The term freelance commonly refers to a self-employed or a creative individual who rather than working 9 to 5 or going for a day job to work with the same company over a period of years, works typically from home, comfort of their couch for a number of different clients all over the world.
For most people freelancing is actually an interesting topic to grasp because they are used to their typical nine to five day jobs and freelancing for them is usually referred to as being unemployed. But now it is becoming pretty more accepted and recognizable and people are starting to realize that you do make money by freelancing and not just starve. Some people even think of it as a dream job or an ideal life as the freelancers get to decide their own working hours which means that they can work whenever they want to. Also, you get to pick your own clients and choose the jobs you like. Among all the jobs, a freelancer can choose creatively fulfilling jobs that are out there in the market whereas in a studio or office a person gets to deal with the routine jobs and occasionally gets a chance to work on fun projects. Freelancing does not require a particular studio, so if you feel like working in a coffee shop one day you can work from there and if you want to work from home, you can do your work there. You can work where ever you find a reliable internet connection. Thus freelancing provides you absolute freedom to work. You can work whenever you want to, decide whom to work for and to hang out with your friends whenever you like. Thus, you can live a pretty artistic life. It is pretty awesome but it’s not entirely what it’s like, it is far from being a dream job.
Freelancers get to decide their working hours but these hours are longer than a typical office job or in some cases even worse. Working with a company does not make you responsible for the deadlines of projects but when you are working on your own, you have to be in charge of everything. When you have tight deadlines to meet then it’s entirely up to you. Mostly freelancers work many more hours than their typical nine to five compatriots. So it’s kind of tough job.
It is certainly true that freelancing requires time to get very well-known and become truly established and once you’ve achieved this level, you get to pick the job that you take on. But the first few years, you will have to work on some very boring jobs just to support yourself.
Being self-employed, you can earn a lot of money but can also earn a lot less money because the income earned is extremely unsteady. You can get a check every week but it might be unsettling for a lot of people as you can go for a month without any income.
It’s not very difficult to become a freelancer. Freelancing can be divided into two very simple steps; first step is that you make great work. There are plenty of fundamental resources available on the internet that can help you to develop your craft whether its illustration, web design, graphic design, concept art or whatever. The second step is that you show your projects to people who commission that kind of work. The world of internet marketing depends entirely on advertising and the understanding of the changing trends.
Working really hard and staying persistent at it for a long time is the key for achieving success in the field of freelancing. When you are marketing yourself while building up your portfolio, it’s extremely important not to get discouraged because becoming a freelancer is a very slow process. It almost takes five to ten years before becoming an established freelancer. If you look at the professionals out in the market, they have covered a long road before arriving at this stage. Most of these professionals have spent years and years in their field for developing their skills, developing their brand, marketing themselves, getting known and building their client list. Even for the people who make it look so easy, often it’s a long process for them. But with your devotion you can achieve the level of professionalism within five to ten years. It depends on the person; naturally some people are going to take much less time to develop their skills then the others in their field.
No art school can teach you to become a freelance artist; you will never get work from your degree. Your work is solely going to be shown from your portfolio or from your writings. Training and instructions will be enough to teach you how to develop your skills for becoming a true professional. Self-taught people do extremely well in their fields.
If you want to know where your works stand in your field, the easiest thing you can do is to compare your work with that of a professional. This comparison will tell you whether you are up to that level of competence that you want.
Research in the field where you want to work can be a great tool for enhancing your abilities to become truly efficient. Research the type of jobs that are offered to you in that field and the information that will help you to work properly for those jobs. You should have the perfect knowledge about the demands of your clients. Research is important as it tells you what you are going after and what your goals are. One of the best ways of getting the information is either through blogs or forums that are available on the internet by industry professionals.
But even if with developed skills and good marketing strategies, you are unable to find work then it means your work needs to improve and more attention is required to your marketing skills. Return to the basics and nail down the fundamental skills. By polishing your skills; you will reach your desired goal. A good freelancer will have unique projects as a result of extensive research and by working with excellent clients.