Nowadays, changes in the world of work are happening faster and faster, thanks to the development of new technologies in the sector. Working as a freelancer is undoubtedly what best represents this transformation.
Technology and its use are now a fundamental component and there are more and more companies that turn to independent professionals to improve and accelerate their projects.
In 2020, also because of the pandemic, this type of work accelerated its spread, thanks to the possibility to work remotely and to reduce contacts without losing productivity.
In this regard, a recent study by Malt, one of the largest freelance platforms in Europe, has highlighted that this year over 3 million people, including France, Germany and Spain, have chosen to enter in the world of freelance activity.
WHO IS THE FREELANCER?
He’s an independent worker, he can work either as a consultant to solve a single problem or for a limited period for contract and goals.
The fields in which you work as a freelancer are very numerous: web design, programming, marketing, translation, creative writing, etc
But what makes you prefer freelance work to employee work?
Surely it is a mode of work in which flexibility wins, both in the organization and in the schedules.
Also about leisure, the concept is different, in fact, many freelancers say that they made this choice to be able to spend more time on themselves and their family.
Another factor is that it is widely believed that in freelance work there is more space for creative work and that this is more valued.
And it is certainly realistic to say that creativity, and originality, that a freelancer shows in his proposals is what distinguishes him from the other candidates.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Most professionals start their own business by subscribing to platforms for freelancers.
The latter has the objective of creating a digital place where supply and demand can meet and put in contact. Those who are looking for professionals have the opportunity to publish projects and accept applications, while freelancers as well as sending their proposals to potential customers, can take advantage of the web showcase to expose their skills.
The mechanism is very similar in different platforms, as Freelancer, Twago, Upwork, Workana, etc.
Who is looking for a certain service publishes a project, including features and guidelines. The professional can consult the various jobs available and send an offer to the one he considers most suitable for his skills.
The market is really wide, so it is inevitable to compete with many freelancers from all over the world and with the most varied skills. At this point, it is up to the person who published the project to choose the best proposal among those of the candidates.
In some platforms, such as Fiverr, those looking for service have a list of professionals. Here the freelancer presents himself, with the creation of a profile, and his skills through the publication of the portfolio.
In this case, it is essential to take care of the profile, to ensure that it is always up to date and that it attracts the attention of potential customers.
This makes it clear that even if from the outside it is seen as simple and immediate, the world of the freelance is really demanding and to face it are necessary skills, creativity and continuing training.
In addition to these three basic characteristics, we can identify others that are surely useful. For example, punctuality and reliability.
A competent but inaccurate freelancer in the respect of times and deadlines will have negative feedback. This will definitely affect the quality of the jobs you can apply for.
Another valued feature is empathy, especially with the project’s target audience. Often the project consists of transmitting a message, in graphic form or text, and improving communication. It is therefore clear that some projects require high and specific skills, the result of a strong investment in their training.
There are, however, plenty of jobs available for which no specific qualifications or certificates are required.
It is the case of creative writing, where one’s skills can be the result of an unofficial training driven by a passion for a certain area. This is the most fascinating side of freelance work, turning your passion into work.
ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD
Obviously, as in all areas of work, there are disadvantages and negative aspects to be assessed.
On an economic level, one of the aspects considered negative by many is the irregularity of earnings, to be added to the expenses and risks that are totally borne by the freelancer.
For example, falling ill for a few days can cause delays and problems with customers.
Continuous customer search is another of those problematic aspects that many people recognize, especially in the beginning.
After all, it is not easy to build a reputation in the ever-expanding digital world. The continuous comparison with the competition is for many a source of stress. Often you have the feeling of not being able to keep up with others.
Another downside is the difficulty of keeping private life and work well separated.
This happens because the most widespread model, practically the only one, is the remote mode, in one’s own home and this brings work into those moments that should be dedicated to leisure, to oneself or the family.
There are a lot of freelancers who describe a state of fatigue due to this failure to separate the two areas. In some cases, the work invades with arrogance the affective and personal sphere, because without rigid schedules to respect, every moment that is not dedicated to the customer and the various projects seems wasted and you find yourself working with enormous pressure.
So freelance work, though full of satisfaction, isn’t always relaxing. In this regard, it is important to highlight an aspect that must undoubtedly be taken into account when choosing between freelance work and employee work, this is the loneliness.
The risk, in this mode of work, is to isolate oneself, to limit relationships and to become entangled in what are daily and necessary activities.
Besides, there are no colleagues to talk to, exchange opinions and share more or less personal events, lunches and dinners.
After all, the workplace is one of the main places of socialization. (This is also a point of debate in the employee in smart working mode, which has grown greatly because of covid-19).
Even the relationship with the customer changes, this becomes less direct and in most cases is limited to digital communication, with email and messages.
Almost all the negative aspects described can be weakened or even eliminated if some good practices are established. Much depends on the tenacity and commitment that everyone puts in his activity', to tip as much as possible the balance towards positivity. Now let’s see some advice to make this happen!
INSTRUCTION FOR USE
BE PATIENT
Especially when you’re starting, it seems like no one is interested in our jobs and our ideas.
It’s essential to be able to wait, maintaining a constant commitment in the search for potential customers and the promotion of skills. After all, the freelance market involves a huge amount of professionals and is constantly expanding. It is a real endurance race between competence.
HONEST ABOUT ABILITIES
The customer looking for a freelancer needs a professional figure who can solve a problem. If you’re aware that you can’t do it, it’s much better to tell the client honestly, because accepting a project that is not in line with our skills would lead to a bad job and consequently to negative feedback from the client.
The same principle should be applied in terms of deadlines. It is important to be realistic about the date of delivery of projects. Punctuality is a very appreciated feature and is often cited in reviews and evaluations of freelancers.
ORGANIZATION
The disorder is not a friend of the freelancer at all. On the contrary, a greater capacity of the organization is necessary, both in order not to affect productivity and to prevent work from invading more personal spheres.
Knowing how to create a stimulating and orderly environment and organize the activities to be carried out in the day will make the work much more pleasant and less stressful. In addition, with a good organization, the possibilities of making mistakes in the management of clients and projects are reduced.
LIFELONG LEARNING
In the digital age, everything changes and evolves at a dizzying speed.
It is therefore essential for the freelancer to take care of their training, updating their skills continuously with courses, webinars and participating in events.
CREATING AN OFFLINE REPORTING NETWORK
Participating in events, events and refresher courses outside the digital world is an excellent opportunity to expand your network of contacts. Just between these contacts, it is possible to find some customer or someone interested in promoting projects and ideas.
In addition, these opportunities are an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and socialize with other professionals.
LEARN TO SAY NO
The freelancer is not a superhero. It’s impossible to accept whatever project is proposed to us, however interesting it is. It is often done for fear of losing an opportunity or a potential customer. But it should be remembered that if the latter is really impressed by our skills and appreciates our ideas, definitely contact for future projects.
It is important to know how to carve out moments to dedicate only to ourselves and to our free time and rest, without feeling guilty or inadequate. And if in the beginning, it will be difficult to say no, with the passage of time and experience, we will learn to select customers and projects more appropriate to us, increasing productivity.
KNOWING HOW TO VALUE YOUR WORK
This is a very delicate chapter, in fact, presenting a quote and calculating the price of a service is quite complex in the freelance world. And it’s really hard to establish, without underestimating it, the value of one’s time and this is often a source of tension.
There is the possibility that the customer refuses a proposal because he thinks the estimate is excessive and this often leads the freelancer to change the price downwards.
This "self-sabotage" can lead the professional to submit estimates that underestimate his skills, and consequently, adversely affect his professional growth.
So it’s essential to know how to put a price on your time and the skills we use to complete a project and to do it without selling out or underestimating yourself. And it doesn’t matter if you have little experience, time and commitment always have a value.
CREATING AN ATTRACTIVE PORTFOLIO
The portfolio is the collection of all the projects and works completed in the professional and training path. It’s a demonstration of our abilities, and it’s often because of this that a client chooses a freelancer.
And even in the case of being at the beginning of the profession and having little experience is an effective way of showing our personality and ability.
It is possible to include in the portfolio some projects created just as a tutorial while remembering to specify that it is not a real client.
Currently, there are many tools to create professional and effective portfolios. Behance, Pinterest, Dribbble or Linkedin platforms are widely used, for example, or some tools such as WordPress or Adobe Portfolio.
But what characteristics should a portfolio have? It must be able to capture the attention of the potential customer, creative and not excessively long. The potential client has limited time, so it’s better to select the best projects and feel the proudest of.
GOOD USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS
Just like the portfolio, the various social networks are an excellent showcase for projects and skills. Knowing how to use them is therefore fundamental.
In addition to the classic Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin it is useful to create a personal blog so that you can show both creativity and management ability.
This is because in the classic social networks, as a result of the huge amount of publications, the duration of effectiveness is limited, it is estimated that the posts or tweets do not last more than 24 hours.
In the blog instead, the articles remain visible for a long time. Some studies have estimated that its duration can be up to two years if the text is well optimized. This is a useful indication of how, what, where and how often to publish.
Also, very often when a customer receives a proposal, they will look for information about the freelancer or some reference on the web, so it becomes really important to exploit these tools.
KNOW THE COMPETITION
It is not a matter of spying on or stealing projects but simply looking in the various platforms or on the web for those freelancers who are successful and try to understand based on their experience what can be improved. In other words, take some inspiration from other people’s experiences.
The choice to become a freelancer depends a lot on the personality and on what are our expectations in the search for a job. Many factors must be taken into account when you choose to be part of this world, but no doubt it is an excellent experience that will surely enrich us professionally and personally.
Nowadays, changes in the world of work are happening faster and faster, thanks to the development of new technologies in the sector. Working as a freelancer is undoubtedly what best represents this transformation.
Technology and its use are now a fundamental component and there are more and more companies that turn to independent professionals to improve and accelerate their projects.
In 2020, also because of the pandemic, this type of work accelerated its spread, thanks to the possibility to work remotely and to reduce contacts without losing productivity.
In this regard, a recent study by Malt, one of the largest freelance platforms in Europe, has highlighted that this year over 3 million people, including France, Germany and Spain, have chosen to enter in the world of freelance activity.
WHO IS THE FREELANCER?
He’s an independent worker, he can work either as a consultant to solve a single problem or for a limited period for contract and goals.
The fields in which you work as a freelancer are very numerous: web design, programming, marketing, translation, creative writing, etc
But what makes you prefer freelance work to employee work?
Surely it is a mode of work in which flexibility wins, both in the organization and in the schedules.
Also about leisure, the concept is different, in fact, many freelancers say that they made this choice to be able to spend more time on themselves and their family.
Another factor is that it is widely believed that in freelance work there is more space for creative work and that this is more valued.
And it is certainly realistic to say that creativity, and originality, that a freelancer shows in his proposals is what distinguishes him from the other candidates.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Most professionals start their own business by subscribing to platforms for freelancers.
The latter has the objective of creating a digital place where supply and demand can meet and put in contact. Those who are looking for professionals have the opportunity to publish projects and accept applications, while freelancers as well as sending their proposals to potential customers, can take advantage of the web showcase to expose their skills.
The mechanism is very similar in different platforms, as Freelancer, Twago, Upwork, Workana, etc.
Who is looking for a certain service publishes a project, including features and guidelines. The professional can consult the various jobs available and send an offer to the one he considers most suitable for his skills.
The market is really wide, so it is inevitable to compete with many freelancers from all over the world and with the most varied skills. At this point, it is up to the person who published the project to choose the best proposal among those of the candidates.
In some platforms, such as Fiverr, those looking for service have a list of professionals. Here the freelancer presents himself, with the creation of a profile, and his skills through the publication of the portfolio.
In this case, it is essential to take care of the profile, to ensure that it is always up to date and that it attracts the attention of potential customers.
This makes it clear that even if from the outside it is seen as simple and immediate, the world of the freelance is really demanding and to face it are necessary skills, creativity and continuing training.
In addition to these three basic characteristics, we can identify others that are surely useful. For example, punctuality and reliability.
A competent but inaccurate freelancer in the respect of times and deadlines will have negative feedback. This will definitely affect the quality of the jobs you can apply for.
Another valued feature is empathy, especially with the project’s target audience. Often the project consists of transmitting a message, in graphic form or text, and improving communication. It is therefore clear that some projects require high and specific skills, the result of a strong investment in their training.
There are, however, plenty of jobs available for which no specific qualifications or certificates are required.
It is the case of creative writing, where one’s skills can be the result of an unofficial training driven by a passion for a certain area. This is the most fascinating side of freelance work, turning your passion into work.
ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD
Obviously, as in all areas of work, there are disadvantages and negative aspects to be assessed.
On an economic level, one of the aspects considered negative by many is the irregularity of earnings, to be added to the expenses and risks that are totally borne by the freelancer.
For example, falling ill for a few days can cause delays and problems with customers.
Continuous customer search is another of those problematic aspects that many people recognize, especially in the beginning.
After all, it is not easy to build a reputation in the ever-expanding digital world. The continuous comparison with the competition is for many a source of stress. Often you have the feeling of not being able to keep up with others.
Another downside is the difficulty of keeping private life and work well separated.
This happens because the most widespread model, practically the only one, is the remote mode, in one’s own home and this brings work into those moments that should be dedicated to leisure, to oneself or the family.
There are a lot of freelancers who describe a state of fatigue due to this failure to separate the two areas. In some cases, the work invades with arrogance the affective and personal sphere, because without rigid schedules to respect, every moment that is not dedicated to the customer and the various projects seems wasted and you find yourself working with enormous pressure.
So freelance work, though full of satisfaction, isn’t always relaxing. In this regard, it is important to highlight an aspect that must undoubtedly be taken into account when choosing between freelance work and employee work, this is the loneliness.
The risk, in this mode of work, is to isolate oneself, to limit relationships and to become entangled in what are daily and necessary activities.
Besides, there are no colleagues to talk to, exchange opinions and share more or less personal events, lunches and dinners.
After all, the workplace is one of the main places of socialization. (This is also a point of debate in the employee in smart working mode, which has grown greatly because of covid-19).
Even the relationship with the customer changes, this becomes less direct and in most cases is limited to digital communication, with email and messages.
Almost all the negative aspects described can be weakened or even eliminated if some good practices are established. Much depends on the tenacity and commitment that everyone puts in his activity', to tip as much as possible the balance towards positivity. Now let’s see some advice to make this happen!
INSTRUCTION FOR USE
BE PATIENT
Especially when you’re starting, it seems like no one is interested in our jobs and our ideas.
It’s essential to be able to wait, maintaining a constant commitment in the search for potential customers and the promotion of skills. After all, the freelance market involves a huge amount of professionals and is constantly expanding. It is a real endurance race between competence.
HONEST ABOUT ABILITIES
The customer looking for a freelancer needs a professional figure who can solve a problem. If you’re aware that you can’t do it, it’s much better to tell the client honestly, because accepting a project that is not in line with our skills would lead to a bad job and consequently to negative feedback from the client.
The same principle should be applied in terms of deadlines. It is important to be realistic about the date of delivery of projects. Punctuality is a very appreciated feature and is often cited in reviews and evaluations of freelancers.
ORGANIZATION
The disorder is not a friend of the freelancer at all. On the contrary, a greater capacity of the organization is necessary, both in order not to affect productivity and to prevent work from invading more personal spheres.
Knowing how to create a stimulating and orderly environment and organize the activities to be carried out in the day will make the work much more pleasant and less stressful. In addition, with a good organization, the possibilities of making mistakes in the management of clients and projects are reduced.
LIFELONG LEARNING
In the digital age, everything changes and evolves at a dizzying speed.
It is therefore essential for the freelancer to take care of their training, updating their skills continuously with courses, webinars and participating in events.
CREATING AN OFFLINE REPORTING NETWORK
Participating in events, events and refresher courses outside the digital world is an excellent opportunity to expand your network of contacts. Just between these contacts, it is possible to find some customer or someone interested in promoting projects and ideas.
In addition, these opportunities are an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and socialize with other professionals.
LEARN TO SAY NO
The freelancer is not a superhero. It’s impossible to accept whatever project is proposed to us, however interesting it is. It is often done for fear of losing an opportunity or a potential customer. But it should be remembered that if the latter is really impressed by our skills and appreciates our ideas, definitely contact for future projects.
It is important to know how to carve out moments to dedicate only to ourselves and to our free time and rest, without feeling guilty or inadequate. And if in the beginning, it will be difficult to say no, with the passage of time and experience, we will learn to select customers and projects more appropriate to us, increasing productivity.
KNOWING HOW TO VALUE YOUR WORK
This is a very delicate chapter, in fact, presenting a quote and calculating the price of a service is quite complex in the freelance world. And it’s really hard to establish, without underestimating it, the value of one’s time and this is often a source of tension.
There is the possibility that the customer refuses a proposal because he thinks the estimate is excessive and this often leads the freelancer to change the price downwards.
This "self-sabotage" can lead the professional to submit estimates that underestimate his skills, and consequently, adversely affect his professional growth.
So it’s essential to know how to put a price on your time and the skills we use to complete a project and to do it without selling out or underestimating yourself. And it doesn’t matter if you have little experience, time and commitment always have a value.
CREATING AN ATTRACTIVE PORTFOLIO
The portfolio is the collection of all the projects and works completed in the professional and training path. It’s a demonstration of our abilities, and it’s often because of this that a client chooses a freelancer.
And even in the case of being at the beginning of the profession and having little experience is an effective way of showing our personality and ability.
It is possible to include in the portfolio some projects created just as a tutorial while remembering to specify that it is not a real client.
Currently, there are many tools to create professional and effective portfolios. Behance, Pinterest, Dribbble or Linkedin platforms are widely used, for example, or some tools such as WordPress or Adobe Portfolio.
But what characteristics should a portfolio have? It must be able to capture the attention of the potential customer, creative and not excessively long. The potential client has limited time, so it’s better to select the best projects and feel the proudest of.
GOOD USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS
Just like the portfolio, the various social networks are an excellent showcase for projects and skills. Knowing how to use them is therefore fundamental.
In addition to the classic Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin it is useful to create a personal blog so that you can show both creativity and management ability.
This is because in the classic social networks, as a result of the huge amount of publications, the duration of effectiveness is limited, it is estimated that the posts or tweets do not last more than 24 hours.
In the blog instead, the articles remain visible for a long time. Some studies have estimated that its duration can be up to two years if the text is well optimized. This is a useful indication of how, what, where and how often to publish.
Also, very often when a customer receives a proposal, they will look for information about the freelancer or some reference on the web, so it becomes really important to exploit these tools.
KNOW THE COMPETITION
It is not a matter of spying on or stealing projects but simply looking in the various platforms or on the web for those freelancers who are successful and try to understand based on their experience what can be improved. In other words, take some inspiration from other people’s experiences.
The choice to become a freelancer depends a lot on the personality and on what are our expectations in the search for a job. Many factors must be taken into account when you choose to be part of this world, but no doubt it is an excellent experience that will surely enrich us professionally and personally.