All you need to know before you start freelancing

Author - Dushyant TyagiDushyant Tyagi
Feb 13, 2017
All you need to know before you start freelancing

A survey reveals one third of the total workforce is widely adopting independent jobs instead of traditional full time jobs. This independent work culture, often known as freelancing, is making a huge share in some leading economies like US, India, UK and Australia. US economy, at the moment, is on top of all other freelance economies, making $1 trillion annually. India is the second largest economy, filling upto 40% freelancing market. This is what Forbes says. Check more stats about freelancing, one more worth reading.


Despite of being highest earning trade, freelancing is still a widely misunderstood term. There are thousands of myths and misbelieves about freelancing, below are some most common and unsaid believes about freelancing which are not true:

Myth: Freelancing is only for programmers or IT professionals.

Truth: Only 30% of total freelance jobs are for programmers.

Myth: Freelancing is easy money.

Truth: It is an easy way to earn good money but eventually you get what you work for.

Myth: Freelancing is a part time work.

Truth: Common full time employment has a limit of salary band, but freelancing doesn’t. After reaching this salary limit, full time employees become full time freelancers.

Myth: Freelancer can’t have a full time job.

Truth: 65% of freelancers have their full time day\night jobs. Most organizations have no objections for their employees to work as freelancers in their free time.



What makes freelancing so fascinating?



Every work has its own perks, so does the freelancing. Increasing popularity of freelancing, over full time job, is the result of below points:

  1. Scope to earn beyond imaginations. On this page, 35 random freelancers shared their income anonymously.
  2. Work on your own terms without a boss.
  3. Decide your own work timings.
  4. Freedom to work from anywhere.
  5. Increase your rate by 15-20% in every assignment.
  6. High possibilities to make a good international network.
  7. Product placement.
  8. Makes you able to establish a startup and make it successful.
  9. Everything you can imagine.



Like everything else, freelancing has its drawbacks too. Below are the challenges a novice has to face:

Managing time.
No one to guide.
Managing everything single handedly.
Biggest is maintaining a steady inflow of income while managing taxes accordingly.



Where to start from?



Success in initial days always depends on the dedication and patience you got. The first step to start freelancing is identifying your skills. There are infinite jobs for freelancers online and offline as well. Most beginners wouldn’t be aware about their exact skillset, surfing through these jobs lets you identify the best suitable projects for you. Even bigger fact is you will end up finding your passion surfing through these jobs, there is always the one project that makes you crave.


Start with making a good profile here. Before you create a profile, it is advisable to decide what type of jobs you would be willing to take. To know more check this article.
How far you go, depends on how good you are in representing yourself. Upcoming articles will help you to setup a good profile, good way to approach clients, managing your work and thus the successful freelancing career.


Stay tuned.



Last Modified: Feb 13, 2017
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