Gain Freedom And Flexibility From Freelancing
Who says that you can’t gain freedom and flexibility from freelancing? It is a winning combination, especially with the tools available to us today! Freelancing can make a world of difference for so many people – those selling their services and those buying their skills. Let’s see what this contributed article has to say on how to gain freedom and flexibility from freelancing as a business opportunity.
In today’s flourishing digital economy there is the opportunity to work from home or from anywhere in the world, providing you have a laptop and a decent internet connection! Such
For many people, “living the dream” no longer features a corner office, fancy title, and fast car parked in their garage – it’s more akin to jetting off to an exotic location and working from their laptop in a bamboo beach hut drinking from a fresh coconut that’s recently fallen onto the soft white sand.
Today, many people dream of a lifestyle that allows such freedom where they can work and travel anywhere in the world and live life on their own terms – whether that’s as a single person, as a partnership, and even as a family. In today’s digital economy there is the opportunity to work remotely as part of a Virtual HQ from anywhere in the world… providing you have a laptop and a decent internet connection!
The world has changed, indeed there’s been a paradigm shift in terms of what people want from their lives today.
No doubt you’ll have heard tales of people giving up their daily grind in order to travel the world… where they exchange the shackles of the nine-to-five for flexible working hours, and their congested commute for a gentle walk in the sun… but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, life as a freelancer in this sense can be punctuated with financial stress.
Making it today, as a freelancer can be financially challenging.
The opportunity to work remotely, and live the freelancing dream is, of course, well within your grasp… but unless you’re able to generate a solid income from freelance work you could well end up spending your time pacing up and down the beach in a state of financial stress rather than blissful relaxation!
If you are a freelancer trying to make a decent income, in today’s economy, the general advice is to develop multiple streams of income and a portfolio of smaller projects – rather than depending on one source of income that could be taken away at any time.
Think of it as a table with four legs vs. one leg. Even if the one leg provides a significant amount of cash, your financial stability is inherently vulnerable, as this could be taken away from you at any time.
The key advice, therefore, is to develop multiple streams of income rather than rely on one particular source. The next nugget of advice is to develop skills that are in demand, and in particular, skills where the demand is likely to increase in coming years.
3 FREELANCE SKILLS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN HIGH DEMAND
With the ever-increasing trend for user-generated content, and video creators, the demand for video editing is booming and shows no signs of slow down; basic video editing is a skill you can pick up reasonably quickly, and the Adobe Suite of products doesn’t cost that much for a monthly subscription.
There are plenty of training classes available, and as many of these classes are hosted online you are able to do the course from the comfort of your home (or beach hut) and tailor your learning around current commitments and particular interests.
Web Design is another booming market, and whilst, a few years ago web designers would require an understanding of coding language. Remember, you don’t need to be a designer extraordinaire, you just need to be able to facilitate the tangible outcome that the client wants and be more proficient in achieving that outcome than they are able.
Just as popular as web design and video editing are copywriting where you develop content for a client, whether that’s a blog post, advertising copy, or a description of the business or service.
The more specialized this is (e.g. business plan writing) the higher paid you will be, but someone with a general grasp of creative writing can produce compelling copy that converts website visitors into customers. Remember, you don’t need to be a J.K. Rowling, you just need to produce content that is engaging and makes sense.
WHERE TO FIND WORK
Sites such as freelancer.com make popular tasks such as web design, video editing, and copywriting accessible to a global market of freelancers; many of which live in countries with such a low cost of living, they can charge as little as $5 an hour for complex technical tasks – blowing the majority of western freelancers out the water, in terms of price.
However, price is not the only thing clients consider – they want value for money, and if you have specialist skills or are simply able to relate and understand a task better given that English is your first language, many prospective clients will pay a premium to avoid the miscommunication and headaches associated with working with someone from an unfamiliar culture.
In recent times, sites such as Fiverr that once offered small gigs such as editing a photo for people to complete at a rate of $5 have started to offer more premium services meaning freelancers are able to charge upwards of several hundred dollars for more involved projects.
Whilst these platforms can be a great way to find work, they are also highly generalized where the focus is often on the cheapest rather than the best, and if you are producing high-quality creative work you might end up finding this a little frustrating.
The other consideration is that you may find yourself almost having to work full time just to find the work on such sites, let alone, do it.
For this reason, one of the best ways to gain freedom and flexibility from freelancing is to have an ongoing contract with a couple of companies that regularly provide you work – this way, it takes all the hassle and uncertainty out of finding freelancing gigs.
My Final Thoughts On Gain Freedom And Flexibility From Freelancing!
I think it is simply wonderful that you can gain freedom and flexibility from freelancing as an opportunity to start a business or to deliver your skills and services where needed to others. It will impact the lives of all those that you come in contact with during this experience.
Just ensure that you have enough financial backing in an emergency account, just in case you need a cushion until you are fully established and can ‘hold your own’.
All the best.
Images courtesy of Pixabay and Pexels.
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4 thoughts to “Gain Freedom And Flexibility From Freelancing!”
I love the freedom that comes with working for yourself. There are so many options available to us. Wealthy Affiliate certainly provides the education and the tools to master your freelance dreams.
I really enjoyed the article, Michelle.
Hello Sue,
Thanks for visiting. Yes, I have o agree with you on this issue! And yes, it is wonderful being your own boss and Wealthy Affiliate does give anyone the opportunity to make a career change or to simply improve on what they already know. All the best to you.
Michelle
Freelancing sounds like a wonderful opportunity. I know for me an older individual it works out well. I had not explored all the opportunities you talked about here. BUT I will. Thank you for the heads up on other avenues to look into. I have a daughter that is going to school. Part of her study involves video editing. Do you think a young college student could benefit from freelancing as they study as well?
I look forward to your input.
Hello Christina,
Thnx for stopping by. Yes, there is a whole new world out there to be discovered and the internet brings it closer to our fingertips. Yes, I think freelancing would be a great learning opportunity for your daughter or anyone with the desire to make a change and try something new and interesting. All the best.
Michelle