What is freelancing and how does it work?

what is a freelance

A freelancer or freelance worker is a term commonly used for a person who is self-employed and is not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term.

When you do Freelancing you don't have a boss, you're your own boss. Freelancing can be done online as well as offline. I guess you're interested in online Freelancing. If that's what you're looking for then you can make a freelancer account on different Freelancing websites like “Upwork” and “freelancer.” Then you can set up a good profile according to your skills and start applying to jobs.

I hope it helps. Feel free to comment if you've queries.

What one needs to understand first and foremost is that freelancing is nothing but a way of doing things. It is not something you do; rather it is the way you do something you know.

So, the pre-requisite is to know something that is of value. In other words, you need to have some skill that people will want to buy from you or some skill that you can serve people with.

Step 1: What skills have you to offer

The first step is to ask yourself what specific skills do you possess and what services you can offer.

Being skilled at gardening or servicing kitchen chimneys won’t be of much help, as in this context we are talking about services that can be delivered online. So we need to look for skills that are Internet-friendly.

Does that mean you need to be a techie? Certainly not. Take a moment to think about what your strengths are, and many of those skills can qualify for the purpose.

For example, you may be a wizard in creative writing. The Internet is flooded with opportunities for writers. There are so many websites that are constantly on the lookout for good writers, and you can be a good fit.

If you are thorough with American, British, or Australian accent, you can take up transcription jobs, which, again, are available in plenty.

If your English speaking skills are superb then you can work as a voice-over artist for animation videos and promotional ads. The animated videos and ads that you see on the Internet are made by graphics and animation specialists, but to make the characters speak they need a human voice. This is where you fit in. The speaking skills in this type or work, of course, take into account voice modulation, pronunciation, clarity of voice, neutral accent, etc.

If you have learnt a foreign language then you can take up translation jobs. Also, there are many companies who look for customer support in French, German,Spanish, or any other language native to the place, where you can fit in.