Lost Your Job? How About Freelancing Until Things Improve?

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October 3rd, 2011

Freelancing may be an ideal solution for you

For most of us, having a good and steady job is of vital importance. But a major problem arises when that job goes out the window as is happening to many people in these tough times. Many people cannot face the thought of having to start looking for another job. To make matters worse, the deeper the recession, the tougher the competition among jobseekers and the harder the hiring conditions.

Alternative

There is an alternative to working for a boss: Freelancing. In simple terms this means getting onto your feet and peddling your particular skill or knowledge in the market place. Basic requirements may involve putting up some cash or taking a loan in order to pay for the printing of business cards and advertising material such as flyers, distribution costs and advertising in the local press or on the internet.

What can you offer?

Common freelancing fields include many different types of writing such as technical writing, business writing, grant writing, copywriting, journalism, computer programming and graphic design, consulting, and many other professional and creative services. A newer type of writing is blog writing which seems to be attracting many freelancers.

Your deal

Freelance practice varies greatly. Some freelancers ask clients to sign written contracts or vice-versa, while others may take work based on verbal agreements. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients. A certain amount of care must be taken. I once undertook freelance work on the basis of an exchange of emails. The work was ordered, I did the writing, submitted it and it was graciously accepted with thanks. I’m sure the work was used and I never heard from the client again and the email address I had been writing to never worked again.

Payment

Payment also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day or hour, or on a lump sum basis. Some consultants adopt a value-based pricing method based on the perceived value of the results to the client. Payment arrangements may be upfront, percentage upfront, or all on completion. For more complex projects, a contract may set a payment schedule based on milestones or outcomes.

The advantages

Most of the benefits are pretty basic:

No boss
No fixed hours.
No driving to work if you work from home.
Wide variety of assignments.
Possibility of establishing a good network of clients.

The disadvantages

These are pretty clear too

No fixed salary.
No regular cash flow.
You have to deal with the income tax department.
You may have to organize your own health insurance
You can only earn as much as you can work.
No bonuses, holiday pay or other perks.
The loneliness of the freelance worker.

The internet

Once again it’s the internet to the rescue. The internet has opened up many freelance opportunities and provides access to available markets. Outsourcing, which is popular in slow economic times, is heavily reliant on the internet to provide access to remote workers. It’s up to the freelancer to take advantage.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 3rd, 2011 at 11:28 am and is filed under Business, Economy, Employment, Finance, Money, Personal / Internet, Retirement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Lost Your Job? How About Freelancing Until Things Improve?

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