Freelancing, what is it and is it the road to success?

What does it mean to be a freelancer?

Let’s firstly start by defining exactly what a freelancer is and how they are a part of the creative industry.  A freelancer is defined as someone who works on a per-job basis, usually for short-term work as an independent contractor. A freelancer is not an employee of the company, but an outside source that contributes to their contractually committed projects. This article goes into greater detail about working as a freelancer, so if that is something you are interested in, I advise you to check it out.

There are various pros and cons to freelancing which I shall discuss below.

Pros

1. You have control over your own workload and are normally in charge of the decisions.
2. You have the freedom to pick and choose who or which companies you want to work with.
3. You have the freedom to work wherever you want, and you can set your own flexible schedule by having the independence of being your own boss.
4. You can increase your income due to not being a fixed employee and your employment will end once the contracted project is completed.
5. By being independent, you can move around and be involved in various different projects which help develop a variety of skills and foster experiences.

Cons

1. One of the biggest cons is that there is no job security. Once your contract is complete you will leave the project and need to look for your next endeavor.
2. There are no employee benefits. Because you are working for yourself, you forgo various employee benefits such as sick days, health benefits or retirement contributions to name a few.
3. There is little financial security because once your current contract is complete you need to look for your next job. You may not get your next project when you expect, which could result in fluctuations in your earnings. This could affect your key monthly bills such as rent or food shopping.
4. You are solely responsible for making and maintaining contacts and relationships with people in the industry. You need to be organized and maintain a well-structured planner as to not miss deadlines or opportunities.

This great article discusses some pros and cons in more detail.

How do you promote yourself as a freelancer?

As discussed in a previous blog post, having a good social media presence is the essence of promoting yourself to prospective employers and is the exact same for freelancing. Promoting yourself on social media and building a professional social media presence is one of the most important steps for finding freelancing work. Maximizing your social platforms to showcase your work and your personality are essential to market your freelancing services effectively.

I have also discussed professionalism in a previous blog post, but this is also essential for promoting yourself online. It is important to always work professionally as this will build your reputation in the industry as someone who can be depended on, which will further expand opportunities.

Useful tips for successful freelancing

To end this blog post, I would like to add some final useful tips that can help any aspiring freelancers for the future.

1. Quality of work – always deliver the highest quality of work. Understand the brief and its entirety before you take on too much work. Always make sure you have the skills needed to complete the task at a high quality.
2. Work to the brief – work to specifications of the task. If you have any questions regarding any section of the brief, email the client and get clarification. Do this early in the project lifecycle to avoid any misunderstandings later.
3. Keep the client informed – always keep the client in the loop about updates to the project, especially if you are working on something large. Keep the client updated on developments and regularly report progress. If any problems arise then inform the client and suggest some solutions.
4. Complete work quickly – if a client needs work done quickly and you are able to produce the desired results, then you are more likely to be approached in the future for potential opportunities. You may even be able to increase your fee if you are trusted to complete the task.
5. Price competitively – once you have gained experience and you know you can work quickly and effectively whilst still producing great results, you could gain a good reputation for being very reliable. This reputation can allow you to price accordingly to the task because you are providing reliable value for money.
6. Get client feedback – don’t be shy to ask a client to fill out a short survey or to ask a client for a recommendation or testimonial. Getting feedback not only provides client satisfaction but also provides insight into areas of improvement.

I found another great article for effective freelance marketing that is also worth checking out here.