Software

K Saravana Kumar August 18, 2013

Top 10 reasons why Freelancing is fun

Freelancing life has a lot of benefits. It’s not the same as the software engineer’s life or a business man life. You get all the freedom to work independently without anyone controlling you… While you have the liberty to work you also enjoy the money that you earn all by yourself. Work can be done anytime as you control it, being a freelancer and you make the schedule. The dependency is reduced; this is one of the major advantages of being a freelancer.

Some other reasons why freelancing is fun:

Sharing and its benefits

Sharing is taught at a very early stage to a person. For a freelancer sharing is a basic criterion to succeed. The way to achieve this comes with the knowledge you have and your experience. The more you share the more chances you get to interact with people. This helps to stay updated of the current happenings in the industry. Being a freelancer and working from home helps to get to know more contacts than people in business.

The work a freelancer gets is discrete and smaller in quantity. Hence the opportunity increases proportionately.

Freedom and no need to quit your day job

By choosing freelancing as a career path, people enjoy more freedom and they need not report to any senior authorities on the work they do. This benefits many workers and they have the flexibility to do work when they can.

Freelancers also get to continue the day job and work in their free time. This gives double income and helps when the need could not be satisfied. You might not be occupied all the hours at work so when you find time in your breaks or when you travel to your day work, you can do your assignments or meet people.

Owning

Owning is a gift. Not all get the chance to own something. A freelancer is gifted with this chance. It makes the individual feel as an entrepreneur and he takes it serious and puts all the effort he can to make it a success. A freelancer never has to rely on someone to give work. Owning your own business in turn allows you to create and contribute, which gives you personal satisfaction. You can participate in every step of the decision-making process, or you can hire competent people to make decisions in the best interest.Productivity, pricing and marketing plans are all under your control, and the income you earn relates to those activities.

Passion

Any individual can be a freelancer either by necessity or by passion. Many of them who wanted to develop their career and who has a passion to do a specific take up freelancing. The more passion you have the interest is high and belter quality work you deliver.

You tend to search and collect a lot of new things by which new products are developed.

Group fun

You can work individually or with a group of people based on your convenience. Some people are forced to work alone because of the household hurdles in that case an individual can take ownership of forming groups in that particular area or particular subject where they work. This type of like-minded people being together increases the integrity and the interest. While you do this kind of get together meetings not only you get introduced to many people but will make you feel fresh. The ideas in you will get cultivated and thoughts will be invoked. You can help out each other to find clients or share work in critical situations.

Level of exposure

Freelancers have the benefit to work in different assignments. The assignments might be small or large but to do a specific work on a platform a person has to have a good knowledge on the subject. With this the person is technically improved and as he gets the chance to deal with various people the exposure is huge.

No commute

For a freelancer travel time is completely not present. This adds extra time for you to do work. As a freelancer the expenses can be completely avoided for travel, fuel and other maintenance. The stress involved while traveling is no more present for freelancers. The virtual world internet has helped people sort out these issues.

Credit you receive

You own the entire credit for what you do when you are a freelancer whereas other individuals will not be able to enjoy this benefit. The work and the money you get out of it is entirely yours.

Many people who are recognized around the world are successful in the freelancing industry. The exposure you get makes you reach enormous heights.

Job security

Even when the market is low and when many people are forced to leave out of their jobs a freelancer has no worry about it. The market trend does not hugely affect the freelance contributors. With many contacts they have and the regular clients they meet, freelancers continuously get assignments. The job security is maximum in this case.

A freelancer also has the credit of changing clients every time they are not comfortable. While they can work on a particular job they also can search.

Industrial politics

This field also doesn’t involve politics. None is present to form groups or compete with each other to showcase better. Of course there’s competition but here it’s smooth and it’s based on an individual to compete or not. The forceful work and team politics is null. Meetings and business trips are non-existent for freelancers.

Having said about all the benefits of a freelancer one must be now proud of the career path they have chosen as a freelancer. It’s us who has to decide how interesting we could make our life to be. The more you focus on the goals to succeed the more interest you will tend to show on the job.

Remember, its happiness and the feeling you get when helping others which makes you stick to the freelancing industry.

K Saravana Kumar

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Filed Under: Freelancers Tips Tagged With: Business, Education, Engineer, Exposure, freelancer, freelancing benefits, internet connection, Jobs, Search freelance jobs, Software, software engineer, Terminology Leave a Comment

K Saravana Kumar May 1, 2013

Discounts, Deals And Free Samples: To Do Or Not To Do?

When a new product is launched in the market, the marketing company makes a marketing plan for the product. The marketing plan many contain discounts, deals or free samples or all three of them to attract customers and establish a base in the market. Similarly, when you are a freelancer you have to from time to time offer some enticing offers to attract clients. With more than 30% of the world population favoring freelance work over regular jobs the competition is tough out there.

Deals and Discounts are also a way in which you can keep your name in circulation. For example if your name is in circulation with deals or discounts for web designing then a client is most likely to hire you then go in search for freelancers whose names are not in circulation.

For freelancers the question of offering discounts, deals and free samples has often been a topic of debate. For some it is a great way to break into the market especially if they have just started as a freelancer. On the other hand, many believe that lowering your quote can harm their creditability as a freelancer. As a freelancer, it is very difficult to estimate the amount of work involved in a project. You can estimate but can never clearly define the amount of effort and time that will go into it.

So the question arises whether you should be doing it or not. The answer is it will depend on project-to-project basis. However, there are some good and bad points, which you can consider to make your decisions easy:

The Good

If you have very few clients or have just started then offering discounts and deals can bring you an influx of clients.
Free samples of your work will help the client judge your understanding of the project and therefore chances are that you might bag a long-term project.
Limited time discounts or one-time deals can get you some quick cash.
Discounts, deals and free samples are a great way to build a portfolio as a freelancer and gather some testimonials.
They are a great way to get into a tight budget client.

The Bad

It may seem that you are getting desperate for work and therefore offering the discounts.
You might end up attracting clients who want to get a lot of work done by paying meager price, which might not look so good on your portfolio.
When you offer a discount, the client might think that you feel that your rates are not justifiable. This might come across as a wrong impression.
Of course, you have to use your judgment at times to decide the course of events. Consider the following factors
Your current client network
Amount of work that you can take on
Is it going to put you in loss?
Will it benefit you in other ways except monetary

I once had a client interview me for a writing job who wanted five free article samples before hiring me and the job was of a total of 10 articles! Needless to say, I had to decline the offer, as it was clearly a sham to get some free work done. In addition, you have to be careful of clients who do not release your payment until you do some extra work.

When you are offering any kind of deal or discount then make sure that you make all the terms and conditions clear to the client before starting. Remember the idea is to get them to offer you more work and not to think that you are willing to work for less.

K Saravana Kumar

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K Saravana Kumar April 30, 2013

Budgeting: Why Is It Important For A Freelancer?

Being a freelancer means that you are your own boss. This also means that you are responsible for the success or failure of your jobs. A freelancer does not have a steady income at all time. The income will vary depending on the nature of the job, number of clients etc. Freelancing also does not cater for any employee benefits. Therefore as a freelancer, it is important that you learn the art of budgeting down to the pat.

We hear a lot of reasons for why freelancers tend to ignore budgeting including ‘I am trying to build up a business first’ or ‘I never had a problem till now’ or the classic ‘Never had the time’. But if you ask them, most freelancers will agree that maintaining a budget is very important for any freelancer. In this post, we will take a look at some of the reasons for why budgeting is import for a freelancer.

It helps you cater for lean times

As I said before that, a freelancer can never be sure of a steady income. You might earn more from a job or sometimes you might not have a job. Therefore, the money that you earn from the high paying job will come in handy when you don’t have a job provided you have made a budget for yourself and followed it through. Because even when you don’t have a job you will have to pay for expenses like bills, electricity, internet, phone and food.

It helps you dream big

When I started out as a freelance writer I was barely able to work 2-3 hours a day because things like housework, electricity cuts etc. would eat into my time. I started operating on a budget where my first aim was to save up enough to buy a generator to not to let electricity cuts interfere with my work. I saved up enough to buy one in 3 months by sticking to the budget. I now have an answering machine to take care of all the unwanted calls and a much faster laptop and table to help me work faster. This all has been possible because I made a budget and stuck to it.
Having a budget to tidy you over during your lean times will help you dream big. With your budget in your hands, you will be able to plan for better things and even present a more professional front to the potential clients. Your dreams are not limited to the professional front only; they can be personal also like taking for favorite art class or going on your dream holiday.

It helps you sail through life’s surprises

Life can never be very unpredictable. You never know one moment from another about what is going to happen. If you are not prepared for the surprises that life will throw at you then it will catch you on the wrong foot. Therefore, it is always important to prepare for such unforeseen events. The best way to do that is to have a budget set which will cater for any emergencies.

When you are working as a freelancer, you don’t have the standard insurance covers that are provided by the companies therefore you have to think about it yourself. If you have a budget on hand then you will be able to set a sum aside for emergency funds, which can be tapped easily without you having to worry about money to pay bills the next month.

Budgeting gives you a kind of security for you and your family. Being secure with a budget also means that your mind will be free of worries, which in turn means that you can work better. So you see it is a Win –Win situation!

K Saravana Kumar

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K Saravana Kumar April 5, 2013

Do You Have It In You To Make It As A Freelancer?

To be our own bosses is a dream come true job everybody in the world. Most people see freelancing as a chance of working on their own time, enjoying breaks when they want, billing hours from café while sipping a cup of fresh coffee and working, taking projects which they want, skipping a day without having to apply for leave or taking permissions. But are these perks enough for you to leave your regular job and take up freelancing jobs?

The answer is a straightforward ‘no’. On the surface you might see a freelancer as a master of his/her will but in reality before giving up your full time job or choosing between freelancing and full time job you need to know think carefully about whether you have the qualities and skills needed to make it as a freelancer. There are some things which you will need to give up and some things which need to adapt to succeed as a freelancer. In this post, we will take a look at some of the things, which will help you decide whether you are up to it, or not?

Can you survive with variable income?

A freelancer’s income depends on the type of project he or she has in hand. Some months you will have many projects in hand and earn more than your average but in some months you might not have so many projects in hand and the income might not be so much. Also you will not be paid when you are on vacation or have to leave a project in midway. Therefore, think whether you can manage your finances even in slump. Also when you are just starting your jobs you might not be paid as much as you want, therefore can you manage in the starting days?

Can you work alone?

As a freelancer you will have to work alone a lot. There will be no time for office gossips or taking help from your friends. Most of the times you will be sitting alone on the desk of your home or rented office space and working. Therefore it will be entirely up to you to make your workplace as conductive as work at you can.

Can you push yourself out of bed?

Most of the newbie freelancers fail because of they cannot push themselves to get out of bed because they have nowhere to go. Think about it hard whether you can pull yourself out of the bed and fix a working time for yourself when you have nowhere to go.

Can you take criticism and failure?

As a freelancer you will not get every job that you will apply for. Also sometimes it might also happen that the client will reject your work or criticize it rather harshly. You will have to take the flak alone and might have to meet very tight deadlines. Therefore ask yourself how well you can handle criticism and failure. You can take the help of your family and friends and they will be truly able to help you figure out your this nature.

Can you deal with difficult clients?

Each freelance project that you will be getting will have a different requirement and every client needs to be handled differently. Do you have any experience in handing difficult clients and do you have the ability to self-market yourself to even the pickiest of clients? These are the two questions, which you need to ask yourself before starting out as a freelancer. Remember everything including marketing, gathering the required equipment, doing research and delivering the project to the client will have to be handled by you and you alone.

K Saravana Kumar

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K Saravana Kumar March 6, 2013

20 Must Have Skills As A Freelancer

There has been a rise in the number of people who are opting to work as a freelancer. One of the biggest advantages that many people see is the flexibility in working that they can avail. Freelancing basically means that that you work independently on short and long-term projects for a fixed payment. However, with so many people opting for the freelancing jobs the competition has increased an in order to make sure that you stay on the top you have to have the extra edge over others.

Here is a list of the top must have skills as a freelancer that you need to keep in mind and implement:

1. Learn the tricks of the trade: Nobody wants to hire a freelancer who does not know the tricks of his/her trade. If you are a freelance salesperson then you must know all about the product you are selling. You must also develop your skill as a salesperson i.e. develops the interpersonal skills.

2. Be adaptive: As a freelancer, you must learn to be adaptive. You will have to mold your work according to client requirements. You might even have to adjust your timings and workdays according to the client’s need.

3. Be patient: Another important skill that a freelancer must possess is to be patient at all times. When you are working with somebody on a contractual basis, you have to be very patient in understanding the needs. Also patience is a virtue, which will come in handy when you are applying for jobs.

4. Be confident: As a freelancer one of your biggest assets is your confidence. You will need to be confident when you are interacting with new clients so that they believe in your work.

5. Learn the importance of time: The most important skill that every freelancer must cultivate and follow is the art of being punctual. If you cannot deliver the right product on time then you will easily lose the client trust and mar your reputation forever.

6. Be competitive: The key to being successful in freelancing is that you remain competitive at all times. If you are competitive you will remain in limelight always and clients will pay attention to you.

7. Be firm: Most of the freelancers lose their credibility when they are not firm with the conditions of the job. If you have agreed to paint a mural on a particular wall then make sure that that is the wall, you work on and give it your best.

8. Learn to Observe: A good freelancer learns how to observe thing around them and take inspiration from them. This skill helps them keep up with the latest things and further their career as a successful freelancer.

9. Self-Motivation: Another important skill that you must develop is self-motivation. In a regular office there will be somebody standing on your head to get the work done. But as a freelancer you have to be self-motivated to deliver your work.

10. Reliability: To convince a client that you are worthy of more jobs from them you have to prove that you are reliable at all times. Being reliable is one of the skills, which is a combination of self-motivation and respect for timing.

11. Discipline: Maintaining discipline at all time is not an easy task but being disciplined at all times is a skill, which you would need to stick to at all, times.

12. Organization: A freelancer should have excellent organizational skills. This will help keep track of work, get new work and balance the payments. It will also help you save a lot of time.

13. Communication: As a freelancer you will be working independently and therefore your communication skill (both written and verbal) should be top notch. This skill will not only help you land new jobs but also convince your clients that you are on the job.

14. Willing to learn new skills: The list of skills is never ending and in order to broaden your horizons you should be willing to learn new skills at all the times. This will show the clients that you are committed to the job.

15. Recognize the flaws: Be prepared to admit and recognize your flaws. This will help you in avoiding mistakes and pitfalls and help increase your strengths.

16. Learn to handle failure and criticism: Being thorough with your work and applying many jobs does not mean that you will get every job you apply for and every job that you submit will turn out to be perfect. Therefore, learn how to handle failure and criticism so that you can recover quickly and move on.

17. Idea generation: Another skill, which is an asset to a freelancer, is idea generation. New ideas regarding the ways of doing work or increasing efficiency will be always welcome with everybody.

18. Open to try new things: A freelancer should be open to try new things at all times because no two jobs are ever the same.

19. Email skills: Keeping up with simple technological skills such as writing engaging emails is a skill that will come in handy to every freelancer. The world is fast moving to a paperless office and you need to keep pace with it.

20. Versatility: Versatility is a skill that many freelancers tend to ignore. But in fact it is a skill, which will help you a lot if you are looking for a long-term career as a freelancer. As the famous saying goes ‘Don’t put all your money at a single place’, it goes true for freelancing jobs. For example as a freelance writer don’t limit yourself to blog writing only but also try out website content, article writing etc.