A freelancer is a person who works on his own, independently, providing professional services of some kind without establishing exclusive contractual ties with a client or enterprise.   

As an example, a web designer can search for a staff job in a company and devote exclusively to her, or he can be a freelancer thus providing external services autonomously for one or many clients.

The freelance model is experiencing dramatic growth in practically all over the world thanks to technological progress and mindset changes in which regards millennials’ generation labour paradigm.

How does a freelancer work?

They generally work home-based, at an owned-office or a co-working space. Most of the times all a freelancer needs are a computer with adequate software and an excellent connection to the Internet.

Usually, firstly the freelancer comes to an agreement with the client about the project’s terms, costs, and deadline, and on some occasions, he gets an advance payment before he starts working. Freelancers get new clients mainly through recommendation and self-promotion.  

There are some professions traditionally linked to independent work. Such is the case of those connected with web programming, design; digital marketing, remote support, and writing, but actually, there are many other profiles which are stepping into the freelance world: legal, accountancy and administration fields.

Pros and cons of being a freelancer

Some of the main advantages are:

• You can work from every corner of the world; your job does not depend on a physical space.
• You manage your own time by what works better for you.  
• You work on the projects you select.
• You learn from your dealing with clients.
• You save time and money in transportation all over the city.
• You can spend more time with your family.
• You work on your resiliency and autonomy skills
• You can get more money than what you would earn working in a fixed job for a company, though this will depend solely on your will.

Besides, Why opting to work freelance?

The main disadvantage of “freelancing” is that you do not count on an assured paycheck every month, as you would by having a fixed job. That means that just as you may do well in one season, the next one can be slow. Nevertheless, we are to keep in mind that having a fixed job does not assure you will never be fired and least of all that it has to do with an activity you truly enjoy.

Also, depending on each temperament, some people have better performance and are more productive within a corporate workplace environment, and when they try to work on their own, they realise that they end procrastinating over the odds.  

How can you find freelancers for your projects?

There are online platforms devoted precisely to linking enterprises to remote workers in different professional fields. Among these, we can find Workana (the largest in Latin America), Upwork and Freelancer.

The advantage provided by these platforms is that they not only enable freelancers to find projects to work on, but they also offer guarantees on payments made by the clients. Funds are released to the freelancer once he had presented the work agreed on, and the client approved its quality.

Another option is to hire a freelance under recommendation if you happen to know someone experienced in working with autonomous workers on the field you demand. Don’t forget to ask for all the references you can, and to revise his work portfolio.  

Why hiring freelancers?

For every new project, you can build a remote work team with specialised profiles, capable of meeting goals in a faster and efficient way, since its members will be used to working based on objectives.  

The truth is that if you revise the freelancer’s ranks, qualifications and references before selecting him, and then you keep open to communication, agreeing on a fair price for his work, it is most likely that he becomes a loyal long-run collaborator for your business.

Also, check 5 Tips to build the best remote work team

Keep on learning

You can find plenty of online resources linked to the freelance world. Here we list some of the best resources we have uncovered:

• What Does It Mean To Be A Freelancer? – by Doubleyourfreelancing
• What is Freelancing? – by Quora
• How to Become a Freelancer From Home – by Thebalancesmb
• 3 Systems to find your freelance hourly rate  – by Iwillteachyoutoberich
• Open projects to apply as a freelancer – by Workana

What is Workana?

We invite you to know Workana, the leading freelance marketplace. We’ve been working since 2012 to keep connecting companies and entrepreneurs with remote workers of the most diverse specialty areas.