Upwork’s recent annual report on freelancing in the U.S. found that 56.7 million Americans freelanced in 2018—an increase of 3.7 million people from 2014.
The freelance community is certainly growing. Statista, a business data platform, predicts that by 2028 that number will increase to over 86 million.
With these large numbers, it’s imperative to prepare yourself to freelance and freelance well. Use this guide to understand what freelancing is, how to find companies and jobs hiring, and the characteristics needed to succeed as a freelancer.
The Complete Guide to Freelance Success
What Is Freelancing? A Basic Definition
Essentially, a freelance job is one where a person works for themselves, rather than for a company. While freelancers do take on contract work for companies and organizations, they are ultimately self-employed.
Freelancers are responsible for all sorts of things that traditional employees are not, such as setting their work hours, keeping track of time spent on different projects, billing clients, and paying their own employment and business taxes. Freelancers are not considered “employees” by the companies they work for, but rather “contractors.”
When you’re searching for freelance jobs, there are a number of different terms to be aware of. These can be used to help you find freelance job openings, and they’re also useful when describing yourself and the work you do to potential clients.
- Freelance job: A widely-used term to find freelance jobs.
- Contract work: Jobs where you’re a temporary contract worker, rather than a permanent employee.
- Contract job: Same as contract work.
- Independent contractor: Another common way to say freelancer. Your work terms are specified by a contract with another company or individual. This is how the IRS classifies this type of work.
- 1099: Used to describe the type of job. For example, “This is a 1099 contract position.” Refers to the IRS form an independent contractor fills out: form 1099-MISC.
- Contract consultant: Someone who is hired for temporary consultations for specific issues within a company.
- Contract-to-hire: A job that begins as a freelance, independent contractor position but has the potential to become a regular employee position if things go well.
How to Find Freelance Work
Focusing on companies that are known to hire freelancers can be a great way to start your search for freelance work. Recently, FlexJobs created a list of the top 30 companies for freelance jobs, meaning they posted the most freelance openings on our site. Here’s the top 10:
- Kelly Services
- Real Staffing
- Kforce
- AFIRM
- Onward Search
- Dahl Consulting
- Ajilon
- Computer Futures
- Paladin
- Addison Group
As you can see from the freelance job listings on FlexJobs, a variety of companies, organizations, and government agencies hire freelancers. You’ll find work in almost every career imaginable, and the freelance jobs vary from small, temporary projects to long-term, full-time projects.
In 2018, FlexJobs determined the career fields that had the most freelance openings on our site are:
- Computer & IT
- Accounting & Finance
- HR & Recruiting
- Editing, Proofreading, and Writing
- Administrative
- Project Management
- Data Entry
- Analyst
- Software Development
- Technical Support
Pros and Cons of Freelancing
Every job has pros and cons, and freelancing is no different. Being aware of challenges ahead can ensure you’re prepared and dealing with reality.
Pros of Freelancing
Having control over your workload, the clients you work with, and your income is a big benefit of freelancing. When you freelance, you’re in the driver’s seat. You determine what jobs to take on, which clients you want to work for, and your pay rate. Depending on your level of expertise, it could be possible to work part-time hours, but make full-time pay.
Flexibility and remote work are also a perk. Most of the time, working on freelance projects will involve working at your home office and working the hours you so choose. You’ll absolutely have deadlines to meet, but you will decide when and where you work.
Cons of Freelancing
With the ultimate in control, comes additional responsibilities. As a freelancer, you are a business owner, and you need to stay on top of taxes, invoices, payments received, finding your own health insurance, and buying every piece of software and technology you need to complete your work.
Feast or famine syndrome is another real downside to freelancing. Some months you’ll be full to the brim with work, while the next month may be a ghost town. You may be relying on a consistent contract with one client, only to find they don’t need you anymore suddenly. Freelancing requires good money management and constant sourcing of new clients.
Traits and Characteristics Needed as a Freelancer
There are a few qualities you should possess to set yourself up for freelance success. While not an all-encompassing list, these important characteristics will give you an idea of where you should focus.
Discipline
There’s no boss watching you out of the corner of their eye or colleagues to judge you when you spend an hour online shopping instead of working. Discipline is necessary to stay on track.
Persistence
Persistence is always important, but particularly when you’re just getting started as a freelancer and desperately trying to track down work.
Resilience
There’s one word you’ll hear more than anything as a freelancer: no. Rejection is the name of the game, and you’re going to need to let it roll off your back.
Organization
You’re responsible for a lot of different tasks. You need to keep track of your income and expenses. You need to promptly reply back to client emails and stay on top of your deadlines. You need to keep your files sorted and your workload streamlined.
Outgoing
You don’t necessarily need to be outgoing in the traditional sense, but you do need to be able to be a little aggressive in order to land new clients. If you want to grow your business, you’re going to have to be comfortable networking and approaching strangers, whether you’re doing it in person or digitally.
Communicative
Being a freelancer involves a lot of communication. You need to be willing to have the hard conversations—like negotiating a higher rate or breaking up with a client—and handle them tactfully and professionally. There’s no boss or other colleague to take care of that dirty work for you.
Ready to Become a Freelancer?
Finding freelance work doesn’t have to be hard. FlexJobs partners with thousands of companies—ranging from Fortune 500 to small businesses—to offer positions in more than 50 job categories. Learn more today
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