You must have heard about 9 to 5 shifts, boss troubles, appraisal problems and a lot of hassles that come with a corporate life. But have you ever thought about how being your own boss would feel like? Maybe like a free bird in the sky? Right? But wait right there…before you delve into the wonders of being a free bird, you must understand that a bird also struggles for it’s accommodation, appetite and survival. Similarly, freelancers along with their desired – job benefits have to struggle a lot.
“Don’t feel entitled to anything you didn’t sweat and struggle for”
Marian Wright Edelman
Their world is based on hustle and seeking for new opportunities every single day. ‘FREELANCE’ does not mean anything for free; They get paid for their sweat and hard work they put into any project. It is very important for any freelancer to keep discipline in whatever specialty they’re working. It takes them to further more growth. They do not have to work in corporate shifts but their struggle includes working continuously for many days when deadlines for projects are just on the head. Although the world of freelancing is full of opportunities and different fields to explore, some skills and fields are in higher demand as compared to others.
The fastest growing Freelance Skills include:
- Social Media Marketing
- Digital Marketing
- Graphic Designing
- Writing / Editing
- Career advice and mentoring
- Customer service
- Web development
- Virtual Assistant
- Data Entry
- Blogging
- SEO Writing
- Web design App developer
Client Acquisition
Getting clients is the most important and difficult task in freelancing. There are no depicted timings and even clients end up calling at odd times or postponing deadlines, YES THAT’S WHAT A FREELANCER’S WORLD IS LIKE.
On the positive side they have all the freedom to make decisions and there is no boundary in extending your work according to you, OH YES! Free as a bird. It’s a challenge in itself to be exposed to various kinds of people and extended social relationships.
There are various platforms in Pakistan that you can use to connect with your perfect-fit clients, like:
- Upwork
- Fiverr
- Freelancer.com
- Indeed
- Linked in
- FlexJobs
- Guru.com
Getting Started with Freelancing
Freelancing jobs just do not come knocking on your doors. At least, not at the start. , You need to know your skills and abilities and start working on them to bring out the better version of yourself. You can start freelancing right away with these five initial steps.
- Choose your skill(s).
- Make a brand for yourself
- Create your portfolio
- Create your contacts
- Make use of online free sites
And start working!
Freelancing in Pakistan
Shedding light on it’s progress, Pakistan has got fourth position globally in the category of Software Development and Technology. Talking to the media, a ministry official said, the calculated revenue is $0.5 billion,which is a very handsome amount. Pakistan is home to 9 per cent of total freelancers. According to ‘Indeed’, the number 1 job site around the world, the average salary for a Freelancer is Rs 31,600 per month in Pakistan. Salary estimates are based on 54 salaries submitted anonymously to Indeed by Freelancer employees, users, and collected from past and present job advertisements on Indeed in the past 36 months.
Being a freelancer you must find a space within yourself where everything seems possible. Passion becomes an ultimate difference between having a job or having a career and this passion brings many people into “FREELANCING WORLD” . Freelancing does require so much hard work and dedication but rewards awaited at the end are always fruitful. Majority of youth, students, housewives drive their earnings through freelancing sources. And importantly, there is no restriction on age limits. Obviously, you need a grown up (18+) to help you set up payment systems.. During the recent pandemic and lockdown people were found struggling for corporate jobs, downsizing of employees in many organizations led people more towards freelancing and they got the chance to channel their inner hidden talents.
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary”
— Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker.
Your life does not get better eventually by chance, but it gets better when you adapt a change in your life. Life is uncertain and you need to take risks to lead yourself towards your goals or else you will end up regretting in your room at night, and living with regrets is not a good idea. I believe “LIFE” is the name of “OPPORTUNITIES”. Everyday is a new day and you should learn to embrace it and get maximum productivity out of it.
A Freelancer’s motive can be defined as:
Grind in the 20’s, Build in the 30’s and will be epitome in my 40’s.
Though age is just a number, change it according to your preference and enjoy life!
