A GUIDE TO FREELANCING...

Freelancing is one such field which is emerging in India. Currently there are over 15 million active freelancers and is estimated to grow in near future. Furthermore India witnessed a 46% increase in new freelancers in 2020 as per a report.

WHY IS FREELANCING BECOMING POPULAR?

Freelancing's popularity is showing potential for greater job opportunities, independence, higher income and a move towards income equality. India has the largest growing startups in the world. Due to which it encourages individuals to start their own businesses or work as freelancers. 

What is freelancing?

Freelancing is a contract based profession where instead of being recruited to an organisation you can use your skills, experience, education to provide services to a number of clients. Not everyone uses the term "freelancer" for the work they do. Infact most people refer themselves as "self-employed ".

   Freelancing usually involves jobs that allow them to work from home. But not necessarily because many freelancers also work at their clients office depending on the work requirements. Its just many of the jobs can be delivered on the internet without their presence at the clients place.

   Before I talk in detail about freelancing there are some points that needs to be cleared to avoid misunderstanding. 

ASK YOURSELF WHY DO YOU NEED TO DO FREELANCE?

1.People have a misconception that being an employee is bad as it lacks freedom, bad work culture. Well some points may be true but you cannot justify based on these points. You need to stop seeing things in good or bad light. Everything has its own pros and cons.

2.I am seeing this attitude on social media that everyone is telling to quit their 9-5 job and start their own business. Saying something online seems very cool but in reality there is so much difficulty people face when they start their own business or start to work as a freelancer. Infact many a times most freelancers work all day depending on their projects. It's very complex so try not to get persuaded by everything you see online. Instead do your research and then decide what you want to do.

3.If you think you will live lavishly and can be your own boss and do the job by only applying your skills then you are wrong. When you become a freelancer there are many things that needs to be taken care of. If you think you have the ability to do all these things that you can definitely go for it.

Well there are many advantages in pursuing freelancing. You have the entire control on the work, freedom to choose the projects you want to do, keeping all the profits, etc. But not many end up pursuing full time.

  Well it also has a psychological impact on our minds.

 A)A regular job gives you a guarantee that pays you at a specified time. You also get additional benefits like insurance, retirement salary, increments, etc for performing well.

B)Moreover you lose the guarantee when you opt for freelancing. You have no surety that you will be able to sustain this lifestyle.

C)You also get to handle your own finances like taxes, insurance all by yourself.

There are always some pros and cons  to every profession. It's upto you how to balance it. If you think freelancing will benefit you then the cons won't matter much.

There are a number of sites that offer freelance jobs. Here are a few sites that you can try:

1) Fiverr

2) Freelancer     

3) Upwork

4) 99designs

BEFORE YOU START DOING FREELANCING ITS IMPORTANT THAT YOU BUILD A BRAND SO THAT PEOPLE RECOGNIZE AND CAN EASILY APPROACH TO CLIENTS. 

1) You need to list down your skills that you have. It can be anything but you need to make sure you're decent at it. eg: photography, coding, website building, any kind of an artist, etc.

2) Visit a freelancing site and search for projects which match your skills listed above.

3) Once you search your projects matching your skills, you will need to go ahead. Read the project description and figure out if you will be able to handle this project. Be honest. If you feel you lack a particular skill list it down on a paper.

4) Fill the gaps. Once you have identified which skills you lack, its better you first work on it. Remember no one will hire an independent freelancer and train you. So try to be prepared it will help you to boost your confidence. 

5) Its also important that you determine your target market.

6) If you are beginning in the freelance world its very important that you have a LinkedIn profile. It will help you to connect with professionals. There are many jobs that are offered on LinkedIn. Prepare your portfolio that includes your past work.

7) It will be great if you connect your work with all social media platforms. It helps in marketing your service and will help you to reach out to more clients. 

THE FUTURE OF FREELANCING IN INDIA:

1.Startups driving the growth of freelancing:

 Startups in India is growing rapidly. Most  startups prefer working with freelancers      because thery are cost effective, they              bring domain expertise, it is also less              risky for new startups. Is is also helpful for new freelancers as they get the working experience.

2.Coworking spaces are being developed to support freelancers and self- employed:

  If you visit tier 1-2 cities like Mumbai,      Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata                    coworking spaces are being developed to        help individuals to work together. Also            these spaces are providing a nice work            environment for people. You can see a mix of freelancers, consultants working in shared spaces. However this concept is new and might take a few years to see the actual results.

 CONCLUSION:

Freelancing is growing and will continue to grow. But remember it can never replace the stem jobs completely. Every field has its equal positives and negatives. You've to decide whether you have the ability to take risks.

Freelancing definately gives you financial freedom but it also means the risk of failure if you're new. Its better you have a proper plan if you want to do freelancing.

Its very important that you know that doing freelancing has a lot of responsibility than just working and having a freedom. You have to do all the things that an employer does all by yourself.

Other than that it's totally upto you whether you want to do it or not. Its important that you see things from different perspectives to know what's best for you.