Wealth

What is freelancing and what are its features

With the advent of the Internet there is an opportunity to find the information you need. Of particular interest is the current topic of employment through the World Wide Web. We are talking about freelancing.

 

What is freelance is a remote type of work. The idea is that the representative of a company or an intermediary between the customer and the client hired a virtual performer for a fee. Such a worker is called a freelancer. The name “freelancer” is taken from English, it was once the name of a free spearman, who was hired for military service for money.

 

Features of freelancing

The main distinguishing feature of this type of work is that the employer and employee can be at any distance, in any geographic location, even in different countries.

 

This implies another peculiarity: the client and the contractor may not know each other’s names, but this does not prevent them from cooperating.

 

Freelancing is characterized by a free attitude to work in terms of disposing of personal time. A freelancer is a subject who has the right to decide for himself how much and when to work.

 

Someone who prefers large workloads looks for an appropriate employer, with whom he agrees in advance on deadlines. Equally important is the responsibility on the part of the customer, who undertakes to provide uninterrupted work.

 

There is an unspoken ethics of the relationship in which the subjects establish their own rules. The employer does not press the hired worker, but expects him to perform on time. If for some reason he cannot meet the agreed deadline, it is necessary to warn him about it in advance and ask for a postponement.

 

Such a relationship is capable of self-regulation. If the employer is interested in a competent employee, he will try to create comfortable conditions for him. Having figured out who a freelancer is, the concept of remote work becomes clearer.

Advantages and difficulties of remote work

Perhaps the features listed above can be attributed to the advantages. In addition, freelancing is a state of freedom, the absence of an immediate superior, and the ability to quickly leave an undesirable employer.

 

A significant advantage is the lack of capital investment, here you can get an income without investing your own money.

 

Along with the pros, freelancing has its dark side. To understand how to make money on freelancing, you need to know about the basic principles. This work is based on trust and integrity, but it is not inherent in all people. On this basis, there are likely risks of falling for an unscrupulous employer who may leave the freelancer without pay. A similar situation can also occur on the part of the worker, who will make you wait in vain for the task to be completed, the failure of which can result in great losses.

 

Verbal arrangement is not reliable enough, and this is the main disadvantage of remote work.

 

The disadvantages of freelancing can also include instability. It is only worth something not to please the employer, and he can terminate the employment relationship. Although there is a consoling moment: you can find another job.

 

Lack of insurance experience. In this regard, such work is more appropriate as an additional part-time job, or if there is a length of service, you can go to full-time earnings.

 

Career growth can only be virtual, when, for example, on the freelance exchange in Kiev, the employee earns points and grows from a novice to a pro or a master. Growth of salary is possible, depending on professionalism, if you get an adequate employer who appreciates good professionals.

How to avoid mistakes?

 

To recognize how conscientious the employer is, you need to know some of the features characteristic of the banal cheater:

 

    Promises of unlimited amounts of work on various topics.

    Any form of payment (webmoney, yandex-money, kiwi-purse, bank card, etc.).

    Offering clearly overpaying.

    Payment no more than 1 time per month.

    The first task in a large volume.

 

Such an offer should cause suspicion, and it is justified, when after the first project, the employer simply disappears, and no payment is out of the question.

 

It is not superfluous to look for information about the employer on the Internet. If he is in violation of the law, the information from the victims is sure to appear. As a rule, experienced freelancers are not indifferent to their colleagues and try in every possible way to protect others, leave their reviews, and give a negative assessment of dishonest employers.

 

To avoid such unpleasant situations in freelance work, it is recommended to make safe transactions through official sites – freelance exchanges.

 

Virtual opportunities for freelancers

Everyone wishing to become a freelancer can search for remote work at his own discretion. It is possible to place a free ad of your intention to engage in a freelance style of work in a particular direction. It is interesting enough to create your own website or blog, on which to popularize your abilities, they can attract a potential employer. You can also take part in forums to discuss relevant projects.

 

Perhaps the most effective would be an application to a freelance exchange, where there is an opportunity, firstly, to find a suitable job. Secondly, the security of the transaction is guaranteed by the administration of the exchange site, which is interested in attracting a large number of customers.

 

The best virtual labor exchangers

There are a lot of remote work services on the Internet, among which are the best freelance exchangers:

 

Freelancehunt is one of the leading services in Ukraine and the CIS for the search of remote work. Here you can not only make money on one-time projects, but also find a permanent job. Customers do not need to pay for the publication of projects and freelancers buy access to jobs. Hundreds of projects are published daily on the service. The site has all conditions for comfortable work for both beginners and professionals.

 

Both employer and job seeker can apply here to make money in the most diverse areas of remote work for freelancers: programming, translations, law, website creation, photography, layout and design of web pages, copywriting, copywriting, typesetting, site editor, script writing, etc.

Features of the domestic freelance exchanges

If similar services in Western countries pay primary attention to the quality of work performed, the Ukrainian exchanges in the priority cost of the project. This is due to economic insolvency. The employer is limited in funds, so looking for an author who would agree to do the job for a modest fee. However, it is worth noting that the situation is changing, there are many interesting and lucrative offers to make money on freelance jobs, not only from foreign services.

 

Above-listed Ukrainian freelance exchanges have in their arsenal of enough projects, for the implementation of which they offer a decent enough pay.

 

How to become a freelancer?

If, for instance, you are interested in the work of a copywriter, you should start with the search of the exchange, making the appropriate request. After registering on one of the services, go in search of a suitable topic and amount of payment. According to the specified contact information you should contact the customer (by e-mail, Skype or ICQ) and discuss the terms. Usually, the employer offers a test assignment, it can be free or paid. According to the results of the test, the customer may refuse or agree and offer cooperation. From this point on, you can consider that you have become a freelancer.

 

Ways to get regular orders

It is possible to work for a separate employer. Such a variant is suitable, if it guarantees enough orders for freelancers. You can also look for 2-3 more customers, so as not to remain without orders. After all, during downtime, income suffers.

 

There is also a way to earn money through the exchange, which develops a system of labor relations, guaranteeing the availability of permanent orders. To become a full-time author and have regular orders, you must prove your professional competence. It is worth looking for the best sites for freelancers. Copywriting requires flawless knowledge of language, spelling, style, punctuation, the ability to clearly and originally state their thoughts. It is also important to be able to write unique texts, this indicator is checked with special services of anti-plagiarism.

 

These kinds of sites accept the successful test, the copywriter starts at the first level, as a novice author. A good motivator is a gradual growth of mastery, providing for such stages as “advanced”, “pro”, “master”. The higher the status, the higher the probability to get a high-paying order and the problem – how to earn freelancing will be solved.

 

Payment to copywriters is made through electronic payment systems like Webmoney or on a bank card.

 

If you work through the exchange, the author receives payment from the service fund, then withdraws the money to your e-wallet or bank card.

 

Freelancing: work at home or in a shared office (co-working)

At first, as soon as freelancing appeared, its main characteristic was the ability to work from home. To some extent, this was a major advantage, becoming a freelancer can be a young mothers on maternity leave or people of retirement age, who did not want to once again leave the home walls.

 

On the other hand, for the average young person, such a way of life becomes boring, there is a certain rejection of society, there is less and less time to communicate. As a result of these reasons, a new form of work organization appeared – co-working. Its meaning is to create a joint office, where freelancers rent a workplace.

 

More and more co-working centers are appearing in the capital and major cities of Ukraine. Co-working in Kiev is no longer a novelty. People who use them are called co-workers. They come here to do their individual work. Several people gather in a single workroom. In fact, each of them works on their own, they are not united by a common project or a common goal, because they are from different professional groups. They include artists, copywriters, journalists, photographers, writers, freelance typesetters, programmers, designers and many other professions.

 

Despite the differences in fields of activity, no one is stopping them from getting to know each other, from communicating. There is an interesting process of integrating the interests of people of different professions, this can be a stimulus for the birth of new ideas. Especially useful are new experiences for people who are creative.

 

A freelancer working in a co-working center gets certain advantages:

 

    Communication with interesting personalities, colleagues – it contributes to professional growth.

    The likelihood of meeting a specialist who will be a partner in the implementation of the project.

    Separation of the concept of work-home.

    Rental of a workplace for any period of time, even for an hour.

    Provision of computer equipment and high-speed Internet.

    Payment for the services is included in the rent price.

    A comfortable working environment.

There are some disadvantages to the new format of joint rentals. It must be said that the disadvantages are perceived differently, depending on such human traits as tolerance, coexistence. We are talking about the presence of a certain level of noise, because in one room there are several workers at once and even the slightest sound becomes a part of the overall noise.

 

Another disadvantage is the need to bear the cost of rent, as opposed to economical work at home. How to say, sometimes it’s not a shame to spend, but you will feel like a fuller member of society.

 

If we compare the pros and cons, co-working still largely wins, because there can be nothing more interesting than live communication. Especially since it can also be useful for business.

 

Better in co-working centers than at home

Curious and inquisitive person is not easy to please, but such will definitely not sit at home alone with the monitor and automatically perform the assigned task. In addition, everyone wants to work in comfortable conditions, but that the environment remains working.

 

What to hide, the home atmosphere acts relaxing, sometimes it is very difficult to get up early and make a freelance copywriter write the text today. It makes me want to put it off until tomorrow. But, as it turns out, the next day “tomorrow” turns into “today”, and every day it is more and more difficult to make yourself work. If a person goes to work in an office, even if it is just a separate workplace, there is such a business atmosphere that the desire to work flares up instantly.

 

To ensure that, for example, a freelance designer was able to not only actively work, but also quite good rest, in co-working rooms are created for this purpose conditions close to home: a separate room with a sofa or a comfortable rockeless chair, a kitchen for cooking light snacks, taking a shower, table sports games. All this attracts clients and transforms their life from the former reclusive to one filled with new experiences, meetings, emotions and pleasures. Due to the fact that co-working spaces are actively developing and proliferating, office rental in Kiev, as well as in other cities of Ukraine has become a kind of lifeline for freelancers.

 

Co-working spaces are no worse than at home, and even much better. To develop your business qualities you can become a participant in seminars, trainings and discussions. There is a separate office for conversations with partners. For presentations and exhibitions there are rooms for a huge number of people.

 

Popular areas of freelance activity

In addition to the fairly common, discussed above, remote writing jobs, no less popular are freelance jobs for translators. The need for translations is high, but to maintain an official stationary office for a translation company and have the staff of permanent translators – an expensive pleasure. Therefore, most translation companies have a virtual format.

 

Of course, having a real address of the company indicates a solid level, so you should not give it up. But the number of staff units for freelance translations may be minimal: the head – he is the same manager and translator, accountant (preferably with knowledge of a foreign language, to combine responsibilities). All other translators can work remotely. This option saves costs for the translation company, because it does not pay for staying on the job, but for a particular amount of work.

 

The situation is similar in other areas: freelancing for lawyers is also appropriate and feasible. A very convenient form of using legal knowledge for consultations with virtual clients. Some lawyers moonlight in this way, others create their own law firms and turn their work into a real business, attracting the cooperation of experienced, highly professional lawyers.

 

For programmers, freelancing is a real godsend. For them, the virtual way of working is very convenient and understandable. The same applies to web designers, layout designers, advertising specialists. Freelance programmers have the right to choose to work at home or in co-working centers. It depends on their personal preferences.

 

The emergence of new ways to earn money, new forms of offices, a variety of activities – all this confirms the endless development of human society. The most remarkable thing about this is the positive trends in the fight against unemployment. If you are a professional, there are opportunities to apply your knowledge and abilities. The large cohort of freelancers is a solid proof of this.