Lost Your Job? Try Freelancing Until Things Improve

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December 10th, 2011

Freelancing may be an ideal solution for you

For most of us, having a good and steady job is of paramount importance. But when that job goes out the window it feels as though one has been hit by a disaster. Many people cannot face the thought of having to start looking for another job. To make matters worse, the harder the times, the tougher the competition among the jobseekers. It happened to me and it took most of a year to find a way around it,

Freelancing

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 involve some legwork and dealing with things like printing business cards and advertising material such as flyers ands maybe even doing a little cheap advertising. I did a minimum amount on the internet for free.

What can you offer?

Common freelancing fields include many different types of writing such as data processing, technical writing, business writing, grant writing, copywriting, journalism, computer programming and graphic design, consulting, and many other professional and creative services. These days blog writing attracts many freelancers.

Your deal

Freelance practice varies greatly. Some freelancers ask clients to sign written contracts or vice-versa, while others, like me, take work based on verbal agreements. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients. Take care, if it’s possible. 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 but 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 will 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.
I find myself in front of the computer at 3am.

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 Saturday, December 10th, 2011 at 4:14 am and is filed under Uncategorized. 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? Try Freelancing Until Things Improve

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