Who is a freelancer, how to become one and what does he do to earn a stable income?

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A freelancer specialist who is not officially employed, but works remotely, usually via the Internet. He acts as a remote freelancer, provides a certain service and completes the tasks assigned to him.

A freelancer independently looks for customers and decides what type of work to do. He can collaborate with one or several customers at once. He has tasks, deadlines for their completion, and an agreed amount of payment for the work done.

Freelancers attract companies because it is easier for them to hire a remote worker, for whom they do not have to pay taxes, than to allocate resources to organize real jobs.

A company can carefully search for a really great specialist in their field, according to their financial capabilities and necessary goals. And if she is not satisfied with the quality of the work performed, you can quickly find another freelancer. And if a full-time employee cannot cope with the job, it will take much more time to fire him and find another employee.

What is freelancing in simple words

Recently you can often hear the words freelance and freelancers. If for some citizens this is a mysterious word, then for others it is a way of life. So, what is freelancing?

Freelancing is remote “free” work. A special type of employment in which there is no need to officially get a job and carry out instructions from your superiors during working hours, since in this area everyone decides independently with whom to cooperate and what services to offer to customers. For some, this is a simple part-time job, while for other citizens it is a stable, good income.

What opportunities does freelancing offer?

• flexible schedule and work from home

This entails the possibility of working part-time in your free time from your main job. This format is suitable for obtaining additional income or work for the soul. Interesting for students, mothers with children, people with limited mobility and those who crave freedom from the office.

• independently choose a project/order and refuse obviously uninteresting work, which is almost impossible when working as a full-time employee.
• unlimited earning opportunities!
• you will simply have to learn how to plan a personal budget , this point is often attributed to the disadvantages of freelancing, but we think differently. The sooner a person thinks about planning his finances, the faster he will begin to move towards financial freedom.

Who are freelancers

Some people still don’t even know who a freelancer is. Translated from English, “freelancer” is a free specialist who works for himself via the Internet.

He himself looks for the customer, and also decides what work to do and sets the work schedule. Freelancers can work with one or several customers at once.

In most cases, among freelancers you can find representatives of creative professions. Although recently engineers, consultants, teachers and many others are engaged in remote work.

Finding a job today is very easy. All you need to do is visit a special exchange, register and start actively doing the work.

In practice, freelancers earn 1.5-2 times more than regular office employees. The income of successful freelance workers ranges from 50,000 to 100,000 rubles per month. There are, of course, stars who have their own business and receive more than 100,000 rubles a month. Everything is real - the main thing is to work hard and go towards your dream.

You already understand who freelancers are. Let's look at what they can do.

Areas of remote work activity:

1. Copywriting . This is earning money by writing articles solely based on your own knowledge. If you are an expert in some field, you can write your own useful tips. Everyone needs texts today, so you definitely won’t be left without work. To make it easy to search for orders, there are copywriting exchanges.
2. Rewriting . If you lack your own experience and knowledge, this direction will help you. In this case, you will need to carefully read the finished article on the Internet and simply rewrite it in your own words. The main thing is that the output you get is completely unique material.
3. Translation of material . It’s worth noting right away that this is a very popular type of activity and well paid. All you need to do is translate small articles and get paid. Just don’t hope that you can translate an article with basic knowledge using an online translator. Customers only need high-quality work.
4. SEO optimization . This unknown word is well known to those who create their own websites and promote them. This is a very good profession with high pay, which requires special care and experience.
5. Administration . Today, among the vacancies you can find such a position as project administrator. But who is this? This is a person who leads groups or projects on social networks. You will need to always be online and control all actions: remove swear words, spam and other intrusive advertising.
6. Programming, layout and website creation . It’s worth noting right away that this requires special knowledge. For some, this is a direction from the realm of science fiction. Thanks to this type of activity you can earn good money.
7. Design . Today there is no place without design. To choose this type of activity, you must be able to use all graphic editors. As they say, the main goal is to do it beautifully and stylishly. A designer can earn good money.

As you can see, there are many directions, so anyone can become a freelancer and start earning money at home.

Working with texts

The Internet provides great opportunities for working with texts. Below we will talk about the most common professions in this field where you can work as a freelancer.

Rewriting (profession description)

This is a modification of the finished text so that a unique material is obtained. This is a fairly affordable way to earn money that does not require special skills, but for this job it is desirable to have a good knowledge of the language and a rich vocabulary.

Such work is paid modestly: about 35–70 rubles per 1000 characters. Rewriting can be a good start to a career for those who want to work with texts.

Copywriting (profession description)

The activity of a copywriter is to write articles, news items and other texts. Several sources are used to prepare the material. At the same time, if you have deep knowledge in a particular area, you can create original material. Professional copywriting may also include other tasks: coming up with headlines and slogans, writing “selling texts”, etc.

Copywriting is a more complex job than rewriting, and is priced more expensively, 70–350 rubles. for 1000 characters and above.

Why freelancing is becoming more and more popular

Why do more and more people today choose remote freelancing, call it a trend and claim that it is the future? If you look closely, today students, pensioners, mothers on maternity leave and office employees are becoming freelancers.

Probably, the whole demand lies in freedom of action and self-realization. Thanks to this direction, you no longer need to get up at 6 am, quickly run to work and ride on a crowded bus.

If at work you were always told what to do and how to do it, then there are only the wishes of the customers and complete freedom. What could be better? No bosses or envious employees, no fines for being late or not fulfilling the plan.

But we shouldn’t forget that remote work is, in turn, an interesting job with which you can combine several areas at once and constantly develop. Working as a so-called “office plankton” you can hardly get good skills and do things that bring positive emotions.

Every person has hobbies. They can bring not only positive emotions, but also good money. There are a great many areas of freelancing.

Pros and cons of freelancing

As in any direction, this area has its positive and negative aspects. Before you start working remotely, you should study them carefully. Let's start with the positives.

Pros of freelancing:

1. Free work schedule.

This is perhaps the most basic thing that people who choose this direction as their main job appreciate. You can decide for yourself how many days a week you will do work, which days you will take days off and when you will go on vacation.

The main thing is to complete the order within the established time frame. You can wake up and go to bed at a time convenient for you and not worry at all about getting up by the clock.

1. Work from home.

What could be better than doing work in cozy pajamas with a cup of aromatic tea? You no longer need to waste time traveling and communicating with unpleasant colleagues. Working at home, you are in a comfortable environment, close to your loved ones and you decide with whom to communicate.

1. It doesn't matter where you live.

If you look at the level of wages, in large cities it is much higher than in small cities. Moreover, the specialists are the same everywhere. This is the biggest disadvantage of regular work, since the salary depends on where geographically you are employed.

As for freelancing, it doesn’t matter where you live. You get paid solely based on your abilities.

1. Wage.

This is the best thing about being a freelancer. It’s worth noting right away that the level of income here is unlimited. Your earnings will depend on the type of work you do. In some areas, payment depends on the quantity of work performed, while in others, on quality.

1. Quiet work.

Peace of mind is what many citizens value. No more nervous clients who will bother you and ask you various questions. The same goes for nervous bosses, who often swear and load you with useless work.

1. Possibility to combine work and travel.

Some may think that you can't work and travel at the same time. Everything is real if you work as a freelancer. All you need to work is a computer or laptop with Internet access and some free time.

As mentioned earlier, every job has its drawbacks. Let's look at what they are like in remote work.

Cons of freelancing:

1. There is no fixed salary.

Many citizens have been accustomed for years to doing the same type of work and receiving a fixed payment. As for remote work, it is difficult to find an employer who will agree to pay a fixed salary for the work performed.

1. Search for customers.

You shouldn’t hope that you will simply register on a freelance exchange and orders will pour in. You must look for customers yourself, submit applications and actively develop.

There is quite a lot of competition in this area, but finding a regular customer is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.

1. Downtime.

You need to be prepared for the fact that you may experience downtime. This will certainly affect your earnings. Downtime usually only happens to new freelancers. With experience, you will be able to develop a base of regular customers and perform work on an ongoing basis.

1. No control.

If for some this is a huge advantage, then for the average person it is most likely a big disadvantage. This is where ordinary laziness may appear. If you plan your own work schedule, you may end up slacking off and becoming unproductive.

Any work should be approached extremely responsibly. To make good money, you need to control yourself.

1. Risk of non-payment.

This scares many new freelancers who are afraid that they will waste time, complete the work and not get paid. It’s worth noting right away that this happens, but extremely rarely. To prevent this from happening, you need to look for customers only on proven freelance exchanges.

1. Necessary equipment.

Everything you need for work will have to be purchased at your own expense. You will have to set up your workplace entirely yourself.

In the event of a breakdown, no one will be able to quickly fix the problem and you will have to solve all the problems yourself. In practice, for work it is enough to buy a personal computer or laptop, which almost everyone has today.

How to succeed as a freelancer - 5 useful tips

First you need to get rid of the main misconception. Many people believe that freelancing is an activity for the lazy. Categorically and unequivocally - no. To achieve noticeable heights and high incomes, you will have to work hard, especially in the initial stages. Freelancing is for those who are not afraid of work and are ready for it.

And some more useful tips.

Tip 1. Constantly develop

Stagnation turns a creative person into a boring artisan, a producer of flowing products. Stay up to date with current trends in your industry and continually learn.

Example

If you're a copywriter, don't limit yourself to writing texts. Master additional skills - learn html layout, learn how to upload texts to a website using WordPress - the most popular Internet resource management system on the Internet.

Sign up for copywriting courses – there are good paid programs and resources. As a last resort, contact me personally through the comments to this article, I also teach copywriting lessons on Skype.

Respect yourself, respect the client and your work. Even when making a trivial order, try to avoid hackwork and stamping. A professional image is made up of little things.

First, one customer will mark you, then another, and then a large Internet service will be interested in you. You won’t even notice how you will turn from an unknown beginner into a sought-after and well-paid specialist.

Tip 2. Plan your working time correctly

A typical mistake of newbies is that they take on as many orders as they physically cannot “take out.” I went through this myself - I had to work 10-12 hours a day without weekends and holidays.

What does the inability to correctly assess one’s strengths lead to?

A vicious path, I tell you. Learn to refuse - do not take orders just because they are offered to you. It is convenient for the client to work with you - you complete tasks quickly and charge little for them. But are you comfortable working in emergency mode all the time?

A pro works less, but gets more. But this requires a reputation. And it is created through systematic and high-quality work. At the same time, a freelancer’s brain needs regular rest. At least once a week, take a break from work, spend time with family, friends, your beloved cat, and entertainment.

Tip 3. Take advance payment

The network is full of people willing to use the services of neophytes for free. If you work directly with the customer, take an advance payment. Money in the evening, chairs in the morning. This is not a whim, but a severe necessity.

Tip 4: Create a good portfolio

It's a shame when good performers have a crappy portfolio. And this happens all the time. Are you too lazy to spend 2-3 hours designing a page with completed work? Do you like sitting for several days without orders?

Tip 5. Listen to customers

There will definitely be negative reviews. Only the $100 is liked by everyone without exception. If you fulfill hundreds of orders and work with many clients, there will be dissatisfied ones. But every negative review is a reason to work on your mistakes so that you never make them again.

How to become a freelancer: step-by-step instructions

If you are tired of office life and working according to a strict schedule, then it’s time to become a freelancer. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that you should start working as a freelancer from home correctly. Let's look at how to start working correctly and what you should pay attention to.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Find out what freelancing is.

Any work begins with learning the basics. This area was no exception. If you have not heard anything about this area before, then you should study everything carefully. Helpful articles and training videos that can easily be found on the Internet will help you with this.

You should also pay special attention to the direction and understand which one is right for you. The undoubted advantage is that you can choose a direction that does not require special knowledge and skills.

1. Workplace.

You must prepare your workplace. It is necessary to take into account that for good work you will need high-speed Internet. You must always be in touch, since orders are accepted and work is delivered in real time.

The same goes for a personal computer. The work requires equipment that will allow you to complete tasks as quickly as possible.

Recently, freelancers give preference not to computers, but to laptops. It is convenient and allows you to do work in any place convenient for you: at the table, on a comfortable sofa or in a gazebo in the country.

1. Price of services.

Once you have decided which direction is right for you, you should understand how much you can earn. The minimum and maximum payment is taken into account.

You must clearly know your worth and not work for pennies. And, of course, you shouldn’t go too far and ask for more pay if you’re just starting out in cooperation and don’t have a lot of experience. Everything comes with experience and this must be taken into account.

1. Mailbox.

Experienced employees advise creating a special email account for remote work. This will allow you not to mix personal life and work. Thanks to this, you can quickly receive the necessary information and not be distracted by personal messages.

You can indicate your work address in your portfolio or use it when registering on exchanges.

It is also worth considering that a separate mailbox is good. But for quick communication it is better to use social networking services.

1. Registration on the exchange.

To find your first customer who will provide work, you need to register on the freelance exchange. The most famous exchange today is freelance.ru.

When registering, try to provide as much personal information as possible. It is necessary to take into account that the customer will definitely look at your profile and portfolio before entrusting the work. The more accurately you write down all the information in your application form, the greater the chance that the customer will offer you cooperation.

1. Search for first orders.

After all the preparatory work has been done, you can begin searching for a customer. To do this, you will need to visit the “orders” section on the exchange and study all the offers.

Several thousand orders appear on the exchange every day. The main thing is to carefully study the task and see the payment.

You shouldn’t type many orders at once; you should start working with one. Once you complete it, you can move on to the next one. It is important to calculate your capabilities, because if you fail to complete the work on time, you may receive negative feedback and be blacklisted by the customer.

1. High-quality order fulfillment.

You must do your job well in order to receive new orders and good feedback. Do not forget about the deadlines, since they are not “rubber”.

It is also worth taking into account that in most cases, freelancers receive payment via an electronic wallet. Don't be afraid of virtual currency. To receive it, you just need to register in the payment system and receive an individual account number completely free of charge.

Where to make money freelancing - review of the TOP 3 freelance exchanges

There are dozens of freelance exchanges online, some well-known and some not so well-known. By working through the exchange, you will acquire the necessary skills in interacting with clients and learn to distinguish resellers from direct customers.

I offer an overview of the three best exchanges on the RuNet. I myself worked on the first two at one time, so I can confirm their reliability and convenience.

1) Freelance.ru

Long-lived in the freelance market. Programmers, designers, marketers, SEO specialists, photographers, translators, animators, copywriters, journalists, artists, creative and artistic people will find work here.

More than 1,500 new orders and projects appear every day. The main advantage for a beginner is protection from fraud thanks to special exchange tools. Buy a paid account and you will have additional opportunities to find profitable orders. The exchange constantly holds competitions with a substantial prize fund. In total, more than 700,000 users are registered here.

2) Work-zilla

An interesting site that provides work to thousands of freelancers. On Workzilla, customers pay for posting ads, promotion on social networks, reviews, likes, translations, proofreading services, design, copywriting and much more.

The only negative is the mandatory fee for participation in the project, but you have to pay for intermediary services one way or another on all exchanges. The average cost of one order is 600 rubles . To register, you need to pass a mandatory test - although the tasks are relatively simple.

3)You.do

The service is of a slightly different format . It allows you to quickly find contractors to solve any household and business problems. All exchange participants are tested for knowledge of the service rules. The resource’s employees check the information in the newbie’s profile and give several days of free access to orders.

Who works here? Couriers, repair specialists, housekeepers, designers, programmers, tutors, stylists, makeup artists, massage therapists, image makers, etc. Customers post tasks, specialists take them to work. Or the client himself finds a performer and offers him a certain task.

Examples of tasks:

• install Windows 10;
• clean a three-room apartment;
• buy and deliver tiles;
• remove construction waste from the apartment;
• make a business card website for the dining room;
• repair the TV.

Where to look for freelance work

Do you think finding a job online is difficult? In fact, everything is very simple. Today there are a large number of freelance exchanges on the Internet, where you can find a trusted customer and start earning good money.

We bring to your attention several proven services where everyone can be guaranteed to get started. Here is a list of all freelance exchanges!

Freelancing services:

Work-zilla is the best exchange!

If you want to find an order that you can quickly complete and receive funds, then this is a great exchange. A simple and intuitive interface will allow everyone to instantly get involved and start earning money.

All orders are divided into categories, so you can immediately pay attention to those that you understand.

Fl is one of the largest exchanges.

This is one of the largest remote work services. Every day there is a large number of free orders in different directions, good payment and friendly customers.

However, there is a small minus. To start earning good money, you will need to buy a Pro account, and this is an additional investment that is sometimes unacceptable for a freelancer.

Etxt, Advego and Text.ru are the largest copywriting exchanges

These are proven exchanges that you should trust. But you can only get a job there in one direction. You can make money on the listed exchanges if you know how to write articles. These are the so-called rewriters and copywriters who write articles to order.

You can also find a regular customer today on special forums, on a social network or in groups.

Advertising and Marketing

Just 10 years ago, PR, marketing and advertising were activities that involved a lot of real-life action. Today, specialists in this field can easily afford to work completely remotely, which will not interfere with creative activity, travel and recreation.

The world is increasingly moving online, and a large number of companies are focusing on online promotion. In this regard, there is a huge demand for the following specialists:

• PR manager;
• SMM specialist;
• group (channel, community) administrator;
• contextual advertising specialist (Yandex Direct, Google Adwords);
• SEO optimizer;
• internet marketer.

A PR manager today can, in some cases, work remotely. He simply supervises the activities of specialists who are engaged in online advertising, maintaining social networks and other activities to create an image and develop the company’s reputation.

an SMM specialist has also become quite in demand . Such an employee takes charge of the social networks of a project or company, draws up a content plan, and manages the work of copywriters, designers and other team members. The quality of promotion on social networks depends on this person.

Online marketing specialists are also often not present in the office. All communication and discussion of details can be done online.

This category also includes administrators of channels, communities and groups on social networks. They monitor the publication of content, monitor comments and provide users with feedback.

A Yandex Direct setup specialist (directologist), Google AdWords has the ability to work completely remotely. This profession involves performing actions for promotion in search engines and the Internet.

It is also necessary to mention SEO website optimizers. In the modern world, a large number of companies need to optimize their websites and bring them to the TOP. High-quality optimization touches on a large number of issues - external and internal work on the site, actions with content. In general, optimization can be done remotely, receiving a task from the customer.

An Internet marketer is a generalist who understands SEO optimization, promotion on social networks and contextual advertising. He forms the advertising strategy for promoting the company on the Internet. In small companies, he can also be a content manager at the same time.

The most profitable online professions can be learned remotely at these online universities

These online universities are the largest in Russia in terms of revenue, according to RBC. They're all good choices, but I like GeekBrains best because they guarantee employment, issue a state diploma, and you can pay for your studies in as little as a year.

How much do freelancers earn?

How much can a freelancer earn? This is the most popular question that arises among all newcomers who have decided to give up office work and start earning money doing what they love.

The main mistake of many beginners is that they believe beautiful advertising, expect to receive a lot of money and do nothing. It’s worth noting right away that this is fantastic. To earn good money, you must work well.

You should also take into account that each industry has its own pay range. The more useful information you know, the higher your payment will be. If in one direction the size depends on the number of completed tasks, then in another – on the quality.

If you approach your work responsibly and devote at least 8 hours to remote work, you can earn 30,000 rubles or more. As for a newbie, the pay will be lower at first. But you shouldn’t give up and you should always strive to move forward, develop and get more money.

As experienced freelancers advise, you must clearly understand how much you want to earn. The set plan will need to be divided by the number of your working days.

Is this a realistic amount for daily earnings? If yes, then everything is in your hands. The main thing is to strictly follow the assigned task and do your job efficiently.

Today in freelancing you can meet many successful specialists who earn more than 100,000 per month. They share their achievements on the World Wide Web.

The most popular freelance professions

We have already briefly reviewed above what areas there are. Let's consider which areas are the most popular.

How to make money freelancing:

1. Graphics editor.

To attract new clients and expand your client base, your business needs well-designed promotional materials: flyers, business cards, brochures, etc.

To do quality work, you need to be able to use graphic editors. And, of course, you need to be creative and follow the new products that appear in the field of design.

A beginning freelancer can receive 500 rubles for developing a simple logo or flyer.

1. Website developers.

Almost every company turns to specialists for help to create their own website. This is a well-paid field of activity that requires special knowledge.

It takes several weeks to complete the work, but the payment will pleasantly please you. Creating an “empty” website without information costs on average about 30,000 rubles. The cost of publications is discussed separately.

Example. You have a store selling cosmetics. To increase your client base, you find a freelance developer who creates an online store. But just creating a website is not enough; you need to correctly place information about each product.

The buyer must visually see what he is purchasing, study the characteristics and understand how much he needs to pay. If new products appear, you will need to again seek help from a specialist and ask to publish the material for a fixed fee.

1. Developers of mobile applications or games.

Today even a schoolchild knows what a mobile application is. Applications are usually ordered from cafes or online stores.

As for games, this is an excellent direction with which you can make good money for development and creation. Some site owners order games that require investment.

1. Photographer.

This is a great direction that anyone can take up. Just don’t think that it’s enough to buy a good camera and start taking pictures. If you have set a goal to become a successful photographer and earn good money, you will need to not only learn how to take high-quality photographs, but also how to process them.

Every day, citizens use the services of photographers: weddings, children's parties, presentations or exhibitions. Some citizens simply ask to take a few good pictures in a special studio or outdoors.

1. Videographers.

With the advent of YouTube, marketers' attitude towards video content has changed a bit. If they used to shoot long videos about the company’s activities, today they prefer short, well-edited videos.

Large companies actively order advertising, instructions or small presentations. If you learn to do your work not only quickly, but also efficiently, rest assured that there will be no end to customers.

1. Accountant.

Not all companies can afford to hire an accountant. But what if you need to prepare reports? In this case, you can use the services of a freelancer for a fixed fee.

A remote accountant can keep records of several companies at the same time. What is most attractive is consistency. You need to do quality work and then companies will contact you constantly. The position of a remote accountant is not only in great demand, but also well paid.

1. Tutors.

This is a great direction if you can teach others something useful. Today, it is not necessary to meet the client in person, since training can be conducted via Skype, and payment can be accepted by bank card or e-wallet.

English tutors and musicians who can teach you how to play the guitar can make good money.

Programming, website and application creation

Working with programs, websites and applications also most often does not require a specialist to be in the office. But such work requires long-term training in the specialty.

A programmer creates services and websites that we use every day. It is these specialists who create services, work on security systems and do a lot of work. Some of them need to be present in the office, but the work of the majority does not require such a need. There are a huge variety of programming languages, and therefore programmers are very different, here is a far from complete list:

• C++ developer.
• JavaScript developer.
• Java developer.
• Python developer.
• PHP developer.
• 1C developer.

At the same time, the highest paid programmers are Java developers, iOS developers, JavaScript developers, and the most promoted profession is Python developer, because in the USA this programming language is taught to students at universities.

Python developer receives 300 thousand rubles. per month

Website designers and mobile application developers (iOS developers and Android developers) are highly specialized programmers. Naturally, such an activity involves undergoing training and mastering a large number of skills.

This category of specialists also includes testers . This profession involves testing a finished product. Testers find errors in the operation of websites, services and applications and report on them. They also test games and other products developed by programmers.

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