The freelance market is filled with various activities happening around the world, consisting of one profession or another, and more people are still transitioning into the remote scope of work.
In the year 2022, there are lots of news and articles released every day in the freelance world. Here is my review of some of the remarkable events and topics I found in the last two weeks of the year.
A freelancer is suing Kanye West’s Yeezy brand, claiming she was only paid $15,000 of a $110,000 fee for a photoshoot
Source: Business Insider
Here is an exciting, yet pathetic topic I found on Business Insider about the popular musician, Kanye West, who hired a New York-based creative director, Seri Katelyn Mooney to handle a tightly scheduled photoshoot of his SHDZ sunglasses line in September. According to Mooney, Yeezy did not express any dissatisfaction with her work but instead paid her only $15,000 of the $110,000 price she had negotiated over text messages with Yeezy staff.
On December 7, Mooney lodged a complaint against Yeezy in a New York court. According to the papers, the freelancer invoiced the company and requested payment several times. She further stated that Yeezy’s failure to pay her on time forced her to take out a substantial loan and max her credit cards just to afford her rent and other costs.
The Freelance Isn’t Free Act (FIFA) was passed to address exactly the kind of exploitative conduct that was described in the lawsuit as “this abuse of an independent freelancer.” Business Insider reached out to Mooney and Yeezy’s representatives for comment after regular business hours, but they did not respond right away.
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In recent months, criticism has dogged the rapper’s brand and Adidas ended their collaboration with him in October due to his hateful and dangerous comments on social media. In addition, legal charges against Yeezy date back to 2020 and claim that he owes the state of California $600,000 in overdue taxes. This must be a very trying time for the rapper and the Yeezy Brand.
The freelance workforce is becoming more highly skilled and highly educated
Source: Fast Company
You will have a great time reading through this analysis on Fast Company, as it is quite full of figures and facts. The growing number of full-time freelancers isn’t just made up of those who lost their careers in the last few years due to layoffs or other means. It is often young, educated employees who decide to climb up the ladder all alone. As research reveals, 26% of all freelancers have a postgraduate degree—up from 20% last year, and 43% of Gen Z professionals and 46% of millennial professionals freelanced in the previous year.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans applied to start 5.4 million new businesses in 2021, the highest number ever recorded and a 68% increase over the average for the previous five years. Additionally, millions of people are resorting to freelancing. Roughly 87 million Americans, or up to half of the workforce, will be independent contractors within a few years.
Additionally, the tendency is gaining momentum, according to recent statistics from the freelance marketplace Upwork. According to the survey, 39% of the American workforce engaged in freelance work in some capacity during the past year (an increase of 3% year over year), contributing a staggering $1.35 trillion in profits to the national economy. This is quite a huge number if I was asked.
Weighing Rewards Against the Risk
Freelancing has considerable risks, despite its rising popularity. Many workers must calculate the additional expenses that might have been covered by employers as well as the time required when considering the advantages and cons of leaving a full-time job for a freelance career. Espinal advises considering paid leave, disability compensation, and life insurance when figuring out how to pay for health insurance. Not to mention that they should try their hardest to “understand the ins and outs of contracts,” something many freelancers find difficult.
The choice to begin freelancing full-time may ultimately come down to weighing the benefits and drawbacks. For instance, there is still a gender wage disparity in the freelancing industry, which potential freelancers may need to take into account before making the switch. On the other hand, freelancers can be pickier about the projects they take on and the clients they work for.
Many can forego working partnerships with companies or groups they don’t agree with ideologically or in other ways. Espinal claims that in the end, the benefits typically exceed the drawbacks, which is why an increasing number of individuals have decided to go it alone in recent years. “Freelance work offers the perks people demand, including working from home and having flexible hours.
Freelance Forward 2022
Source: Upwork
The popular freelance platform, Upwork released this inspiring topic speaking to the pandemic’s global move toward remote work. This essentially will alter how the public thinks about work and the workplace and has had a long-lasting influence on how individuals approach their employment and professions. Many professionals are going through a once-in-a-generation re-evaluation of what it means to have a happy job due to the current economic uncertainties and the growth of the movement.
Large segments of the American workforce are challenging the established, conventional ways of working and looking for alternative career paths. As a result, more American workers turned to the freelance options in 2022 as a way to discover greater professional fulfilment, financial stability, and a fresh perspective on controlling their career trajectories.
Growth in Freelancing
In 2022, the freelance economy as a whole kept expanding. A total of 60 million Americans (39% of the workforce) engaged in some sort of freelancing, an increase of 3% over the previous year. Additionally, this growth resulted in a more significant economic impact. Freelancers earned $1.35 trillion annually in 2022, an increase of $50 billion from the previous year.
What are the Growth Drivers?
In addition to seeking a better work-life balance, some professionals were quitting their positions in search of more flexible and rewarding work, while others were exploring their entrepreneurial side and creating a new side hustle. Whatever the cause, the pandemic gave professionals a new perspective on their jobs and careers, inspiring many of them to pursue freelancing.
Higher Satisfaction for Freelancers
Even though professionals freelance for a variety of reasons, the level of job satisfaction is a huge one. 67% of respondents to a survey were more optimistic about their job or career prospects as a freelancer. 66% of freelancers say they feel more stimulated and 68% say they feel happier by the freelance work they do compared to a traditional job. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of freelancers say having more control over their lives has given them more attention to their physical well-being and a better work-life balance.
Essential Steps to Win Clients in a Difficult Market
Source: Freelancers Union
A freelancer’s life might be challenging. To guarantee that you have enough clients to support yourself, you must establish yourself as soon as possible. However, while those with full-time jobs can take company-paid vacation days, for freelancers, a break generally means lost income. But just because something is challenging doesn’t mean freelancers should give up and stop looking for work. According to the article on Freelancers Union, here are helpful guides to win client’s over;
Don’t Neglect Freelance Job Sites
Freelance platforms are great places to get extra work when things are tough, even though some freelancers prefer to find their clients through other channels. As a result of their decreased spending on third parties, you might have lost one or more clients in the near future. To help you balance the books, you may need to achieve some quick wins.
Through websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Flexjobs, you can access a variety of prospective jobs when your favoured client-winning strategies are slowing down. While some websites enable you to identify potential clients, others let you advertise your skills for certain jobs. But it’s also critical to realize that most freelance employment sites will deduct a portion of your payment, so be sure to do your research before applying.
Plan And Continue Charging a Fair Rate
The desire to lower your pricing in an effort to attract more clients can arise when it seems as though business is slowing down due to external reasons like the economy. However, lowering your pricing can send the wrong impression to your clients as well as put you under strain and need you to work more for the same amount of money. It’s important to charge a fair price for your skill and experience, making significant cuts isn’t going to help you in the long run.
Tailor Each Pitch to The Client
You need to give each pitch you send to a potential client a unique touch. Templated pitches are excellent for distributing to a large audience, but a more personalized approach is preferable, especially since people can detect when they have received a communication that is designed for everyone. This is a very useful tip that has helped me in my freelancing career.
Network to Yield Better Results
We must collaborate with others to be successful as freelancers, and there are many methods to do this. Through Facebook Groups, Meet-ups, and events centred on your profession and abilities, social media once more becomes a beneficial tool. Additionally, there are coworking facilities that are frequently occupied by other independent contractors. To ensure you have a variety of employment options, which is crucial for when times are rough, you can look for work possibilities, establish partnerships, and begin expanding your network.
What Does Work/Life Balance Mean for Freelancers?
Source: Worldoffreelancers
The phrase work-life balance is well known. A lot of freelancers try to incorporate this balance into their daily life. The main cause is that a lot of us are confused about what a work-life balance actually entails. How can you successfully achieve a decent work/life balance for yourself if you don’t completely understand what it means and everything that goes into it? On the platform, Worldoffreelancers, a thorough explanation of what work-life balance means was given. After that, is advice on how you, as a freelancer, can strike the ideal balance for your needs.
Meaning of Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance, in its simplest form, refers to the balance you strike between the amount of time you spend working and the amount of time you spend not working. Whether they are aware of it or not, everyone who works maintains some type of work/life balance. It’s kind of an unseen force that can have a significant effect on your physical and mental well-being, relationships with family and friends, and of course, your career.
Even though we might not give it much thought, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial to our happiness. I must confess, striking a healthy balance between personal and work lives can be challenging, everyone just have to find their way around it.
Good versus bad work/life balance
We frequently have positive thoughts when we hear the phrase work-life balance. We frequently consider maintaining a healthy work/life balance. However, there is usually a drawback where there is a benefit. A bad work-life balance is another issue. You’re more prone to experience overwork if you don’t maintain a healthy balance between work and your other responsibilities.
Therefore, it’s crucial to switch to a good work/life balance if you currently have a poor one. It hurts to be overworked, and it’s also bad for you. Burnout, a state of fatigue brought on by excessive stress, can be induced by overworking.
Work/Life Balance Tips
Our default balance between work and life can be a little off as it is important to generate enough money to maintain ourselves. Naturally, we will devote more of our time and energy to our jobs than to other aspects of our lives. Each freelancer has a unique scenario. However, some things practically everyone can agree on. Here are a few pieces of advice for finding a work-life balance that is applicable to almost all independent contractors;
- Work on a project you find interesting
- Work whenever you want to.
- Work on the days of the week that suit you.
- Always put in your best effort.
- Throughout the day, frequently take breaks from your work.
Plan your life around your work instead of the other way around.
