Is freelancing a good career choice? Which marketplace is best for beginners

We all need some job to earn our living. Without money, you can’t survive in society. People choose different professions, different careers as a source of earning. Some do jobs, some start their own businesses. Majority of these are physical jobs. You’ve to go to your workplace. Do your duty and come back home. But there is a whole separate world, which is inside your computer, iPad or mobile phone. We call it the digital world. Lots of people earn through the digital world. There are many ways to earn online. Some famous mentions are:

• Blogging /Vlogging
• E-commerce
• Marketing and advertising
• Freelancing

Let’s have an overview of the first three before we explain Freelancing.

Blogging and vlogging

You make a website and start writing blogs. Or you join a video platform like the most famous YouTube. Here the earning is through advertising. You get ads and sponsors who invest in your content to promote their products/services/business.

E-commerce

Now you’re a business guy. In e-commerce, you’re selling your products online to earn your living.

Digital Marketing and promotions

This is self-explanatory. You’re promoting and advertising someone on digital mediums. You’re someone who’s providing ads, designing business strategies for others to help them get consumers.

Now let’s get to our main topic:

What’s Freelancing?

You’re someone who’s skilled in a particular skill set. Let’s take an example from the above. You’re good at blogging. Or you’re good in marketing and promotions, or even you’re good in managing online stores and experienced in the e-commerce niche. But you don’t want to spend money to start your own work. That’s where freelancing becomes a career option.

In freelancing, a person with a certain skill set provides his services to those who hire him.

People hire you on a contract base. You work for them and get paid. Then someone else hires you for a similar or different job. You’re done with the task and got paid. That’s Freeland in all about.

How freelancing is better than a routine job?

There are many points to prove freelancing a beneficial career choice compared to a routine job. Here are some of them.

• Routine: While doing a job, you’ve to follow a routine e.g 9am to 5pm or similar. But as a freelancer, you’re free to make your on routine. You can work whenever you’re comfortable.
• Earning: You’ve a fixed salary doing a normal job. But as a freelancer, you can earn as much as you want. More work equals to more money.
• No Boss: You’re your own boss as a freelancer. No need to tolerate rude attitude and tortures of a senior. Just chill and be your own boss.
• Ease of work: No time limit, only a deadline. You’re free to choose your hours. No uniform or formal dress code. You can work wearing shorts and even bikini :p.
• Work from home: You’re not going anywhere. Your own room is your office. Just lay on the bed and start doing your work.
• No investment: All you need to invest is your time, a good internet connection & a laptop/computer. You’re ready to start freelancing.

More points and a deeper discussion on Freelancing can be found here:

“Freelancing” by usama iftikhar

How to start? Best platforms for beginners

You can choose among different platforms. You can also use social media. But working on a freelance marketplace is better. There are many reasons behind this. On social media or via direct interaction. Everything is between you and the employer.

Why to prefer freelance marketplace over social media or direct interaction?

Here are some points to answer this question.

1. Trust: It’s the most important factor in a freelance contract. On marketplaces, the buyer needs to verify his identity and payment to hire freelancers. While on social media, there is no guarantee.
2. Payment: Freelance marketplace offers you escrow. The buyer will deposit the Payment in escrow and it’ll be released as soon as you deliver the project. On social media, it’s in buyer’s hand to pay you or not.
3. Record: On freelance marketplace, everything is on the record. Your delivered project becomes a part of your profile along with client’s feedback. This service isn’t available on social media.
4. Security: Scam prevention and monitoring on a marketplace is far better than social media. You can file disputes, complain about client’s behavior and get support from marketplace.

There are lot more points, I’ll cover in depth in a future writeup.

Choosing the best platform

As a beginner it’s difficult to choose a platform where you can work and get paid. I’ve often seen this question. Even some people ask me about best freelancing platform. So here are some best platforms I’ve worked on. You can choose one but I’d suggest you to try all of them.

Top 5 Best Freelance Marketplaces – Which One Is Best For Beginners?

So that’s a wrap on this article. Will be back soon with another writeup on a related topic. Take care.