These days, more and more people are choosing to work as freelancers, with an estimated 76.4 million Americans getting in on the action. However, before you make the leap, it's important to understand the pros and cons of this work style.
Benefits
1
Flexibility: As you'd expect, the ability to work flexibly and choose your own schedule is a big draw for many people looking to work freelance. As a freelancer, you get to choose what work you do, your clients, and your work hours, allowing you to work when you're most productive without being confined to an office space.
2
Potential for Higher Earnings: As you gain more skills and experience, you can charge more as a freelancer. With regular employment, you usually have to wait for your boss to decide if you're eligible for a raise or bonus. However, with freelancing, you get to decide your own rates and increase them when you feel you are able to, particularly if your profession is in high demand.
3
Variety of Work: It's pretty common for freelancers to work on all kinds of different projects, which can vary a lot in terms of scale and duration. You can also choose the projects you want to work on that match your interests and skills, which is something regular employees don't have as much influence over.
4
Work-Life Balance: With greater control over your work schedule, you can ensure you have a healthy work-life balance and avoid the dreaded burnout.
5
Easier Entry: Unlike regular employment, anyone can start freelancing from scratch, without having to go through a lengthy interview process. Plus, provided you have the basic equipment, freelancing has very low startup costs in comparison to other jobs.
6
Developing Skills: Skill development is a crucial part of freelancing since allows you to continuously improve your craft and gain more clients. On top of that, you get to learn on the job and develop your career.
7
Opportunity to Grow: Freelancing isn't just a way to make money—it can also become a full-fledged business in its own right. Skilled and experienced freelancers can become well-known in their area of expertise and get hired more often, allowing them to increase their rates.
Drawbacks
Despite the many benefits, there are of course some drawbacks to freelancing which are important to consider before you dive in.
1
No Employee Benefits: The perks of regular employment—like holiday pay, sick pay, health insurance, and retirement savings—aren't something you get in the world of freelancing.
2
Unstable Income: As a freelancer, it’s your responsibility to find your own clients to ensure you maintain a steady income, however, sometimes there aren't many job opportunities or client work available. This can make your income a bit unstable, unlike the regular paycheck from traditional employment. Alongside this, you might also have to chase invoices, as some clients could be late to pay.
3
Responsibility: Freelancers are a one-man band, which means you're responsible for everything in your business, from filing taxes to marketing, admin, client management, and actually providing your services.
4
Fewer Resources: As a freelancer, you don't have the same access to resources as the big companies you're competing against because you don't have as much money to spend, which makes it harder for you to grow your business.
Popular Freelancing Jobs
One of the best things about freelance work is that you can monetize your passion or talent to help solve people’s business problems and get paid for it at the same time. Some freelancing gigs are more popular than others, though. According to Indeed.com, here are the highest-paying freelancing jobs along with their average salaries.
Freelancing Service
Average Annual Salary
Technical Writer
$74,296
Accountant
$59,606
Executive Assistant
$60,504
Public Relations Specialist
$76,102
Editor
$60,598
Web Designer
$56,866
Content Writer
$51,994
Human Resources Adviser
$73,244
Virtual Assistant
$40,842
Computer Programmer
$68,620
Financial Consultant
$66,459
Social Media Manager
$58,142
Translator
$55,952
Business Consultant
$76,969
Marketing Specialist
$57,173
Web Developer
$77,791
Graphic Design
$40,352
Software Consultant
$87,860
Videographer
$49,922
Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Freelancer
Identify Your Service and Niche
Freelancing is all about using your existing skills and talents to provide a service and make some money. With that in mind, the most important first step is to identify the skills you can monetize. For example, did you study graphic design in high school or college, or do you just have a natural talent for Photoshop? Or are you a whiz at writing creative copy and content?
To identify your service, you need to put yourself in your customers' shoes: How can your service help solve their problems? In addition, will your service be able to help a wide range of customers to ensure that you have a steady flow of money?
Once you've considered these points and figured out where your freelance service and skills come into play, you can write a brief 200-word proposal about what your freelance service is and how it can help different clients and businesses succeed. While most freelancing platforms will ask for this, it's also a good idea to have a well-prepared proposal when reaching out to potential clients outside these platforms.
Set Your Rates
Once you've figured out what service you're going to provide, it's time to crunch the numbers and see how much it's going to cost you to do so. The goal is to make as much money as you can without turning potential clients away by going for cheaper freelancers. While there's no set guide on how much to charge for your freelancing services, there are a few things to think about when setting your pricing structure.
First off, it’s crucial to look at what similar freelancing services are charging on the market to give you a sense of the going rate and what you can charge.
You should also think about what you can offer the freelancing market that others can't. Do you have any unique selling points that let you charge a little extra?
Likewise, if you have a lot of experience in the field, you can charge a bit more because you'll be seen as more reliable, higher quality, and trustworthy.
Pricing also depends on how long the project will take and how complex it is. With this in mind, you could choose a pricing model, like charging by the hour, charging a flat fee for the whole project, or charging a retainer fee for clients who need multiple projects.
If you’re still unsure, why not check out the freelancing platform UpWork’s ‘Freelancing Rate Calculator’ to help you find your figure.
Start Creating Your Portfolio and Website
Now that you've got your skills and rates nailed down, it's time to start building your portfolio. A portfolio is basically your best work, put together to show clients what you can do and what you've done. For freelancers, it's like a visual resume, so make sure it's polished and high-quality to give yourself the best chance of landing clients.
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If you're new to freelancing, you might not have any specific client work to show yet. In that case, you can include samples from your studies or anything else you think would be a good addition to your portfolio. At any rate, every portfolio should include these key components:
Visuals
If you're not offering a visual service, there are still ways you can help the potential client visualize your work. This can include images, videos, screenshots, graphs, graphics, and more.
Descriptions
Each piece of work should have a short but detailed description, including the client’s request, the aims, and the outcomes. You should also include the skills, tools, and techniques you used for each project.
Case Studies
Showcasing your previous clients' work in case studies is a great way to demonstrate to new clients how you've solved their problems in the past.
Personal Biography
Right off the bat, your portfolio should include a description of yourself—your background, expertise, and contact info—plus any social media or website links.
Client Reviews
If you've worked with clients before, including any positive reviews and testimonials can really help you stand out.
You can build your portfolio as a physical copy for in-person meetings or you can build a digital portfolio, or website, using platforms like Google Sites, Wix, WordPress, or Behance. These platforms offer free and easy-to-use tools to build your perfect portfolio that you can send digitally whenever you think a new job might be on the horizon.
Get Set Up Legally and Financially
Before you start looking for your first client, you'll need to make sure everything's above board from a legal and financial perspective, including deciding what kind of business structure you want. You can either set yourself up as a sole proprietor, which means you'll be self-employed and pay your own taxes manually, or you can set up an LLC, which means you'll set up your business as a separate entity from yourself.
Starting up as an LLC can be a good move from a liability standpoint as it can give you more credibility with clients and help you avoid paying corporate taxes. Once you've made up your mind, you'll need to register your business as either a sole proprietorship or an LLC and get any licenses or permits you need. It's also a good idea to open a specific bank or PayPal account just for your freelancing business so you can monitor your income and expenses.
Find Your Clients
Now that you're all set legally and financially, it's time to start looking for clients. Luckily, in the digital age, there are lots of ways to get your work and business in front of clients. You can:
Sign up to freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer to advertise your services. All these platforms allow you to present your freelancing work, background, and skills, as well as set your rates, while connecting you with potential customers.
Get the word out about your freelancing service with some marketing magic. If your website is your portfolio, you could write some articles with SEO in mind to attract viewers, run an email marketing campaign, or offer some fun freebies or giveaways on social media to get people's attention.
It's time to start networking! This is one of the best ways to grow your freelance business. You can network at industry events, connect with people on LinkedIn, or use social media to follow and subscribe to similar work and content.
Get in touch with clients directly. If you think you could help a business or company, you can email them a pitch and offer your services - just be sure to include your portfolio and proposal.
Create Contracts and Invoices
Prior to embarking on your freelancing career, it's also vital for freelancers who work directly with clients, without using a third-party platform like Upwork, to get the contracts and invoices in place. Some examples of contracts you might need are:
A freelance contract and service agreement is a document that lays out the scope of work, payment terms, timelines, the number of revisions allowed, a termination clause, intellectual property rights, and dispute resolution.
If you charge a retainer, you'll need a retainer agreement.
You can check out sites like DocuSign and HelloSign for contract templates and to make it easy to sign and make changes. As for invoices, you'll need:
A standard invoice should include the client's info, an invoice number, the date, your info as the freelancer, a description of the services you've provided, the rates you charged, the total amount due, the payment terms, and your banking info so you can receive the payment.
A proforma invoice can be given and agreed to before the work is done.
A past-due invoice is a reminder to the client to pay if the standard invoice is late.
For invoice templates, platforms like QuickBooks and FreshBooks can help you keep track of your invoices so you don't miss anything.
Deliver Top Quality Work
Once you land your first client, it's your time to shine and start making some top-quality work. This is key for keeping the client happy, getting your full payment, and encouraging them to come back for more work. You'll also need to stick to your timelines and deliver everything you said you would. If that's not possible, it's really important to keep your client in the loop.
Building a solid relationship with your client is all about being consistent, open, and available to answer any questions they may have. Consistently delivering great work builds trust with your clients and establishes you as the go-to person for the job, potentially leading to additional freelance opportunities and higher earnings. Plus, you’ll get the opportunity to show off your skills and create more material to add to your portfolio!
Grow Your Freelance Business
One aspect to keep in mind when you're freelancing is that you need to keep developing your skills, networking, and growing your business. Your goal should be to provide the best possible service to your clients, so they'll stick with you and won't be tempted by other freelancers. To stay competitive, keep learning by taking online courses on platforms like Coursera and Udemy, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube tutorials, and more.
On top of that, you could ask current clients for referrals, and you might also be able to help out if they have any other connected businesses or links that could be good for growing your network and getting more jobs. As you complete projects, you can increase your rates based on your experience, and you might even be able to start hiring subcontractors if needed to lighten your workload but maintain output.
FAQ
Are there any freelancing jobs you can do without experience?
Some freelancing gigs require a bit of experience to get started, but there are plenty that just need a little initial skill. If you're a fast typer, you could become a typist, transcriber, or data enterer without prior experience. On the other hand, if you have a college education, you could become an online tutor without any teaching background, or take up customer service and virtual assistant roles if you have some organizational and administrative know-how.
What is the highest paying freelance job?
Freelance jobs often require significant experience and dedication to achieve the highest rewards. That said, some of the best-paying freelance jobs include software consultants, who earn an average annual salary of $87,860, and web developers, who earn an average annual salary of about $77,791.
Can students become freelancers?
Freelancing is a great way for students to make some extra cash to help fund their studies because it's
