Freelancing: Time and Skills for Money
How to turn active participation into passive income
This article speaks to the individual who is making a living with freelancing, or who wants to enter the freelance world because freelancing represents time flexibility. I will explain what freelance work means and what it entails, and offer some tips on how to set up a freelance business and manage time and finances.
I will also provide some ideas on where to find clients. But, since I worked as a freelancer for 25 years, I also will provide you with my slant on why this "side hustle" is not as easy as it looks and why it isn't a path to wealth. Instead, I'll offer ideas on how to take your time and skills and to create value for yourself and for your family or beneficiaries.
What is Freelancing?
Freelancing is a form of self-employment where you work for yourself and provide services to clients on a project-by-project basis. Freelancers may work on several projects at one time for as many clients, or they may take larger jobs that can run for months with a more consistent financial scenario. Freelancers sometimes are not regarded as freelancers, but as an independent contractors for tax purposes or to avoid paying for benefits while a freelancer is working with a company on a long-term project.
The freelancers I'm talking about here are skilled professionals who work in a variety of industries, including writing, editing, web design, programming, and graphic design.
What are the Yays and Nays to Freelancing?
Following are a few of several benefits to freelancing?
Flexibility: Freelancers have the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world and set their own hours.
Variety: Freelancers can work on a variety of projects, which can keep their work interesting and challenging.
Financial independence: Freelancers can earn a good living working for themselves if they know how to valuate their work.
There also are some challenges to freelancing, including:
Instability: Freelance work can be unstable, as there is no guarantee of steady income.
Isolation: Freelancers can sometimes feel isolated, as they may not have the same level of social interaction as people who work in traditional jobs.
Self-discipline: Freelancers need to be self-disciplined in order to manage their time and stay on track with their work.
How to Become a Freelancer
If you're interested in becoming a freelancer, here are a few things you can do:
Identify your skills: The first step is to identify your skills and what you can offer clients.
Build a portfolio: Once you know what you can offer, you need to build a portfolio of your work to show potential clients.
Market yourself: Once you have a portfolio, you need to market yourself to potential clients. You can do this by creating a website, networking with other freelancers, and attending industry events.
Negotiate your rates: When you start working with clients, it's important to negotiate your rates. Be sure to factor in your time, skills, and experience when setting your rates.
Manage your time: One of the biggest challenges of freelancing is managing your time. Be sure to set aside time each day to work on your freelance projects and to stay on track with your deadlines.
Fifteen of the Highest-Paying Freelance Jobs
According to Upwork, they consider the following jobs to be the highest paying among all freelance gigs (in no order):
Copywriter: A growing job market internationally, and one where copywriters can earn between $19 and $45 per hour.
Web Designer: Create or maintain websites for between $15 to $30 per hour.
Digital Marketing Consultant: Help businesses bolster their online visibility and lead generation to increase sales for $15 to $45 per hour.
Social Media Manager: Help improve communication techniques on various social media platforms for $14 to $35 per hour.
Editor: If you can identify grammar and other writing issues, you can earn between $20 to $40 per hour.
Web Developer: Different from web design, where you use advanced programming skills to develop code that determines how websites function. Pay for this specialty ranges from $15 to $30 per hour.
Media Buyer: Help businesses determine ideal ad placement to suit specific budget and targeting needs. Nice payscale between $50 and $200 per hour.
Photographer: Earn between $40 and $100 per hour part time or full time with your unique skills.
Data Analyst: Another specialty that focuses on helping clients analyze specific pieces of data involving historical transactions or events. You can spot key trends that can help businesses achieve future success for between $20 to $50 per hour.
Business Consultant: Help clients gain in-dpeth understanding of specific operational matters, especially complex business challenges, for $28 to $98 per hour.
Programmer: Write code that controls the features and functions of computer and mobile applications and keep systems running smoothly by handling maintenance routines and troubleshooting technical issues. All this for $15 to $300 per hour.
Videographer: Capture events and create quality presentations for $15 to $30 per hour.
Accountant: Be that trustworthy individual who keeps records of business finances so officials can analyze profits and losses to maximize business operations. Projects pay between $12 and $32 per hour.
Virtual Assistant: Offer versatile performace of administrative tasks from data entry to email communications for $12 to $20 per hour.
Public Relations Manager: Create effective PR strategies for businesses for between $50 to $100 per hour.
Visit the Upwork link to learn more about these gigs. Note: I make $30/hour pulling weeds for gardening clients. I think I'm happy with that side gig, because it's difficult to screw that up! Yeah -- I'm through with that graphic design freelance gig, but I managed to turn that gig into passive income.
If You Want to Proceed
Despite hearing all the above, if you want to proceed because any one of those gigs listed represent your passion, then I have some advice for you. Go out there and create that freelance business and use hiring companies to start. Websites like Fiverr (for beginners), Upwork, 99designs (graphic design), FlexJobs (IT), Freelance Writing Gigs (writing), Craigslist (low fee) are good to get started before you hang your own shingle.
The most important activity, no matter the job, is to collect a "diary" of your project and a sample of the final project. This is how you build a portfolio that you can use to gain new jobs and to build your resume. The diary is important to pick out skills you probably never knew would be important for your advancement.
Tax Responsibilities
According to Investopedia, a freelancer is known both as an independent contractor as well as "gig workers." Here's a breakdown of their key takeaways on freelancing work:
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A freelancer is an independent contractor who earns wages on a per-job or per-task basis, typically for short-term work.
Benefits of freelancing include the freedom to work from home or from a non-traditional workspace, a flexible work schedule, and a better work-life balance.
An example of a freelancer would be an independent journalist who reports on stories of their own choosing and then sells them to the highest bidder.
Because they are not employees, freelancers do not usually enjoy benefits from their employers such as health insurance or retirement plans.
Gig workers may also be considered freelancers.
It's important to know the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) as self-employed. Self-employed individuals, no matter their field or niche, are responsible not only for paying taxes but for paying self-employment tax. This tax covers Social Security (SS) and Medicare. It's expensive, but SS tax applies (2022) only to the first $147,000 of income.
You definitely want to pay into this "insurance," even though there are fears that the government often threatens to eliminate this safety net. That said, self-employed individuals also can apply deductions to their total income. You can peruse this link to IRS self-employment information straight from the horse's mouth.
In The End
Is self-employment worth the effort? YES. You can be rewarded with a way to make a living with your passion, you can be free to pick your clients, and you have more freedom of time if you don't overbook.
I would suggest that you begin to develop a way to make passive income from your work. One way would be to create a blog (outside your website for your business) that details your work environment. You can do this with a faceless brand (anonymously) and build traffic through engaging posts. Then, you can use affiliate marketing to supplement your freelance income.
In 2006, I started a website that focused on graphic design. I built traffic, used affiliate ads, and was earning $1k checks time and time again within two years. I came to the attention of buyers and I sold the site for more than enough money to place a down payment on the house I reside in now. Therein is the key.
If you want to learn more about how you can possibly create even more passive income, don't hesitate to subscribe or reach out to me. I'll be happy to provide more information. Good luck!