Freelancing - a new wave of Employment

The COVID-19 pandemic’s influence will likely not result in companies replacing full-time workers with freelance economy participants, but it may create an atmosphere in which firms’ awareness and consideration of freelance resources increases and gives raise to some smaller project opportunities. Figuring out how that would look means examining the virus’s short-term impacts, as not all workers are seeing professional disruptions. One effect has been the same for both freelancers and full-time employees, however: Social distancing and stay-at-home protocols have decreased the number of workers on-site. Collaborating with freelancers could provide a solution by giving firms access to talented pinch hitters who can help complete projects without requiring companies to allocate funds for salaries and benefits. It may also help them realize that certain roles may be better suited to engage freelancers. Thus almost every industry maximizes their potential by seeking out these freelancers, whether it is Technology, Accounting, Art and Design, Retail Sales and Marketing, Education and Healthcare, or more.

EZY Freelance sees itself as part of that change. There are people who want to do freelance work, and there are people who need jobs done, but how do they find each other? Word of mouth only goes so far. It helps to have to have a centralized place to place jobs and find work. EZY Freelance can be that place, and it doesn’t cost a lot. Moreover, EZY Freelance can also help companies to identify jobs or roles that can be managed efficiently with freelance resources or help re-engineer their work process to make them suitable for freelance work.

Also, EZY Freelance emphasizes “Freelancing as a preferred way of working”. EZY Freelance will help you manage your jobs in a more controlled way. To ensure final deliverable expectations, Task Level Management helps to monitor your job step by step. The built-in time-sheet module helps you track hours spent on the job as it progresses through a series of tasks, and you can make any adjustments along the way to ensure the end deliverable, satisfactory to both parties.

Freelancing – a new wave of Employment

The gig economy is evolving rapidly, and with it, the freelancing job market is growing at a tremendous pace. It is because a new wave of freelance work has taken root and is becoming more viable as a means of earning extra income. A significant number of full-time employees doing something on the side to gain additional income can be very lucrative, and, in some cases, freelancers have huge potential to earn more than their regular salary. While freelancers have a median rate of $20 an hour compared to a median of $18.80 for the U.S. overall, freelancers doing skilled services earn a median rate of $28 an hour, earning more per hour than 70% of workers in the overall U.S. economy.

How will freelancing change the future of work? There are currently 57 million freelancers. Freelancing is growing at three times the size of the traditional workforce. 47% of millennial freelance in some capacity and hiring managers believe that work done by flexible talent will increase by 168% in the next ten years. It’s predicted to make up the majority of the workforce by 2027. Source: American Labor Force.

Here’s how you can turn freelancing into a full-time career:

Get Your Feet Wet – Most people will tell you to decide before you get started. If you have a job, currently, I’d suggest just the opposite: before you start thinking about what you want your freelance career to look like, get your feet wet by taking a few gigs while you’re still employed.
Make a Plan – Once you’ve experimented with a few different kinds of gigs and clients and have a rough idea of what you’d like to work on, it’s time to make a plan. Even if you’re not trying to impress investors, writing a business plan can help clarify your goals and map out a rough blueprint of what success looks like to you.
Set Your Rates – Another reason to try freelancing while you’re still working for an employer is to have a chance to set your rates — and revise them. If you’re like most budding freelancers, you’ll probably undercharge for your services at first. If you do some test gigs before you commit to freelancing full-time, you’ll have an opportunity to make these mistakes while you still have a steady income.
Promote Yourself – The important thing is to be willing to reach out. When you do make the leap, tell your connections that you’re doing so. You’d be surprised how much business you can generate simply by posting on your various social networks and letting folks know that you’re looking for a specific type of work.

Get to know your market and competition:

Understand your competition in freelancing of a particular area of importance. Always think about offering something unique to make your business stand out. It doesn’t have to be huge, but if you can think of something that’s going to get you back to your clients and more referrals, that’s a big deal. Freelancers need connections in order to keep getting new work, but they also need them in order to create the sense of community that office workers have and contractors sometimes lack.

Freelancing is becoming more of a long-term career choice.

For the first time, as many freelancers said they view this way of working as a long-term career choice as they do a temporary way to make money. In addition, the share of those who freelance full-time increased from 17% in 2014 to 28% this year.

Freelancers are most likely skilled professionals.

Skilled services are the most common type of freelance work, with 45% of freelancers providing skills such as programming, marketing, graphic design, writing, and IT and business consulting.

The freelance job market has changed in the past three years.

Among those who have seen change: 77% say technology has made it easier to find freelance work; 71% say perceptions of freelancing as a career are becoming more positive; 64% say that professionals who are the top in their industry are increasingly choosing to work independently.

Freelancing enables more opportunities.

Forty-six percent of freelancers agree freelancing gives them the flexibility they need to meet their personal circumstances, and at the same time pursue several opportunities that meet their passion and profession.

For a company or business, freelancing gives you the ability to plan your projects and resources in a way that creates a balance between needs and timelines. As a business, you can prioritize the projects that are of utmost priority, find the freelancers with the skill sets and availability that match your timelines, and end with successful results.