What is your idea of a great job? Think of it and find your answers with online freelancing.
When the Fear of the Unknown comes into play, your mind can play lots of tricks on you but freelancing is not only easy because you get to do what you love, but because you do it at your own convenience and where you want to do it.
In this post, I will give you my five reasons (and should be yours too) as to why you should Start Freelancing Today and they are the same reasons I jumped into freelancing.
i) Opportunity to Work from Anywhere, even at home
Have you ever wanted to work from anywhere in the world? At the beach may be, at school, at work when the boss is not looking.
You need to start freelancing. I work in my pajamas and you can too ๐ .
For me, when I started out freelancing, it was a case of testing the waters (freelancing), what and if I could make money freelancing.
I am also not into office wear and with a Degree in Veterinary Medicine, the official dress code was somewhere on the horizon. The everyday norm was what I was running away from and I needed the freedom to work anywhere I wanted.
I had an option and a hard choice to make. No regrets, I chose freelancing ( I still do some Veterinary Consultations) :-).
Do you hear of people being hindered by their jobs from attending functions or taking holidays? If yes, which is the most obvious answer, you have come to the right place.
I rarely find myself in situations because with online freelancing, who cares where you are as long as you deliver in time.
You could be out at a friends house and still working, stuck in traffic, etc and still making money working from anywhere.
The only time I get myself in a situation where I have to skip functions and holidays are when I have too much work that is required on a short notice but this is rare.
Freelancing offers immense freedom and in turn, saves time and money.
Just imagine the amount of time and money spent commuting instead of being spent in a constructive way(making some money). Freelancing is the future of work.
ii) Unlimited Number of Jobs to work on from Different Fields
Are you the jack of all trades kinda person ? Can you do web design, write articles, create awesome powerpoint presentation, social media marketing etc ? Start Freelancing Today.
When it comes to freelancing you can have an unlimited number of jobs in various fields as I mentioned above and it all depends on the skills that you posses. *See Picture Below*
To make more money online you need to diversify, improve and learn new skills as you go evolve as the jobs change in shape, the way they need to be delivered and form.
On most occasions this is not the case for a normal 9 to 5 job.
When you are just starting on any of the Major Freelancing Websites like Odesk you need to bear in mind that a day will come when you will have too many jobs to handle.
Only apply for jobs that you are skilled for and you believe will not result in freelancer burnout.
iii) Opportunity to get paid in a superior currency
Freelance work has been revolutionized by countries like the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan etc but this does not mean that other countries do not have a large freelance workforce. The reason as to why freelance work is on the rise in many countries and among many people is the chance to be paid by a superior currency than their own.
I remember my first online job and the amount I was paid, $9 for a job that took me less than 5 minutes to complete. I was super excited. If I was to indulge in hard labour in my career (Veterinary Medicine) that would have resulted in a couple of hours work ๐ .
If you reside in a country where the dollar is more valuable than the local currency then this is your breakthrough. Jump on the bandwagon and start freelancing.
iv) Opportunity to enlarge your social circles by interacting with people from different parts of the world.
Freelancing has helped me interact with people all over the world. I mean from the Phillippines to the U.S., From Russia to Brazil, I have worked with clients and freelancers from the all over world and it has been awesome (and still is).
One client (In the U.S.) that I have worked for over 2 years, has a Virtual Assistant in the Phillippines who manages Me (In Kenya) and other Freelancers (Around the World), we are a team, and it is a once in a lifetime experience.ย
Freelancing has helped me make money and most importantly,ย create relationships from all corners of the world.
By the fact that I am in Kenya, I have worked with a client in the U.S. because they have visited Kenya in the past, loved the people and our country.
v) Be your own boss
Who’s the Boss ? I am. Who’s the Man? I am. *Singing* (I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man Yes I am, yes I am, yes I am by Aloe Blacc)
If you have always wanted to work on your own schedule, this is the time to start freelancing. Technically, you become your own manager, boss and most importantly accountant.
You could be freelancing for employers in the U.S. but technically you are your own boss but remember the deadlines are yours to beat and the faster you are with completing an error free job the quicker the money gets processed.
If you are still debating on whether or not to start freelancing, you are missing out on a lot of opportunities.
Freelancing is the future of work and if you are left by the bandwagon it will take you some time to catch up. Start Freelancing Today.
I highly appreciate your feedback, therefore feel free to follow up with any concerns, comments, and questions on the comments section below orย Freelancer Insights Facebook Page or you can Contact Me.
I am interested in professional translation.
How do get started?
Hello Bilha,
Thank you for taking time to read my blog. Highly appreciated.
Have you ever worked online before ?
Professional translation is awesome but it all needs you to know the language you want to translate from or to very well. Therefore, to get started you need to know, understand, read, write and converse in that particular language that you want to be translating to and from.
Great reasons David! When I started contracting on online a little over a year ago, I had no idea that I would develop a entire set of new skills and work for a dozens of different people from around the world. It was an excellent experience and would recommend that lots more people try it.
Thank you Samrat for reading my blogpost. I couldn’t agree more. The experience with working with people all over the world without ever meeting them and you create lasting relationships that run for years cannot be achieved any other way only by freelancing.
I have been interested in this but was discouraged by those who failed to get their payments from the client.Kindly advice in that area
Hello Rinah, Thank you for reaching out. With regard to payments, what happened. Did you work on a fixed price contract or an hourly? I personally prefer hourly contracts but the websites I use (odesk (now offering), elance) offer escrow therefore freelancer payments are safeguarded. On what freelalancing website did you not get paid?
Interesting read Doc, it takes great courage to surf uncharted waters especially with a professional degree that tends to skew the options for many of us in the profession.
Ahhhaaa Thanks Doc for stopping by and pointing out the hardest decision that I had to go head to head with. A veterinary surgeon, working online ๐ . Well, it starts with one step towards what you want to be. Thank you so much for your contribution.
Great stuff right there. I agree with the point about meeing new people from different fields. It seems ironical considering one is working from home but I’ve met as many people online as I have offline.
Absolutely spot on John. At first it seems that freelancers do not socialize but it is the contrary. I have met awesome businessmen and women, freelancers from India to Australia to Phillipines to U.S. to Kenya and we communicate and I enjoy it alot. Thanks for your contribution.
It’s always refreshing to read and re-read your blogs.You’re a great inspiration.
God bless you.
Thanks for taking time to stop by and commenting on my blog. Highly appreciated.
I am a vet too and I have interests in freelancing. Where do I start from?!
I have been reading your blogs which are so inspiring i feel i really want to do part time job online due to unavoidable circumstances.Kindly assist me where to start and i will appreciate. I learn very fast.thank you in advance.