- Overhead cost – Starting from recruitment, you need to pay an ad agency or a manpower agency to find an employee for you. With freelancers, you can find hundreds with just a simple click on the worldwide web. Add to that hefty service fees agencies charge you, you will be shelling out money even before the employee gets to work. For the application process, agencies again will ask you to pay fees for interviews and tests. With freelancers, they are the ones who will send their samples or comply with your interview and other assessment requirements.
- There is also no need to pay overtime, give vacation leaves or sickness pay – Literally, you only pay for completed work. If there is work, if there is output, that’s the only thing you pay.
- Employee terms are flexible – For regular employees, you might even get sued if you terminate an employee’s services without due process. With freelance, most employment terms would only require a 30-day notice before the end of employer-employee relationship.
- No need to pay benefits such as health insurance or a car plan – For most freelancers, benefits are limited to bonuses that employers give.
- Freelancers will indeed work on time – While it may be possible for a regular employee to have ‘free time’ within a day, a week or a month where workload is a bit light, he still gets a regular paycheck; however with freelancers, it is literally a no work, no pay scheme.
- Freelancers will provide for their own hardware and software – When you have a new or additional employee, you have to provide the computer, workspace, PC software and even office supplies that he would need. For freelancers, you save up on all these expenses as they are the ones who would be providing themselves with it.
- You can also save on administrative cost as you would not need other forms of monitoring aside from that of output and quality – No need to spend time and salary of staff or buying a software to monitor attendance, for example. Performance appraisal and coaching are almost instantaneous as well.
- Tax benefits – There are tax benefits that your company will enjoy when you refer your services to a freelancer.
Showing posts with label Essential Freelancing Resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Essential Freelancing Resources. Show all posts
Make Freelancers Your Ally
Apr 16, 2010
| Posted by
Chloe Brock
It’s a job, and someone’s got to do it. So why not make it a freelancer? There are many advantages when you get a freelancer to do a job than getting a regular employee. They are pretty much the same with regular employees, minus all the administrative work and cost that comes with it.
Generally, it seems freelancers make it good for business. And there are a lot of freelancers around the world ready to do the job for you. See which activities you can easily give to freelancers – you simply have to communicate and coordinate with them, and let them bring you the output. Now that’s simple, effective, and efficient. There is not much difference, in fact, these benefits are ones you can instantly enjoy if you refer your work to quality freelancers.
Posted In Essential Freelancing Resources | 2 comments |
“Time Is Money” ~ Donald Trump
Apr 12, 2010
| Posted by
Chloe Brock
My stint at a local burger joint is not really comparable to working freelance. While you may have a boss in both instances, the working conditions and pay are entirely different. I had fun and earned a few bucks but I will definitely pass on the waitress thing and work freelance.
A lot of skilled individuals (or lacks thereof) are now switching to freelance work for many reasons. Employers are also now considering hiring freelancers instead of regular employees. While the work may be manageable, there are many things to consider before jumping in to the bandwagon – and most importantly of course, is your pay.
- Depends on the industry and type of work – For certain industries it is ideal to charge per project or per sale (particularly for commission-based income). In real estate for example, apart from industry practice, give out payments (or more of commission or incentive) for every sale made.
- In certain jobs like programming, web design, or graphic design – Charging per hour or per day has its own advantages and benefits.
Per hour
If you’ve been commissioned to work for fixed hours, any extra hour will be charged accordingly. That means guaranteed pay for every minute you spend working. Any amendments in your project that requires an hour or two will still be charged, and not for per day or per project basis.
Flexible – As long as you have available time, you can work and charge for it. If you have many hours in a day that you’re available, or maybe you’re just squeezing in just an hour or two, you can still work and be paid for it. If you have multiple clients, you can work fixed hours for one, and the remaining hours for another client.
Per day
If you charge per day and you finish early, you get paid and still have extra time to squeeze in another project or give yourself time for some R&R. But at the same time, you have to dedicate whole days and get paid only when you have full days available. If you only have 3 – 5 hours, while some maybe okay with pro-rating your fee, but others may require you to be available for the whole day if they are available and need you to be available the whole day as well.
So whichever you choose, just make sure you’ll be getting what you deserve as your pay. There are still other factors like your location, your employer, and your skills, of course, where you can gauge you pay, but charging per hour or per day can indeed make a difference in your income flow.
Now talking about all these work and money stuff makes me think of getting a freelance job of my own. Being a real estate agent may get some real good commission but I think I still have enough free time to work per hour. Or maybe per day. Do they pay for every hour at Facebook? I’d be really rich by now.
Posted In Essential Freelancing Resources | 0 comments |
Tips On Freelance Candidate Selection
Apr 7, 2010
| Posted by
Chloe Brock
While I’m busy thinking about how to start my professional life (thinking first, then doing later – or maybe soon), I was asked by my brother to help him out in his business and find a programmer to create a system for their company.
I’ve got some friends refer someone they know that can do the job, and I’ve also gone online to see who can provide the service, and now I have quite a handful of application in my hands. While I had my stint working part-time before, now I need help in choosing which one can best suit the job.
We had a discussion this morning and these are the things he wanted done. While they seem difficult at first, I know it’s a challenge that I can do.
- Samples – Ask the applicants to submit samples of their previous work so you can gauge their skill. While this is just the initial process, it is best not to disqualify yet other candidates. Some may have impressive samples or programs, but later you may find out they weren’t the only ones who worked on it. And while some samples may be ‘just right’, they might have some of the other qualities and skills we’re looking for.
- Interview, tests, application process – Further into the application process, ask the applicants to undergo interviews. You’ll see how they’re able to communicate and grasp information and instruction. You’ll see their attitude and how they have succeeded or failed before. Similar with regular employment, we have to know whether they can keep up with the demands of the job.
- Availability – Confirm with the applicant his available hours for work to ensure that he can meet all of his deadlines. While some freelancers handle just one projects and other have multiple project in their hands, get a commitment that this job is no second priority to their other jobs. Also discuss if regular meetings and communication is needed to check on the progress of the project. Set-up a weekly or bi-weekly discussion to monitor and assess the project. This can either be through actual meetings, phone, or online discussion.
- Terms – Discuss with your prospective employee the terms of service or service agreement. This should also include post-completion services that might include for example, tweaking of a certain feature or program in the software. Discuss the rate, the possibility of engaging in another project, confidentiality clauses and proprietary rights. It should be clear that while there is no employer-employee relationship, there should still be some level of protection for both parties.
Seems effective and logical – now, I just got to call some of them to let them know how things will go. While some have their resumes and portfolios seem pretty impressive (and some photos look really handsome too), this is serious business, finding that right person to do the job. Even if it’s a regular and permanent employment, we have to get what we paid for. I hope I’d be able to find someone who’s really disciplined, determined and self-motivated to help on my brother’s business.
Posted In Essential Freelancing Resources | 0 comments |
Get that ‘Hand-for-Hire’ You Need From The Web
Mar 22, 2010
| Posted by
Chloe Brock
I’m trying to be useful to my brother. He’s setting up a property management company and he needs to set-up a website. I can’t create a website (I can only grow crops in my farm, cook in my cafĂ©, take care of my virtual pet and fight mafias online), but what I could do is find someone who can be helpful for him.
The world is full of talented and highly-skilled people, and they are just an email away. Finding someone to work for him means I should be looking for someone patient, detail-oriented, and of course, the rate should be worth it as well.
Unlike before where everything in your work should be done and can only be done inside the office, telecommuting has gained its popularity. A businessman in Sweden can hire a Singaporean web designer without traveling to Singapore or vice-versa. Because most jobs can be done through computer, businessmen now opt to do everything online as well.
There are two pretty well-known (and not to mention well-secured) websites that offers ‘freelancers’ to do the job.
- oDesk.com – This site is really for serious professionals or freelancers. They even have a feature which allows buyers (also known as ‘employers’) to monitor computer activity of their Provider (meaning ‘employee’). “oDesk” (which stands for “No Desk”), is a site where freelancers can set up an account and apply for jobs or projects from remote clients. There will also be interviews and exams to check the suitability of the applicant. It’s really just similar to a personal job application minus the face to face personal interaction (Skype not counted).
Here, freelancers are protected by the policies and procedures of oDesk to guarantee payment. Buyers on the other hand, are able to monitor the productivity of his employee by using oDesk features. Similar to a desk job, once his employee logs on to the oDesk system, his ‘attendance’ may be monitored by the hours he’s logged in, and by monitoring the activity in his computer.
If you need not just one person, but a team to do your projects, work teams are also available to cater to your required manpower. Payment or salary to the provider is done through the payment facility of oDesk as well.
- GetAFreelancer.com – This site is similar to oDesk. Buyers can screen providers through interviews (mostly done through Skype or chat), and give instructions online, and receive the output online as well.
Labor cost in this country is high, so outsourcing is really an option not just for companies, but for entrepreneurs as well. There are other sites available, and so far, I’m happy with the prospective freelancers that could work for my brother. Communication through email, Skype and chat are available so I can screen them better for the job.
Hiring professionals is now easier – hiring qualified ones, well, that’s another story.
So if you need an extra hand to help you out, whether in web design, writing, software development, and even translation services, you can always count on the World Wide Web to introduce you to professionals who can get the job done for you.
Posted In Essential Freelancing Resources | 5 comments |
Getting Hired As A Freelancer
Mar 18, 2010
| Posted by
Chloe Brock
You have the skills, you want to earn money, so you want to be hired first – but not by a company, you want to be hired and work independently and maybe even remotely.
Thanks to globalization and the world wide web, skills can now be hired globally. And with the onset of e-commerce, not only are companies competing globally, but individual service providers we call ‘freelance’. While freelancers have been around for a long time especially those specializing in the arts and IT, freelancers have a powerful media to sell their stuff – freelancers go online. And with a lot of freelancers going online looking for a job, what’s the best thing to do?
- Competition – Be proactive in searching for projects. Even if you are the best in what you do, the job will not come to you (well, whether freelance or not). If you are going to work remotely, be ready with sample works (websites or programs) that your prospective employer can assess.
- Skills – Keep on improving your skills as this will solely be the basis of you being hired and where your fee or rate will be gauged against. Make sure you showcase your best projects and once hired, keep giving quality output for you to stay hired as well.
- Fees – Do not sell yourself short nor charge unreasonable rates. Know the market rates and whatever you deem your rate will be, stand your ground and use your skills to get your message through to your prospective employer and why you’re not settling for anything less (just make sure you deliver after you get hired).
- Commitment – Getting projects and keeping them are two different things. While most freelance works are project-based, satisfied employers or buyers might keep you for the long haul (and most probably with pay increase at that). A freelancers’ time (and discipline at that), is his most valuable asset; and every minute means hard-earned money. While you are free to sell your services to employers (or buyers), freelancers should be warned about scammers. It is easier to deal with employers when you are able to contact them personally, but because nowadays most freelancers work remotely and catering to different clients on the other side of the world and have not personally met, scammers take this opportunity, take your products and services and eventually not pay up.
- Fake ads - There are a lot of fake ads everyday, lurking in every online classifieds pretending to be legitimate but then you never hear from them again after you have sent your item or product.
- Late payments and no communication – This should raise a red flag to freelancers when employers or buyers suddenly are ‘unreachable’ or has some excuse why payment for your already sent item or product is delayed, or worse, cancelled.
There are a lot of sites where you can get projects like Odesk.com or GetAFreelancer.com, and some of these sites have features where payments can be verified.
Now prepare your application letters and portfolio, get online or call your friends and network, show ‘em your stuff, and start earning as a freelancer.
Posted In Essential Freelancing Resources | 0 comments |
Time To Freelance
| Posted by
Chloe Brock
A quote says, “Time is gold.”, and as the Trump puts it more eloquently, “Time is money.” Right on. Just like in any other job where time means money, working freelance (whether part-time or full-time) would require some advanced time management skills.
While working freelance may seem you’ll have all the time in the world, it is actually the contrary. You would be the one really dedicating time solely for your projects. But fear not, working freelance can be managed way beyond your fears. If your one and only excuse is because ‘you think’ you do not have the time, chances are that what you’re thinking is wrong – and maybe giving suggestions and advice can change that.
Suggestion #1 – Planning ahead
Since you are the one fully aware about the activities you will have in the coming days, plan your schedule and major activities in a way where you can have a majority of your time available for freelance work. Check your calendar and do not find the free time where you could put freelance work, instead, put your freelance project in your calendar, and let your other activities fit that schedule and not the other way around.
Suggestion #2 – Prioritize
Review the list of activities that you have and eliminate those that seems to make you “unproductive”. Leisurely activities (in excess of ‘normal’ leisure activities that keeps you sane) and other things that you literally ‘live without’ are things that should be at the bottom of your agenda, not on top. If you are keen on working it out as freelance, be decisive enough to choose your activities productively.
Suggestion #3 – Get good projects
A good freelance project means projects that are manageable. Since you are working freelance, you can choose the projects that you will be handling so do not choose one that you think would require 25 hours in a day for a minimal compensation. Get a project that really fits your expertise so your time and your output will truly be maximized.
Suggestion #4 – Try it out now
Can’t find time? How about ‘now’? If you start your freelance work now, then that means you instantly have time for freelance work. So simply put – do it now. Start now. Right now.
While the prospect of working freelance might seem un-encouraging at the beginning, have the right mindset and know that you can manage all aspects of your life, including time. Once you have the right priorities and activities in place, you’ll see that an opportunity will present itself and you can then dedicate this time to freelance work. And remember that just like any other work, performance and quality output is necessary so you can accomplish more in shorter time. With this, you’ll have more time to accept other projects, and true enough, more time means more time, more opportunities, more work, and more money.
If you are still doubtful, just give it a try first, who knows, you might just manage and enjoy having the time for freelance work.
Posted In Essential Freelancing Resources | 0 comments |





