It is often thought that freelancing and remote work are the same thing. In fact, any full-time employee can work from home, as was the case during the pandemic.
At the same time, no one forbids a freelancer from coming to the office of the company with which he cooperates. The main differences between freelancing and remote work are in the legal status of the specialist.
Freelancers are people who are not on the company’s staff and work for themselves. They can lead one project in a large organization or take on one-time small orders. A freelancer searches for clients themselves, negotiates a fee and other terms of cooperation, is responsible for the quality of their work, pays taxes. You could say that a freelancer is their own director, accountant, and sales manager.
Who is freelancing suitable for
“That’s it, I’m tired of working for “the man”, I’m going freelance” – many start out this way, and after a couple of months they regret their decision. This happens because working for yourself is not suitable for everyone. In essence, freelancing is like a micro-business, where a person independently organizes his activities, makes decisions and is responsible for them.
This regime is not suitable for those who are used to working under the supervision of a manager who will set a task, set deadlines and send him on vacation. To become a successful freelancer, a specialist must be:
- proactive;
- initiative;
- responsible;
- self-organized;
- psychologically mature, and not just by passport.
Income depends on the field of activity and employment of the specialist. It often happens that he takes only small one-time orders, earns little and looks for ways to earn more on freelancing. To have a high income, you need to organize a constant flow of several clients, and this takes at least one or two years.
