If you're thinking about going into the freelancing world or maybe you've never even heard of it, Ms. Judge at the Student Professional Development Center offers insight into this growing business and whether its right for you. A freelancing gig could give you the freedom you need while honing in on the craft you're most passionate about.
This is part of a聽 series of columns written by the Student Professional Development Center’s professionals who offer industry insights and career guidance.
By Laurie Judge,聽Senior Associate Director of Career Services for Elon College, The College of Arts and Sciences
Some college grads travel down the less defined road of freelancing (think: gig economy).
Freelancing (you might be asking)? Isn鈥檛 that for those starving artist types? Nope. Not these days. According to , 35 percent of workers are spending over a billion (with a聽B) hours聽per week聽freelancing, and it cuts across all industries.
So, what exactly determines whether a job is a freelance gig, and how do I know if it鈥檚 for me (yet another question you might be asking)? Freelancers are doing independent contract work (temporary and project or task-specific) where they aren鈥檛 considered an employee of the person or organization hiring them but, instead, fall under the self-employed category, which is usually tracked with a 1099 tax form.
The good news is freelancers have a lot of control over the work they do, the hours they work, where they perform the work, and the individuals with whom they work, which is the main draw for most.
On the other hand, freelancers are not eligible for company benefits, they don鈥檛 usually have a guaranteed income, and they must pay their own employment taxes on everything they earn since they aren鈥檛 considered employees 鈥 all very important to keep in mind when deciding whether to accept a freelance gig.
In fact, there are quite a few things to think about when considering this type of work:
- Identify your goals:聽Why is this style of work attractive to you, and what do you want or need to get out of it ()?
- Self-assessment:聽Thoroughly assess the skills you possess that make you marketable (and uniquely provide value) to find your potential clients, and research what you can reasonably charge.
- Network, Network, Network:聽Get the word out that you鈥檙e doing freelance work and market yourself, get testimonials from happy clients who鈥檒l spread the word (think: online presence).
- Manage your business:聽, so maintain recordkeeping, reporting, bank accounts, and track all other related things like it is.
- Hone your craft:聽practice makes perfect, so use and build upon the skills you are using by being willing to learn new tricks of the trade to stay current or to blaze a new trail.
- Evaluate:聽integrate evaluation into every aspect of your freelance business with a continuous improvement mindset to achieve the standard you and your clients expect.
Freelancing isn鈥檛 for everyone. But for increasingly more people every year (millions), it鈥檚 a good career choice.