a recent survey by the pew research center found that job satisfaction is highest among the self-employed. the center studies behaviors and attitudes of americans in key realms of their lives, including family, community, health, finance, work and leisure.
link:
image by fastcompany
this neat video by fastcompany provides a few helpful tipps and hints freelancers may use to make the challenges and difficulties that self-employment entails a little less troublesome. gina trapani (author) suggests time management, money, and expectations to be the biggest struggles. what do you think? what do you find demanding about freelancing?
…because of the competitive nature of the market, excellent salesmanship is becoming increasingly important for freelancers to win over project bids. proposable is an online tool that allows you to build highly customized, branded presentations. amongst other things, the service offers reporting features to analyze the performance of proposals, a variety of templates, an asset library, and a comment management system for real-time feedback.
wsj: with the increase of victims of the economic collapse, freelancing and consulting has taken on an entrepreneurial air. nearly 25 percent of US workers are either part time or full time freelancers, consultants, free agents or contractors.
to be successful in this self starting and competitive career there are rules that help create a successful freelancing occupation:
anybody can become a consultant or freelancer. but not everybody does it well. here’s what you need to know to thrive:
for a creative mind that loves to reach for the sparks that come not from a controlled environment, but from the comfortable space of their living quarters, working from home is the perfect scenario. however, according to the author (lexi rodrigo), there are habits that develop as a result of working from home:
• working in your pajamas or underwear. this does not gear you up mentally for the job at hand.
• not setting working hours. knowing what time of the day that is most conducive for your creativity prevents you from working against yourself and helps you meet deadlines.
• sitting on your butt all day. if you are thinking of saving time and money in dealing with weight and exercise issues, working in 50-90 minutes intervals and resting for about 10 minutes is always a good idea.
• never going on vacation. because you don’t get paid vacation time for working from home does not mean you cannot take a little time off to re-energize mentally.
• working in a productive space. most times the environment you work in influences the quality of your work. find one for creative purposes.
Most freelancers would agree that freelancing itself is a great way to work.
Still there are some things that more or less every freelancer experiences which might be problematic.
Here are some commonly experienced points:
- bookkeeping
Some people are good at this, others are not: organising yourself and keeping record of all your bills, checks etc.
What might help: e.g. Google Docs
- difficult clients
A whole book could be written about the topic of difficult clients. If it is just the part of not getting along or problems like unwillingness to pay, there are all kinds of difficulties with clients.
What might help: staying calm and for cases like customers unwillingness to pay: signing contracts which mention all terms and conditions
- income inconsistencies
Everyone knows that there are periods when there are just not enough jobs and others when there are plentiful jobs.
What might help: in good times putting money to the side or diversifying your services
- motivation
Some people got problems with staying focused and motivated while working without a boss or coworkers to hurry.
What might help: a calendar that visually reminds you of deadlines
- costs of equipment updating
Always being up to date with your technical equipment, software etc. is expensive.
What might help: Buying only what is crucial to your work
These points were found on freelancereview.
What are other downsides of freelancing?
And how can you confront those?
Feel free to share your experiences!
the wsj reports that employers remain reluctant to hiring. many companies state meager consumer spending as the main cause for their despondence. according to a blue chip ceo, “hiring is a chicken and egg dilemma” indicating that new jobs have to be created to spur consumption and encourage companies to employ new staff. however, the announced us government’s assistance has provided a little spurt of hope. temporary staffing firms are continuously experiencing good growth in the us, suggesting that job hunters are increasingly considering alternatives.
In December 2009 the Max-Planck-Association and the European Academy for Women in Politics and Economics (Europäische Akademie für Frauen in Politik und Wirtschaft) invited people from politics, commerce and science to a conference on the topic “Between Science and Fiction-Society and Gender 2030”.
The major questions related to the work environment were:
Who will be working in what field in 2030? How will content, requirements and qualifications change? And: Will there be sufficient jobs for everyone or even too many?
In the end the participants agreed on 4 possible scenarios what our working environment will look like.
Work will be more:
- flexible:
Flexible working hours, more people working in freelance positions, switching between full-time and part-time jobs, more business trips, staying mobile regarding times as well as the places you are working at.
- exhausting:
Technological change itself is leading to a fast pace and challenging work environment. Furthermore the need for employers being all time approachable will grow stronger.
- qualified:
Lifelong learning will be a definite requirement. The labour market will further divide in unqualified personnel having few chances and skilled personnel in demand.
- female:
Studies show that women in leading position or management boards can only be helpful for the company’s success. More and more companies as well as governments will follow this example.
What is your opinion on this?
Do you already see those changes happen?
Based on: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/jobkarriere/479/501732/text/
this post by the daily beast presents a somewhat more critical view of todays flexible working environment:
“no one i know has a job anymore. they’ve got gigs. gigs: a bunch of free-floating projects, consultancies, and part-time bits and pieces they try and stitch together to make what they refer to wryly as “the nut”—the sum that allows them to hang on to the apartment, the health-care policy, the baby sitter, and the school fees…”
should one rather specialize in their field or retain a rather broad range of skills? apparently this question is still very controversial. according to the author of this interesting post, many professionals recommend to find and carve out a specialized niche within a field. simply engaging in work that lends itself to freelancing is insufficient and calls for more narrowing down. however, it is not the best strategy for every freelancer.
(image by freelancefolder)
