Are you a freelancer and you love what you do? If the answer is yes, I bet you’d want to see what this edition of the review has to say. The freelance world keeps growing and evolving, you need to keep yourself updated with these selections of the most educational and important news you should read as a freelancer.
Here are trending and interesting news from the first two weeks in the month of May. Get a seat, grab your favourite snack and drink, and enjoy the soothing feeling of a well-tailored review that complements the moment. Cheers!
7 Reasons Why Freelancing is the Future of the Work Industry
Source: MakeUseOf
The first news here is from the famous platform, MakeUseOf which talks about the 7 reasons why freelancing is the future of the work industry and why you need to up your game in the freelance world.
More people are seeing freelancing as a real alternative to the typical 9–5 job, while many people used to think of it as something they’d do to pay the bills between two jobs. Establishing yourself as a freelancer has several advantages, including the chance to diversify your income and take control of your life.
To expand, more businesses are also seeking qualified freelance graphic designers, writers, and other professionals. Freelance work and freelancers may continue to grow throughout the rest of the 2020s and beyond. The main reasons have been outlined below:
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1. Technological Advancements
Technological improvements have made it simpler for businesses to collaborate with freelancers. Businesses can now recruit skilled contractors to work remotely with them from anywhere in the globe, and they are no longer limited to the local market. Even advancements in AI will improve businesses in the aspect of efficiency and enable them to be more specific about who they hire.
2. Networking Opportunities
For people who don’t want to attend conventional networking events, freelancing offers several networking options. Through various social media platforms, like LinkedIn and Twitter, you may interact with company owners and important figures in some of the greatest corporations in the world.
3. Scalability
Start-up businesses sometimes need to grow rapidly within a short time due to the tough competition in the business world, especially if they have received investment cash. A full-time employee requires a lot of time and money to train, and they might not have the expertise a small firm needs to advance.
4. Work-Life Balance
It’s not strange that many people, especially skilled workers, are choosing to become self-employed given that freelancers have the flexibility to establish their hours and frequently work from home. Freelancing may free up more time in your schedule so that you can devote more time to your interests and loved ones, in addition to saving hours and money on daily commutes.
5. Freelancing means not putting all eggs in one basket
The notion that working as a freelancer is less secure than having a regular job isn’t always true in today’s world. Several people who had regular 9 to 5 jobs were laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic, although there is some risk involved in freelancing, many individuals believe that it is best to diversify their sources of income.
6. Freelancers are often less expensive for companies to hire
The amount of money made by freelancers varies greatly, and it also relies on the Country in which you reside. However, if you have the appropriate processes in place, you may make more money than you ever could with a regular job. The advantages for businesses are also numerous because hiring freelancers is frequently less expensive than hiring permanent workers.
7. Freelancing offers several self-development opportunities
Although a full-time job may teach you a lot, freelancers frequently need to pick up new skills rapidly that they might not have otherwise considered. As a freelancer, you may develop a plethora of professional talents. You will improve your art and learn new marketable skills, including managing social media accounts and comprehending various audiences. Other useful skills that freelancers usually have to pick up include: Resilience, Sales, Communication, and Empathy.
‘It’s Bad, It’s Gone Quiet’: How To Rescue Your Freelancing If This is Happening to You
Source: Creativeboom
A recent survey conducted by Creativeboom on freelancers shows that many of them are going through tough times. Over 40% of freelancers chose the response that best reflected the experiences of Creativeboom followers out of the four options: “It’s bad, it’s gone quiet.”
17.1% selected “It’s neither good nor bad,” 16.7% replied “Not sure,” and barely around a quarter (26%) selected “It’s good, work is steady” as the alternative response. That indicates that in 2023, about 75 percent of freelancers will not prosper, which is not a situation that any freelancer should be content with.
In the end, you can’t depend on other people or even governments to help you through trying times like this. You must rely on yourself. And as a freelancer, marketing plays a big part in it. Specifically, promoting your brand and image. How do you get there then? Continue reading to learn about the phases of developing your brand:
1. Define your unique selling proposition (USP)
Your USP is the special mix of skills, knowledge, and character traits that distinguishes you from your competitors. You must ask yourself, “What are my strengths as a creative professional?” to identify them. What areas or specialized talents do I excel in? What aspects of my work do clients constantly compliment or value? Once you can answer all these questions truthfully, then every other thing will align.
2. Be yourself
Your USP includes more than just the particular skills you offer. Your personality is the other crucial component. After all, people do employ people. They desire interpersonal contact. One that occasionally incorporates banter or jokes that are foolish.
3. Be authentic
Being all things to all people is tempting when work gets busy. However, trying to assume what customers want and then trying to give it to them is ultimately the worst thing you can do since they will quickly detect any lack of authenticity. Have fun being you, as photographer, designer, and artist Mark Leary suggests. The majority of fascinating and quirky creatives stand out more for their inventiveness than for a certain look.
4. Draw on past clients
Getting referrals and references from current consumers is one of the finest ways to locate new customers. According to Rachel White of House of DIY, “Reach out to current and past clients and ask them what they loved about working with you.” Then, rather than merely highlighting the things you provide, use this to demonstrate what it’s like to work with you. By doing this, you will not only draw in new customers but also those that share your ideals.
5. Draw on your network
In a similar vein, you could consider using your contacts in the creative industry including coworkers and collaborators to get employment. According to Dave Ellis, the creator of the motion design firm, Everything’s Fine Today, “Your network is everything.” You will always find a job if you create an incredible network.
6. Think local, not global
Social media should make it possible for you to reach a larger audience with your work. Given all the noise, how many people are looking, though? Therefore, it could be best for you to hunt for clients locally.
How this Entrepreneur turned $4k in savings into a freelancing startup
Source: Bizjournal
The popular freelance platform, Bizjournal brings us a story of a freelancer turned Entrepreneur. The story goes thus. Twelve years ago, a holiday party and a savings account launched at a Durham firm. Today, it resembles a hybrid between a creative agency and a contract employment company, demonstrating to businesses of all sizes that productivity need not equate to a 9 to 5 job.
With $4,000 in savings, designer-turned-entrepreneur Maari Casey founded Uncompany. For the first year, she created a website and she said “Everything I made was put back into the business.” Now, it is a network of over 2,000 freelancers that generates income for businesses, assisting them in creating what Casey refers to as a “flexible workforce.”
From Freelancing to Entrepreneurship
Before relocating to the Triangle and beginning a position with the creative firm McKinney in Durham in 2005, Casey began her career in advertising and design as a freelancer, working all across the country. But the kind of job and the pace of the work, she continued, “weren’t fitting with the lifestyle I wanted outside of work.” She returned to freelancing in 2009 as a result, and she soon learned she wasn’t by herself. I was thinking, “There are just so many people out there,” as I was doing it. It was quite decentralized, according to her. “There was nothing bringing opportunities or people together.”
The Startup
Over time, it developed into a tech-centred firm that could handle the process and provide freelancers who could work remotely, freelancers who could work on-site, and freelance teams to businesses seeking a flexible workforce. For a client’s project, Uncompany can develop a talent pool. The customer gets direct access to the pool through the program. The back end is handled by Uncompany, including billing, taxes, and insurance regulations. The client pays the charge, not the freelancers.
Uncompany has been revenue positive since year one by operating leanly—the business currently employs two full-time employees and wants to recruit a third—according to Casey. Leaning on automation, the business has often increased its revenue by a factor of two, “so we can do a larger book of business, but with less fixed costs.”
The Uncompany pool now numbers close to 2,500 freelancers. This is a big win for her, I must say. Her words of wisdom for those considering scaling the freelance cliff are to keep an open mind and leverage the network created already.
Wefreelancer Global Tech launches Revolutionary Freelancing Marketplace with Supcoin ICO
Source: Einnews
A highly automated approach for working together safely and securely in a decentralized marketplace is provided by Wefreelancer Marketplace. Einnews shares the intention of the tech hub to revolutionize the freelancing marketplace with Supcoin ICO.
Wefreelancer Global Tech, Inc. is pleased to announce the impending launch of its freelancing marketplace, Supelle, an umbrella company under it where jobs are found for freelancers and solutions are provided to individual problems. The platform will feature Supcoin (SUP) as its initial coin offering to provide a thorough algorithmic guide to ensure the safety and security of all clients and freelancers.
Kristen Bragoli, vice president, shared her enthusiasm: “Supelle is devoted to linking ideas to developers, services to buyers, buyers to individual freelancers, and organizations globally, to obtain their amazing ideas and projects across a wide spectrum of freelancers. With Supcoin as our initial coin offering, we are happy to provide thorough algorithmic guidance to protect the interests of all investors in the freelance ecosystem.
Compared to an IPO, ICO offers several benefits. Companies can generate money through crowdfunding techniques called initial coin offerings (ICOs) by selling investors digital tokens or coins. Since ICOs are less regulated than IPOs, businesses may raise money more rapidly, with fewer regulatory obstacles, and by appealing to a larger pool of possible investors.
The Wefreelancer Decentralized Marketplace offers unrivalled flexibility and independence for freelancers and customers to collaborate from anywhere in the globe, in any currency they want. It runs as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization. This dismantles boundaries, provides a level of flexibility and openness never before possible, and enables people and freelancers from all nations to take part in the global economy.
By the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, the business is projected to be operational, and at that time, revenue generation is anticipated. Supelle’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO) expressed enthusiasm for the new paradigm of equality and access to employment opportunities around the world, saying, “With Supelle operating under Wefreelancer, we aim to connect freelancers and clients seamlessly, offering a secure and innovative platform to boost the freelance economy.”
4 Things you should never do if You Are a Freelancer
Source: Fool.com
If you are just starting in the freelancing sector and wondering if you have what it takes to succeed, the popular freelance platform, Fool.com has outlined a few mistakes to avoid. Avoiding these things will not ensure a happy freelance life, but it will make it simpler to build one.
The following are the 4 things you should never do if you are s freelancer:
1. Neglect your Taxes
The first is important. If you work for yourself, you will owe Uncle Sam taxes four times a year, in January, April, June, and September. You mustn’t neglect to make those projected quarterly tax payments, since you will be punished if you do. Remember that your company will deduct taxes from your paycheck if you are a W-2 employee, but your clients will not if you are a freelancer.
2. Stop growing your skills
You may have had the opportunity to study and advance in your discipline as a paid employee through professional development that was supported and financed by your company. However, if you work as a freelancer, you will have similar opportunities, but you will have to do more homework. Join groups on social media for your career or area of expertise (such as Facebook and LinkedIn). Seek contacts with industry leaders (again, LinkedIn is excellent for this), and if you can fit seminars and conferences (virtual or in person) into your calendar, do so.
3. Live without cash savings
Making sure you have a substantial emergency fund saved up is one of the best things you can do for yourself before quitting your paid job. Three to six months’ worth of expenses is the conventional advice for an emergency fund, but this is based on the assumption that you will have access to unemployment insurance in the event you lose your job.
4. Skip taking time off work
You are not paid for your time off as a freelancer. You cannot earn money if you are not working. And as a result, you could believe that you can never take time off from work. Therefore, what is the solution? Try to take a vacation to another country with your laptop in case you need to work a little. If you can get someone to make your breakfast for you while you work, that would be fantastic.
There are so many golden opportunities out there for freelancers. Apart from being able to control your work hours, you also earn a tangible amount of money with zero amount spent on commuting. This allows you to save a substantial amount of money every month once you get paid. Enjoy the Freelance world by following all the guidelines outlined in this episode of news review.
