What Is Freelancing? A Basic Definition

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If you’re interested in having a bit more control and freedom in your professional life, freelancing is an attractive option.

Upwork’s recent annual report on freelancing in the U.S. found that 56.7 million Americans freelanced in 2018—an increase of 3.7 million people from 2014.

The freelance community is certainly growing. Statista, a business data platform, predicts that by 2028 that number will increase to over 86 million.

With these large numbers, it’s imperative to prepare yourself to freelance and freelance well. Use this guide to understand what freelancing is, how to find companies and jobs hiring, and the characteristics needed to succeed as a freelancer.

The Complete Guide to Freelance Success

What Is Freelancing? A Basic Definition

Essentially, a freelance job is one where a person works for themselves, rather than for a company. While freelancers do take on contract work for companies and organizations, they are ultimately self-employed.

Freelancers are responsible for all sorts of things that traditional employees are not, such as setting their work hours, keeping track of time spent on different projects, billing clients, and paying their own employment and business taxes. Freelancers are not considered “employees” by the companies they work for, but rather “contractors.”

Ways to Say “Freelance Jobs”

When you’re searching for freelance jobs, there are a number of different terms to be aware of. These can be used to help you find freelance job openings, and they’re also useful when describing yourself and the work you do to potential clients.

• Freelance job: A widely-used term to find freelance jobs.
• Contract work: Jobs where you’re a temporary contract worker, rather than a permanent employee.
• Contract job: Same as contract work.
• Independent contractor: Another common way to say freelancer. Your work terms are specified by a contract with another company or individual. This is how the IRS classifies this type of work.
• 1099: Used to describe the type of job. For example, “This is a 1099 contract position.” Refers to the IRS form an independent contractor fills out: form 1099-MISC.
• Contract consultant: Someone who is hired for temporary consultations for specific issues within a company.
• Contract-to-hire: A job that begins as a freelance, independent contractor position but has the potential to become a regular employee position if things go well.

How to Find Freelance Work

Focusing on companies that are known to hire freelancers can be a great way to start your search for freelance work. Recently, FlexJobs created a list of the top 30 companies for freelance jobs, meaning they posted the most freelance openings on our site. Here’s the top 10:

1. Kelly Services
2. Real Staffing
3. Kforce
4. AFIRM
5. Onward Search
6. Dahl Consulting
7. Ajilon
8. Computer Futures
9. Paladin
10. Addison Group