Freelancing and remote work are no longer as unusual as they once were. Recently many industries were thrown into remote environments for at least two years. However, what is it like to be a freelancer or remote worker by choice, and to start from scratch and do the work independently? What is it like to utilize freelance platforms such as Upwork? What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of partnering with a platform, overall? Let’s take a closer look at the world of remote work, from Rita, a freelancer’s point of view.
Perks of Freelance, over the Traditional Office Setting
- Freedom – One of the main reasons why I (Rita) wanted to start my freelance career, and one of the reasons why I still love it to this day, is the freedom and flexibility it allows. You can work from literally anywhere, as long as you have a strong, stable internet connection. Additionally, more often than not, you can keep flexible office hours on a regular basis. This has opened up a world of travel for me. I have been to countless destinations over the last 5 years. As long as I have my laptop, cell phone and some WIFI, I can keep my clients happy and earn money while “out of office”. Bye bye two weeks of vacation per year, hello I make my own schedule!
- Control with Less Stress – Being more in control of my schedule took my stress level down to a whole new level. This has allowed me to better prioritize my personal life and led to better personal relationships. I strongly believe time is one of the most valuable things in life, it’s the one thing you can never get back. Freelancing has given me more control of my time professionally and recreationally, and I would not trade that for any traditional 9-5.
- Professional growth – I believe freelance has made me more well rounded professionally. It has pushed me into different industries and opened my eyes to jobs that I may have not been exposed to in a traditional workplace. When I have slow days I can explore hundreds of postings and pick what I find interesting to submit. If I have a good working relationship with a client and they have a specific need for something, even if I have not done it before, chances are likely that they will give me a whack at it before hiring someone new, and BOOM – I just learned a new skill! Learning clients’ needs and being adaptive to them has allowed me to build my online resume. This in turn has helped me secure new potential clients. Trust me, keeping your online profile/resume complete, up to date, and competitive is one of the most important things you can do in the world of freelance. This is your foot in the door, if your profile is lacking, there is a high chance you will be skipped over.
Things to Consider Prior to Starting
I can absolutely think of many pros to freelance but there are a few cons, or at least some things to consider before starting.
- Feast or Famine – Unlike a traditional office job, freelance work is not always steady or guaranteed. Sometimes you’re slammed, other times not so much. You should prepare and plan appropriately for the slow days/weeks and do not put all your eggs in one basket. Personally, I prefer to have multiple clients at a time, with limited hours for each. I have found this helps to keep things semi steady and slightly spread out.
- Motivation & Organization – Freelance does put a bit more responsibility back on the individual. Not only do you have to be motivated to find the work, but you also have to get it done. There is no one to pick up your slack and assuming you use a marketplace platform, your clients will be able to rate you publicly. Additionally, you will need to be responsible with your own admin duties like bookkeeping/tax preparation, insurances, taxes and fees – it serves well to be a well-organized individual here.
- Know your Value – One more thing, and this is not necessarily a con but super important nonetheless: know your worth! Sure it’s important to be competitive, but don’t start off low balling yourself. Of course you can build upward, but it’s easier to climb a hill than a mountain – do not make your rates so low that it is hard to raise them when the time comes to build your business.
Upwork
Although Upwork is certainly not the only freelance marketplace out there, it is the only one I have used personally, so that is all I can speak to. When I first started with Upwork around 5 years ago there was less cost involved overall, and this was one of the reasons why I chose it. Unfortunately, those days are gone and there is a bit more cost involved. The main thing here to consider are the fees – are they worth what you are getting from the platform in return?
Make sure you feel like you are getting the value for what you are paying. Here are a few things to know about Upworks fees, before you decide to partner with them.
- Service Fees – This is on all your earnings, per contract. It starts at 20% and can go as low as 5%, the longer you work with someone (the more $$$ you make with one client), the lower the fee. So, personally, I look for long-term clients when prospecting.
- Connect Fees (for bidding on postings) – These are now paid (for the most part). I think you may get a few (10) free connects per month, but that number used to be much higher, and previously connects did not expire either. Now they now expire 1 year after purchase.
Even though these fees seem steep at first glance, the Marketplace does offer added security for payments and has protections in place for the freelancer, not to mention that they have a huge selection of job postings to apply to. This, for me, made the fees a bit easier to swallow.
Freelancing takes some dedication and hard work, especially when you are first starting out. However, with proper planning, a little time, and dedication you can be successful and more stress free in your career and personal life.
This post was written by Rita on Upwork. Read Work Online as a Freelancer for more and subscribe to read more about business, sales and investing. Have a lovely day.
