The Genesis of Freelancing

Every person wants to be free, to think and speak freely …

Of course, this resembles something anarchist, but as regards work, it would hardly be possible to disagree so in freedom of choice or attitude to it. But there are people who can afford to be free to get a job, they choose it themselves; they are called freelancers.

Who is a freelancer?

Freelancers in the Middle Ages were called soldiers who were hired for financial reasons rather than ideological or political nature. Freelance, translated from English – free peak. Today, a freelancer is a person working on a non-contractual basis and not connected with the employer by written obligations. A freelancer is an employee who does not have a formal host.

Often freelancers are identified with television employees involved in telecommuting, that is, receiving and completing tasks outside the office. A teleworker may or may not be a freelancer. Freelancers are often called free journalists. However, other specialties allow you to be a “free man”: translating, photo-making, design, including web design, programming, etc.

Most manage to combine freelance and telecommuting when the employer is not even in another area or in a neighboring city, but hundreds of kilometers, sometimes on another continent.

Work in freelance mode has its advantages and disadvantages. Often, flaws turn into advantages, and vice versa.

Freelancer and law

Freelancers appeared when the “parasites” disappeared. In Soviet times, many worthy creative people passed on this article. Today, the state recognizes the legal voluntary official unemployment of citizens. Now that freelancers are in the law, this is not a state matter (and not a criminal one), but a private one.

For a person, the choice is whether or not to be a freelancer. For the organization – to work or not to work with a freelancer. He works for different companies or different customers. However, there are not so many “pure” freelancers.

Not freelancers:

-This is the official part-timers, as recorded in their workbook.

– These are people who are “on salary,” but taking part-time jobs to increase their monthly income.

– These are those who are engaged in the “left” business, using the resources of the employer.

A freelancer is his own boss, manager, advertising and recruiting agency. He is a warrior alone in the field.

If a freelancer is a person without a job, this does not mean that he is a person with random earnings. A person who has lost his job through his own fault or through the fault of society may for some time hide behind the glorious name of a freelancer, but not for long.

He will either fall to the unemployed, or rise to a free artist. It is easy to distinguish a freelancer from an unemployed person by expression of his eyes, peace of mind, and monthly income. Since the income of a real freelancer does not at all resemble a benefit – often it covers the regular earnings of his colleagues and sometimes,more.

A freelancer is practically not ambitious. He is too lazy to obey the work schedule, or too independent. Freelance is non-standard career growth. Indeed, a single freelancer can grow to such heights that they will never open to him in an official position.

Among freelancers, there are independent consultants, whose authoritative opinion is paid in thousands, or even tens of thousands of conventional units for a consultation.

Pros of working as a freelancer:

Firstly, he is spared the need to go to work every day. The assignment can be received by fax, e-mail, telephone or regular mail.

In most cases, freelancers receive their salaries at a bank or post office. However, living in the same city as the employer, it is better to come to him once or twice a month. Meetings with the employer are necessary so that the latter does not forget about the existence of a freelancer.

Secondly, the fear of dismissal is unknown to the freelancer.

Thirdly, a freelancer can always work with several employers. Multiple workflows are returned by multiple financial flows.

With the right approach to business, a freelancer can always achieve higher earnings than his colleague, tied to one place of work. Freelancers are not treated like second-class people, they are valued, they are held on to them.

Conclusion: Freelancing is a profession.

How do freelancers and employers find each other?

Usually without intermediaries. A freelancer can offer his services himself – through the Internet, newspaper ads or use personal connections.

On the other hand, the employer’s human resources manager also allows himself to look at electronic bulletin boards to find a suitable specialist for a specific order. This happens especially often if a new temporary project is opened.

Cons of working as a freelancer:

The flip side of freedom is to be responsible for all the work.

The working life of a freelancer consists of two parts: the search for order and its implementation. Of course, an experienced freelancer takes less time to search but remains an essential element of the production process.

– The problem is that the source of work is running out sooner or later. The change of leadership or the dismissal of an employee who works with freelancers are phenomena characteristic of an unstable market.

– A less common problem, which, however, anyone can face, is the liquidation of the company. The remuneration of the freelancer’s labor is remembered last, if ever.

– Sooner or later, the moment comes when work bothers and you have to look for something that brings not only money but also moral satisfaction.

-Web designer, photographer or journalist working on an ongoing basis, in most cases, do not care about finding a customer, advertising problems, working with potential customers, drawing up contracts, order delivery and receiving money. He does the work and receives the money.

– Freelancer – agent, manager, and contractor in one person. Of course, thanks to the Internet, the search for a potential customer has been greatly simplified. However, a freelancer has to delve into all the problems of the customer.

-Cooperation with those who have not yet rated the Internet is more difficult. They don’t always want to talk with potential employees by phone, they don’t always want to read the fax sent.

-Of course, the freelancer has to think about the means of communication and their payment and, of course, the means of production for all this stuff.

– And most importantly, the instability of earnings. Of course, an experienced freelancer always plans his incomes taking into account the situation, the understanding of which comes with experience. Unlike people working on a permanent job, a freelancer receives money, as a rule, only after completing an order.

– The essential point is the possibility of cheating. Cases where employers completely ignore wages are rare. More often, they reduce the size of the fee, knowing that it is easier for a freelancer to agree to this than to argue.

-Lack of freelance – irregular working hours. Although the freelancer is not required to get up early in the morning, he often has to spend all day at work.

In addition, relatives perceive a stay at home as a vacation. And therefore, at first, you will have to endure the attitude towards yourself as a vacationer.

-Recruiters (professional intermediaries between the employee and the client) do not really favor freelancers. Such candidates are disadvantageous to them. Recruiting agencies do not allow this narrow segment of the labor market to expand.

In the end, a freelancer is that person who has decided to take charge of his life and become his own boss with or without supervision.