I will start with the formal definition:
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a self-employed person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any particular employer. A freelancer has not only the freedom to choose his work category but also the freedom to choose his work timing. A freelancer is not bound to work at the regular 9 am to 5 pm office time. With the help of internet, freelancing is now not also related to a fixed place either.
You can almost do any sort of
work/job online. You can earn from home working with whatever field you are good at. Not necessary that you need to have a computer science certificate for that. If you think that you are not good at any particular field of work then you can also do works like data entry easily for which you do not need any particular skill at all. You can get almost any types of work which depends on IT at
Freelance Marketplace sites. Programming, Data Processing, Project Management or just writing an article for a website – all sort of work is available in the internet.
Below are a list of few categories and sub-categories of work you can do online as a free lancer:
1. Web Development
Web Design
Web Programming
Ecommerce
UI Design
Website QA
Website Project Management
Other - Web Development
2. Software Development
Desktop Applications
Game Development
Scripts & Utilities
Software Plug-ins
Mobile Apps
Application Interface Design
Software Project Management
Software QA
VOIP
3. Networking & Information Systems
Network Administration
DBA - Database Administration
Server Administration
ERP / CRM Implementation
Other - Networking & Information Systems
4. Writing & Translation
Technical Writing
Website Content
Blog & Article Writing
Copywriting
Translation
Creative Writing
Other - Writing & Translation
5. Administrative Support
Data Entry
Personal Assistant
Web Research
Email Response Handling
Transcription
Other - Administrative Support
6. Design & Multimedia
Graphic Design
Logo Design
Illustration
Print Design
3D Modeling & CAD
Audio Production
Video Production
Voice Talent
Animation
Presentations
Engineering & Technical Design
Other - Design & Multimedia
7. Customer Service
Customer Service & Support
Technical support
Phone Support
Order Processing
Other - Customer Service
8. Sales & Marketing
Advertising
Email Marketing
SEO - Search Engine Optimization
SEM - Search Engine Marketing
SMM - Social Media Marketing
PR - Public Relations
Telemarketing & Telesales
Business Plans & Marketing Strategy
Market Research & Surveys
Sales & Lead Generation
Other - Sales & Marketing
9. Business Services
Accounting
Bookkeeping
HR / Payroll
Financial Services & Planning
Payment Processing
Legal
Project Management
Business Consulting
Recruiting
Statistical Analysis
Other - Business Services
If you feel that you have skills related to any one or more of these fields, then you can easily become a Freelancer working from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection.
Freelance Outsourcing: Outsourcing is the process by which a company uses some third party companies to complete a particular task without doing those themselves. It could be designing a product or even completing the whole production done by that third party company. Outsourcings are usually done to lower the production cost. Sometimes it is also done due to insufficiency of time, labor or technology. On the other hand off-shore outsourcing is the process of doing a company’s task from a different country or region without doing it in their own country. Usually organizations from rich countries of Europe and America do the off-shore outsourcing. The main target of such companies is to complete a task paying less salary while maintaining its quality. Usually IT based tasks like, data processing, programming, graphic works, multimedia related tasks, technical supports etc. are done using off-shore outsourcing.
FREELANCE MARKETPLACE: There are many popular websites in the internet which provides the opportunity of outsourcing. These sorts of websites are called Freelance Marketplace. Those who submit tasks or works in these websites are known as Buyers or Clients and those who completes/do the tasks are known as Freelancers, Providers, and Sellers or in some cases Coders. Several freelancers can apply to complete a task. Then they have to go through a process called Bidding. During the bid, freelancers mentions the amount of money at which they can finish the task. A client can choose anyone of them. Usually a client chooses a freelancer depending upon his/her previous work experiences, amount of money and the comment a freelancer makes while bidding. After selecting a freelancer a client deposits the whole money for the project in the website’s account named Escrow, which ensures that a freelancer would get the money as soon as the job is done. After the task is completed a freelancer has to submit the whole project to these websites. After that, client verifies the work of the freelancer. If everything is alright then the client accepts the work. The moment it is done money will be transferred at once to the freelancer’s account from escrow. During this time a freelancer has to pay the website a commission of 10%-15% of the total payment as service charge. Lastly at the end of the month, the website sends all the money to the freelancer from his/her account in various ways.
Some Important Terms in Freelancing:
There are important terms in Freelance Marketplace sites which are to know about to start freelancing in a proper way. They are –
Rating: After a task is completed the client gives the provider a rating between 1 and 10 based on the performance. Here the highest rating value is 10 and the lowest rating is 1. This rating plays a very important role while getting a new project. So to get a rating of 10 point one should always try to fulfill the project requirements completely and skillfully. Ranking is made in a Marketplace based on a provider’s average rating on all the tasks completed and the total worth of tasks he/she has completed. The higher the ranking is, the better is the chance of getting a new job.
Deadline: There is a certain time limit or deadline to finish every project. The task must be completed before this time. If any provider can not complete the task within the time limit then the buyer can take the whole work without even paying any money if they want. Moreover the client can give the provider a low rating. So if the time limit seems lesser than required a provider should extend it requesting the buyer before starting the job.
Mediation/Arbitration: If any problem arises between the buyer and the provider while a project is running then to solve it there is this system called Mediation. In this process the authorities of the site discusses with both the parties and takes the necessary steps to solve the problem.
Escrow: After starting the project the website asks the client to deposit the money in an account known as the Escrow. This ensures that freelancer or provider would receive the money as soon as the job is done. A provider should not start a job before the client deposits the money.
Some popular Freelance Marketplaces:
Below is the list of some of the most popular Marketplaces (Click on the banners to register today for FREE):
oDesk (www.odesk.com): oDesk is a freelance Marketplace where near about 100 thousands of freelancers are working. At this moment there are more than 4000 projects in oDesk. For every project “a fixed price” or “hourly based price”, both types of works are available in this site. Working at oDesk it is possible to earn more than other freelancing sites. oDesk can be considered as a virtual office where you will work for a certain period of fixed time being present on the internet. The progress of your work at this time will be sent as screenshot report to the buyer or client at a certain interval. You will receive the money for exactly the time you will work. If you work for extra time then you will also receive payment for that extra time. As commission this site will charge you 10% of the total price.
After login in to this site you can select the job category according to your choice from the site’s Find Job tab. Inside the project’s page there are different information about the project. If you choose to work on the project you have to first apply for it. But before everything you must attend and pass the Readiness Test. To apply for some projects you must have to have different test certificates. So the more tests you give the more number of projects you can apply for. After the buyer has selected you open the “oDesk Team” software in your computer, login to it and start working. While registering to oDesk there are two types of accounts available – one is the freelancer provider other is the provider company. To work as a freelancer select the first type. To complete the registration provide your required personal information. Once the registration is complete take some time to create your profile/resume.
A provider’s profile is divided into the following sections:
My Account Summery – In this section mention your personal information, how much amount are you willing to get for every work hour and how many hours can you work weekly. Before working in oDesk you have to give a readiness test. It is a test which will determine whether you have properly understood all the policies of the site or not. To give the test click on ‘Take the oDesk Readiness Test’ link. To pass the test you have to answer 12 questions within one hour and have to answer correctly to all the questions. The test will be open book, so you can take help from the site’s user manuals and guidelines. So before appearing the test you should read the manuals thoroughly.
Portfolio Projects – You can put the details of your previous works here along with pictures and attachments.
Employment History – If you have any experience working for any company then you can mention it in this section.
Education – Mention your education qualifications in this section.
Certifications – Here mention the results of the tests you have passed.
Skills – Write your skills on different fields in here.
Categories & Job Alert – Mention the kind of work you want to do in oDesk.
Other Experiences – You can put details of any other experiences you have in here.
oDesk Special Features:
Online Test – There are more than 150 online tests to prove the skills of providers. Any of these tests can be appeared at any time. New providers can give more tests to upgrade their profiles. To appear a test, after login select Qualifications Test from the Find Providers tab. Every test is contains 40 questions and the time limit is 40 minutes. You can apply the same test after 30 days.
Team Management – Through this site a buyer can employ many providers for a certain period of time to work in a single project. To manage a team there is ‘Team Room’, where at the same time a buyer can look at the information of the team members, their work history and their latest work progresses. There is ‘Time Analyzer’ which shows when and how many hours a member is working for. For buyers there are also provisions to view the provider’s screenshots, desktop screen sharing system, Bug tracking and server to host sub-version.
oDesk Team Software – Providers can prove their skills by installing a software in their computer called “oDesk Team”. At certain time interval this software kit sends the provider’s latest work progress to the client as screenshots. It also sends the work memo, activity log and video if there is a webcam. Providers can video chat with other members of the team as well. To download the software click Resources from the Community tab.
http://www.getafreelancer.com/ : The total number of registered providers or freelancers in this site is near about 850 thousand. Everyday around 200 new projects arrives into this site and on average everyday nine thousand open projects are there to bid. The service charge of this site is 10% of the total payment for each task.
Advantages – Gold Members do not have to pay service charge. Monthly fee to become a gold member is only $12. There is a system for the new users in this site which is known as the trial projects where only new freelancers can bid. So in this site a freelancer does not have to wait much to get his/her first work.
Disadvantages – Here is not mandatory to deposit the money in the escrow before a work. It complete depends upon the buyer. There is a limitation in this site in case of bidding. A general member of this site can only bid up to 15 projects every month and for gold members this number is 160.
www.scriptlance.com : There are only 3000 active freelancers in this site who at least completed 1 task. On average everyday around 150 new projects arrives in this site and at this moment there are 1800 open projects there. Here the service charge is comparatively lower than other sites, which is only 5% of the total.
Advantages – For a certified programmer the service charge is only 2.5% and to be a certified programmer the monthly membership fee is only $25. There is a forum in this site to solve different types of problems of the freelancers.
Disadvantages – Like Get-A-Freelancer it is also not mandatory in this site to deposit the money in the escrow account which entirely depends on the buyer.
http://www.rentacoder.com/ : The features of this site are a lot different than the previous to sites discussed above. Although it is a little difficult for the new comers to get their first job in this site but for some independent features of this site it is quite popular to the experienced freelancers. There are around 230 thousands registered coders in Rent-A-Coder. Everyday around 2500 open projects are there to bid in here. For usual tasks the service charge is 15% of the total payment and for bonus work it is 10%.
Advantages – It is mandatory to deposit money in the escrow at this site. Before starting a project the buyer has to deposit the money in the escrow which guarantees the payment of the provider at the end of the task. In this site a freelancer can bid on any task according to his/her choice. The rules and regulations of this site are a bit strict that others sites which provides a better environment for the buyer and the coder to work together.
Disadvantages – The service charge of this site is comparatively higher than the other sites. There are no special advantages in here like the gold membership features in other sites. There is no extra facility of the newcomers in this site; as a result it is a little time consuming to get the first work in here.
SUCCESSFUL FREELANCER
To become a successful Freelancer maintain the following guidelines:
- Understand the requirements of the Project
- Timeline to finish the Project
- Provide quality work
- Communication with the buyer
I believe if you follow these things then your Buyer will give a high rating. Higher ratings will get more business and more money. Buyers also reward BONUS to their providers.
How come you become Rich with Freelancing?
People will get money by doing work. But not all people get rich. The reason is very simple the Time Vs Money. How much you spent and how much you get? If you analyze then you will understand that there is one other thing i.e. Opportunity. So we need to keep a balance among all these things. Few things you should consider:
- High rating more business
- High rating you can demand more money
- High skills you can work more (more work more money)
- Business ethics (the more the people will trust you the more business you will get)
- Management (the more you will manage things, less effort and great results you will get)
- Working on the emerging and latest technology
- Good communication with the buyers (Again communication is very important factor).
- Follow the rules and policy.
