to be clarified in advance.
How much do you need to study?
If you are going to continue to engage in exactly the same professional activity in which you cooked in the framework of regular employment, you will not have to learn much. However, in this case, you are unlikely to read such material, which is intended for those who are just starting to think about freelancing. According to personal experience and the results of others, it takes at least a year to gain a foothold in any direction. If you devote all your free time to a new business, after 12 months you can reach the junior level and start getting paid for your work. Of course, you need to understand that this indicator is purely subjective and fairly average.
Where to find the first orders?
There could be a list of freelance exchanges that are designed to connect customers and performers. However, there is a feeling that today they are absolutely ineffective. On the one hand, they are visited by companies that want to get the service practically free of charge. On the other hand, so green “specialists” often get here that they cannot sensibly complete the task at all. First, I advise you to find one large customer, with whom it will turn out to grow. Something like an agency is also suitable, within the framework of which it will be possible to develop systematically. If you come to freelance as a professional, then the ways of finding clients should be appropriate – targeting, context, and so on.
How not to be left without funds?
I have already noted above that I have been in free swimming for about eight years. During this time, professionally, there was a lot. It happened that physically I could not cope with the entire volume of work, even with a strong desire. It also happened that there were no tasks at all for several weeks. During all this time, I understood well that, as in doing business, with free remote employment, there should be a so-called airbag behind your back. We are talking about a certain amount of funds, which should be enough for at least 2-3 months of comfortable existence. There is no other way out, because a stable salary in freelancing is usually out of the question.
How long do you work overtime?
Many people mistakenly believe that freelancing is a great way to provide yourself with a stable income with minimal employment at any convenient time. This is a big mistake. I wondered how long I would work overtime for many times, and did not find a single suitable answer. It simply does not exist. A free schedule usually results in more time spent on work, not less. I try to invest in 8-9 hours of daily amusement, but this is often simply not enough. When working remotely with a free schedule, it is important to create this schedule for yourself. Otherwise, you can easily face burnout, which will not lead to anything good.
Where to get the necessary equipment?
It is important to understand that when working remotely in a freelance format, you will most often have to buy all the necessary equipment yourself. A laptop, a smartphone, a graphics tablet, a camera, even a comfortable chair for productive work – all this will have to be borne by yourself. Usually only very experienced and extremely valuable cadres can count on being provided with objects of labor. Newcomers are rarely ready for the fact that they will have to pay regularly out of pocket for all material support. I will not say anything about the fact that not everyone is ready to carry out professional activities from home, and you will have to pay for a separate place in a common office or coworking space.
How to plan and motivate?
Scheduling the timely completion of the assigned tasks is an extremely important point. You need to learn how to give the customer realistic deadlines and adhere to them clearly. Otherwise, it will hardly be possible to do without regular misunderstandings – a “professional” who does not know how to plan his time, no one will take seriously. It is also important to develop tools for personal motivation. Yes, with regular work with one large customer, you can occasionally receive bonuses for some success, but usually you have to do it yourself. The praise can be some material benefit or an interesting pastime. I myself often reward myself with some kind of gadgets.
How do you do business officially?
Another good question that many people don’t even think about right away. In the post-Soviet space, all tax issues for employees are usually decided by the employer. Therefore, when switching to free navigation, the official registration of activities for most becomes a surprise. At first, you can try to close this issue through the agencies that have already been mentioned above in the text. These often act as an intermediary between a Western customer (for example, from Europe or the USA) and local freelancers. Even top-level programmers often resort to such services. Therefore, they are definitely not just for beginners.
What are the risks of free employment?
If the above reflections on the topic of freelancing made me think, then I was not wasting my time writing this text. Independent telecommuting is very similar to owning your own business. Within its framework, it is important to take responsibility and bear the severity of possible risks. Professional freelancing is impossible without regular training, as well as high-quality and efficient work. To stay in demand, you need to improve your level without stopping and bring maximum benefit to the customer and the community. I warmly hope that he fulfilled his duty to the latter himself with the help of this topic, albeit a little, but fulfilled.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
