It has been an awesome experience riding through the year; everybody getting ready to close out for the year already. As a freelancer, it is a time to have your loved ones around while you wrap up with jobs that you don’t want to carry over till next year.
We tend to see more news and updates during this period as people try to meet up with their plans to achieve certain goals and objectives. Coming across so much interesting news on various popular freelance platforms including the Freelance Life website, here is my review of the most exciting topics from the first half of December.
Upwork Freelancer Turned Side-Hustle into $1 Million Business
Source: Essence
The first story I found on the platform Essence is about Courtney Allen, who is a founder of a presentation agency 16X9, and also experiencing the millennial dream, venturing to the far corners of the planet while rounding up $1 million in income making every moment count. She started as a freelancer selling her skill in corporate PowerPoint expanding into the global independent freelance space. There she tracked down a goldmine of clients, including Adobe, Home and P&G.
Courtney is one of 58 million Americans who dumped the limits of the conventional job role and work-from-home adaptability of freelancing; utilizing platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, clients can hire their skills including visual digital design and programming. As indicated by a reliable source, a fourth of Gen Z and 28% of Millennial freelancers desire to transition their remote work into a corporate profession.
She has understood that fantasy and presently she’s enabling other freelancers to experience what they have witnessed. Today, she now has her dream team, an executive team of black women who is capable of creating engaging presentations, pitch decks for startups and templates for corporate documents. This I think is a huge success for a woman freelancer.
Related Posts:
How To Successfully Scale Your Business
To empower other freelancers who are ambitious and ready to live out their dreams, she spelt out the following steps she adopted to grow her business into a seven-figure company.
- Build Capacity
She has a team spread across three continents which allows her to follow an approach that provides an ever-ready on-demand presentation service. Building an agency will help to increase capacity that can handle any request.
- Set Clear Expectations
All new clients receive a proposal for written approval. This specifies the scope, timeline, budget, and when the express rate will be applied which makes project expectations crystal clear. Also, she provides updates on projects as they relate to allotted hours and budget.
- Track Progress and Timelines
Her top unrecoverable cost was underestimating projects. We can estimate most projects quickly and accurately by combining Harvest, a time-tracking and reporting application, with a rate sheet and an Excel cost calculator. She maintains proper and clean monthly records and metrics. This will definitely make her more accountable.
- Build Relationships
She has had some Upwork clients for several years, talked to them personally and expressed her gratitude when she has the chance to do so. In turn, the clients inform their colleagues and other business owners and they even offer her team new jobs. That’s a great approach to acquiring more clients if I am asked.
Freelancers Become Successful By Making These Decisions
Source: Freelance Life
Here is an amazing article I want to share with us from our very own platform, Freelance Life. In the bid to ensure career and personal growth in the right direction, freelancers must make both short-term and long-term brilliant choices. However, observations have shown that certain decisions, particularly in freelancing can make you a successful person. I will be uncovering some of the essential decisions successful freelancers today must have made to get to where they are today.
Successful Freelancers Are Consistent With Essential Small Decisions
Every positive habit will benefit your entire freelancing career. Whatever good thing you do, no matter how small, try to make it your everyday habit. Successful freelancers prepare for their daily work the night before. Those who are well-organized acknowledge the importance of planning, organizing and developing daily schedules. This can apply to any aspect of a freelancer’s life – whether it’s your morning chores, taking some time off and exercising or preparing breakfast.
Great Men Make Smart Decisions in The Morning
Big decisions necessitate a small amount of time devoted to deliberation. Never make major decisions or have serious conversations with clients late at night. According to psychologists, this is a rule for everyone, but it is essentially important if it is related to your career. Aside from major decisions, you should prioritize more difficult tasks for the early hours of the day. This will help you get over tasks without feeling mental or physical stress. I think morning is also a good time for complex issues as your brain and retention capability is still on the high side.
Great Freelancers Think Big
This applies not only to clients but to your entire career. Yes, it is beneficial to consider all aspects of freelancing in the long run. Focus on building strong relationships with clients. Don’t promise something you can’t deliver just to impress the client at first. Say what you can do and then deliver such high-quality results. Don’t just try to complete a project, get paid, and then flee. Although it may appear easy at the time, your work quality will suffer in the long run, and your professionalism will fade.
Professional Freelancers Take Charge of Their Health, Emotions and Personal Life
Successful freelancers are happy and fulfilled workers. It is good to earn massively and become a professional writer but never forget to attend to certain areas which have implications for the project you are working on. For the fact that you will be working for a huge amount of time, endeavour to find a physical activity you love. You can also get a gym near your home, do frequent check-ups and make breaks during your working hours.
Successful Freelancers Recognize Quality Clients and Pay Attention to Feedback
The type of clients you work for has to be aligned with your finances, emotions, and mental health in addition to your budget. Over time, you’ll learn to identify quality and professional clients, which actually goes hand in hand with your sense of self-respect. Another crucial thing to keep in mind is to accept criticism graciously. Be aware that receiving negative feedback does not diminish your capabilities, it will only let you know what went wrong, how to improve and what to change about your offerings.
Job Insecurity: In Times of Mass Layoffs; Is Freelancing The Future?
Source: Campaign Asia
Job security is now considered an illusion, as seen by the thousands of layoffs from tech companies in a couple of weeks. How will this affect the future of employment and what comes next for the talents affected? Campaign Asia recently had a discussion with Roy Tan, based in Singapore who, up until a week ago, worked for Meta at their Asia-Pacific headquarters, shared his thought saying he thinks this is just the start and we will continue to see more layoffs in 2023.
Tan was one of the 11,000 Meta employees who lost their jobs as a result of the layoffs. This was revealed to employees by Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, via video call earlier this month. Worldwide, more than 135,000 tech workers have lost jobs as a result of cutbacks by US tech companies.
Will Agencies Benefit From Big Tech’s Loss?
There have been several talks as to why there were layoffs, reasons including the economic downturn, greater competition, decreased advertising spending, hiring spree, and lack of empathy. The market is currently saturated with skills, but the ultimate impact is that many people have lost their means of livelihood, leaving worries about where they will go next.
One potential effect for people in marketing and communications professions is that a talent drain from tech firms will return to agencies if agencies are now viewed as being safer and I think tech people will continue to strive for similar roles in the same space. Tan is contemplating his choices while taking a brief break until the new year.
Is The Future Freelance?
Many have advocated freelancing as a way to get more control and greater job stability. Freelancing is intimidating, yet it gives you the chance to collaborate with international networks. So, what lies ahead? Tash Menon, who works with freelance teams, thinks that freelancing is unquestionably the way of the future. Creatives crave the freedom to select work that makes them happy. Workforce engagement and results focus is increased when personal interests are combined with professional expertise.
How Can Freelancers Standout Amid Increased Competition?
As a freelancer, you must be able to pinpoint your special qualities, including your key strengths and areas where you have consistently achieved success. Being a successful freelancer is a skill on its own and making certain decisions must be deliberate and not accidental. You must understand how your time, experience, and ultimately your abilities will directly drive the outcomes a client seeks.
12 Days of Freelancer Tips
Source: Freelance Informer
A freelancer’s work schedule may get busy at this time of the year. Clients are under pressure to complete and approve projects quickly. While balancing holiday preparations at home and meeting client needs. For freelancers, this time of year may be extremely busy. Here are some suggestions I found on the famous freelance platform Freelance Informer, for maximizing the holiday season and preparing you for the new year;
- Get Invoices Out
Always confirm if you have not missed invoicing a client. Anyone sending work should attach the invoice and clearly designate the subject line with the words “INVOICE” in capital letters, your firm name, and the invoice number. It’s a good idea to politely request that they make sure your invoice is processed before they close out for the year.
- Get Up Earlier To Beat The Rush
You can concentrate on chores that are high on your priority when you rise an hour or two earlier than usual. This extra hour can help you cross items off your to-do list. It could also be a moment when you squeeze in some necessary exercise or a healthy breakfast because you have meetings and deadlines that day.
- Boost Productivity by Getting Rid of Distractions
This tip is relevant all year long, but it’s especially important before the holidays. Informing your clients that you will not be available for a specific period can help reassure them that you are still checking their emails and texts.
- Change Your Work Environment
If you usually work from home, occasionally leaving the house can help you see things from a different angle. If you work remotely with a laptop and can find a library, cafe, or hotel lobby to work from, it can also help you save money on energy costs.
- Update Your Portfolio
Now that another year is passing, you have a fresh portfolio of work to present to potential customers. Make the most of your free time by updating your work portfolio.
- Start Marketing Your Services
Before the year runs out, sow the marketing seed. Your presence will have a better chance of being ingrained in the minds of new and potential customers. You can make use of LinkedIn to establish your brand.
- Delegate Like a Pro
One critical competency shared by the most prosperous freelancers and small business owners is the ability to delegate. They grow their enterprises more quickly than others and appear to have more free time to spend with friends and family and pursue their passions.
- Think Big; New System
Now is a good time to think about how you will let customers know that your prices will be rising in 2023 while maintaining a high standard of service and even adding some new offerings.
- Take Out Procrastination
Developing better emotional control can help you keep distractions at bay and arrange your work so they feel more important and less stressful.
- Create an Agreement/Advanced Payment Form
I’ll suggest freelancers working for new clients provide some guarantee for themselves and their customers that will make both parties feel safe and secure.
- Cherish Your Time
You don’t want to work nonstop over the holidays only to submit the job and the invoice and discover that the client is unable to make the required payment.
- Look Back At Your Accomplishment
Don’t forget to take a moment during Christmas to think back on your accomplishments for the year. Do not let the things that didn’t go as planned move you. Move on, take what you can from it, and make an effort not to put yourself in that situation again.
Freelancers Today Have More Options Than Ever Before
Source: Entrepreneur
Freelancing, as we know it, really took off in the twenty-first century. According to a 2017 Upwork research, since 2014, the growth of the freelance workforce has increased at a faster rate than the growth of the entire U.S. workforce. It was also predicted that by 2027, the bulk of Americans’ jobs would be filled by freelancers.
These interesting facts are gotten from the website Entrepreneurs. The freelance revolution has finally come to fruition as a result of the pandemic. The number of independent contractors in the United States alone is expected to reach over 90 million by 2028, accounting for more than half of the workforce.
Why Freelancers Have More Options Than Ever Before
Why then has freelancing grown to the point where it’s regarded as the future of work? Here is why;
- Technological Advancement
The prevalence of freelancing will increase as technology develops. As a result, there are many different types of workers, skills, and occupations accessible. Technical and artistic abilities are typically required in that order. Automation has brought to light a fast-expanding skills gap in the sectors of artificial intelligence, encryption, big data, the Internet of Things, and robotics. For many businesses, it might be challenging to fill positions that call for these particular talents.
For the foreseeable future, there will be a high demand for big data professionals, Analysts, AI Machine Learning Experts, Software Engineers, and IT security Analysts. Freelancers with these skills have a lot of options to fill in gaps with contract work because it is relatively available. They may also pick and choose which businesses to engage with and how they spend their time.
- Expansion Into Other Industries
Small businesses are aware that they can take advantage of freelance marketplace dynamics. Consequently, it affects all facets of the economy, including all skill sets. Practically, in every skill area that can be performed in front of a computer, freelancers are always in high demand.
- People Are Choosing To Freelance
According to a survey done by FlexJobs, people most frequently prefer to freelance to achieve a healthier work-life balance. Seventy per cent of respondents claimed that they wanted a balance between their professional and personal goals is the reason they want to work freelance.
- Creativity and Deeper Talent Pool
Exposure to worldwide marketplaces and different industries makes it easier to access varied cultures and practices in all professions. As a result, freelancers can modify their activities and projects to fit various markets and grow their businesses.
- Cost Reduction
The freelance lifestyle enables individuals to save money because they are not required to commute to work or purchase expensive meals, clothing, or other necessities. Employers can spend less money by using freelancers as needed rather than recruiting a full-time employee or an internal team.
