How To Ensure A Smooth Onboarding Process For Freelancers

Over the past few years, the gig economy made its breakthrough into the business world. Companies are increasingly outsourcing their work, and traditional, full-time employment is making room for temporary and flexible jobs. Almost 90% of Americans would consider freelancing or work independently, as opposed to full-time employment. However, if you act towards freelancers like they are a disposable workforce that is easily replaced, you can be sure that they will not put extra effort into the task you assigned to them. Working with freelancers can be challenging, especially if a company expects them to jump in and fix their problems instantly, which is rarely the case. The future of this relationship depends on joined efforts. That’s why investing time into freelancer onboarding is important, and can be a crucial factor when it comes to business success. Tip #1: Explain relevant internal processes. Companies must offer freelancers a well-rounded process during which they explain relevant internal procedures. The truth is, freelancers depend on client retention, and they are likely to invest their time and effort into making things work. However, they cannot magically understand unique business’s needs and are prone to make (often wrong) assumptions to meet the client’s expectations if they don’t get the proper introduction. As an employer, it is in your best interest to share relevant information with freelancers. By relevant, I mean everything that impacts how they approach their tasks and engage with your core team like software tools that are being used, available communication channels, why and how to track time , what are the working hours and time zones of the people they need to collaborate with, what is their response time, etc. Tip #2: Use video over text messaging. During the onboarding process, companies should ensure that nothing is left unsaid. One way to do it is to prepare handouts freelancers can easily access via Google Drive or similar service. It is important to mention that companies shouldn’t avoid video calls while onboarding freelancers. By exchanging text messages, we lose the vital part of communication: non-verbal signs. Emails can be interpreted in so many ways, while in-person interaction leaves no room for second-guessing. PREMIUM CONTENT: Total Talent Acquisition Developments 2019 Tip #3: Set the point of reference person. By Dynamic Signal’s report , more than a third of employees have considered quitting due to poor communication. As soon as they find the right freelancers, companies should notify all people who might be working with them about what’s expected from this cooperation. Furthermore, it doesn’t hurt to explain why freelancers are hired and how is the collaboration supposed to play out. One thing that will definitely ease the onboarding process is setting a point of reference person, someone freelancers can reach out to with any questions they might have. Ideally, this should be someone that is familiar with the internal processes and projects to which the freelancers are being included. If you give this task to an intern, you’ll end up with a […]

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5 Reasons to Begin Your Freelancing Career

5 Reasons to Begin Your Freelancing Career For many people, the opportunity to work on freelance is just a fairy tale. Imagine no early rises at 7 a.m. to get to the office in time to start the workday. There are no annoying bosses constantly monitoring the progress of your work. There is no need to take the subway at rush hour or stand in traffic for hours – as you can be work at home. In general, the picture is positive: freelancers are not late for work and do not complain that there is no time for personal life. Flexible Work Schedule Freelancer gets the task and the deadlines (sometimes those can be set by a specialist), but when and how much to work, a person decides on one’s own. Someone is more comfortable to sleep until lunch and work until midnight – a freelancer can afford this. However, the common belief that freelancers have a lot of free time is a delusion. Many remote specialists work the same hours as a normal nine-to-five office, sometimes even more. Take freelance writers for instance; there will always be undergrads in need of help with their custom essay – and there should be a pro able to finish the work asap. Managing Your Value Freelancer is a financially independent specialist. One cannot be stripped of a salary or fined for any violation, as it often happens in enterprises. A remote specialist always knows what one is paid for and is sure that this sum is in line with the abilities and skills. No Geographical Restrictions When you work via the Internet and everything is done online, you can afford to work from any place in the world. For example, you can buy a ticket to, say, Thailand, and live there for a couple of months without disrupting your workflow. It is a great opportunity for a change of environment “on the job.” Satisfaction with the Job Freelancers are looking for their customers and can choose the projects they are interested in. This is a definite advantage, as a specialist can do the work not only for the sake of earnings. An office worker, on the other hand, can rarely afford to give up a task assigned. A freelancer is never forced to do something the person doesn’t want to do. The Client Base You do not have to work with those customers that you do not like or who cause a lot of extra trouble. When you are on a freelance basis, you can terminate your contract or, once you have completed a particular project, stop cooperation with a certain company. With office jobs, there is no such possibility: you have to work and give the result regardless of whether you like to do the assigned tasks or not. How to Prepare for Freelance The ideal decision to move to freelance should be balanced, and the transition to this work format should be gradual. Grow your professionalism. Your income directly […]

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How to Outsource Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is the best way to get content done for your business. It’s the most flexible option for any business. You can pay per article as you need content, set up a regular schedule for content production, or even hire someone on retainer to produce whatever content you for various business needs at different times. Freelance writing is also the best way to ensure that you’re getting quality content all the time. Professional freelancers are serious about their work because they are business owners. They get gigs only when they have recent, quality samples to show to clients. They therefore have to maintain quality at all times to ensure continued income. The best part about freelance writing is that you can outsource it overseas to get more bang for your buck. We know the horror stories about hiring freelancers from other countries. Don’t worry, these steps will show you how you can outsource freelance writing safely. Outsource Freelance Writing in 5 Steps The FreeeUp Marketplace was built out of the frustration that founders Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan experienced while outsourcing work for their first business. They developed a 5-step hiring process to help other business owners avoid these types of frustrations, and we’re sharing it with you today. 1. Determine Your Needs Image by kaboompics What type of content do you need? Is it whitepapers, blog posts, listing copy? Sit down and really think about each type of content. Create separate descriptions for content writing and copywriting . Not every writer can do both. Under each type, list out the types of text you need done. Add context where needed to explain exactly what you want. For example, if you need PR articles, describe what types of publications they are for, how long they should be, what voice the writer needs to use, etc. Note that some writers niche down further into a specific area. This can be an area like blogging, or a certain business type such as Amazon. You can find just about any freelance writing skill on the global market, so think about which type of writers will fit your needs and give you the best value, especially if you’re on a tight budget. Be as specific as you can about each person that you want to hire. This goes beyond skill and experience level, so don’t forget to describe things that are important to you, like attitude, working times, and weekly availability. 2. Choose a Hiring Platform Image by niekverlaan Freelance writing is best hired for through an online marketplace. There are almost too many freelance websites out there today, though. It can be difficult to pick the right one if this is your first time hiring remote. This is why you need to focus on your needs and preferences. Use marketplace comparisons and platform lists to help you find the top marketplaces. Go through their websites and identify their strong points. Pick the best fit based on your ideal arrangement. Don’t speed […]

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Freelancing’s best part? The self-employed are unanimous

Before the challenges of 2020 dominate — notably Brexit and IR35 reform , FreelanceUK asked freelance creatives what they will try to keep in mind as the walls close in. We spoke with freelance marketing, digital and communications consultant Benedict Smith, public affairs and campaigning specialist Greg Mulholland , and former freelancer turned freelancer accounting aficionado Ed Molyneux. All three described the best part of freelancing in various ways, and shared various upsides. But there was a single unifying factor that the trio was almost always referring to: autonomy. ‘Being your own boss’ Perhaps Molyneux sums it up best. “There’s nothing else quite like being your own boss and having sole control over what you do and where you want your business to go,” he says. “So for me, the best thing about freelancing is that I got to work for myself. It can be a bit scary at times, but it’s also exhilarating to stand and fall on your own two feet, without having to answer to anyone else.” The only exception, chimes in Smith, is those who keep freelancers in business. “Every freelancer is answerable to their clients ,” says the 30-year-old, the director of Levo London . “I’m lucky in that mine are genuinely nice people which makes a massive difference.” ‘Freedom to choose the where, when and who’ Aside from the ‘ customer is king ’ consideration, Smith sees it much like Molyneux does. “The freedom to work from where I want, with whom I want and, to an extent, when I want, is the best part of being a self-employed freelancer,” he says. Asked for an example of him exploiting the freedom that freelancing allows, the consultant implied he could recite quite a few. And that’s partly because it’s not just him who makes them happen. “My wife is also freelance, so we’ll jump in the car or on a cheap flight and work from somewhere totally different for a few days. “We spent a week or so in Barcelona last month”, Smith says, contentedly. “[Just] having the flexibility to work remotely [in such a great location] and it not impact my work whatsoever was brilliant.” ‘Independently delivering’ Mulholland also cherishes the autonomy self-employment allows. But he comes across as more of a lone wolf – sniffing out the client brief as the leader of his own commercial pack. “The best part of freelancing is independently delivering great work for clients — work that your own skills and experience can deliver, [single-handedly] working with them to get great outcomes.” Even the route to those outcomes is down to him, and the former Liberal Democrat MP likes that nobody is looking over his shoulder about how he achieves them — in terms of the ‘where’ and the ‘when.’ “I also enjoy the flexibility that can come with freelancing. So I don’t mind working at some strange and unsocial hours,” Mulholland says. “As long as I have flexibility, meaning I can work from home or remotely.” […]

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Suit filed against California law affecting freelancers

The American Society of Journalists and Authors filed suit Dec. 17 against the state of California to stop a new law from “violating the Constitution and devastating the careers of freelance journalists such as writers and photographers,” the organization said. Assembly Bill 5, which took effect Jan. 1, caps journalists at 35 pieces of content per year for a company. If journalists exceed that, they must become employees of that company. Journalists who record video instantly lose their ability to work independently, says ASJA. Marketers, grant writers, and graphic designers face no such limit. “Under the law, a freelancer like me can write 200-plus press releases in a year for a marketing firm, and it’s no problem. But if a newspaper wants me to write a weekly column about local politics, it must put me on staff — a very unlikely prospect — or violate the law. Otherwise I am silenced,” said San Diego freelance writer Randy Dotinga, a board member and former president of ASJA. The suit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles by ASJA’s pro bono attorneys at Pacific Legal Foundation. ASJA joins the National Press Photographers Association as plaintiffs in the suit. ASJA says it’s concerned about proposed laws in New York and New Jersey that are inspired by AB 5.

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How To Be a Freelance Graphic Designer?

If you have always had a knack for drawing and painting, you can put them to practical use to earn money in the gig economy. You’re reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. If you have always had a knack for drawing and painting, you can put them to practical use to earn money in the gig economy. With changing times, even large companies have become more conducive to the idea of working with freelance graphic designers considering not all of them have enough work to need a full-time person on their payroll. Cover the Bases Learn the Technicalities Putting ideas to paper is one thing but that wouldn’t solve all your problems. You must know the technicalities involved, from choosing the color palette to keeping an audience in mind and ensuring that the design goes along with the brand’s already established image. A small design course may be a good option. For the Digital In the modern world, you must always remember that your design is likely to go digital. And so it is important that you understand what works and what doesn’t on a smartphone or a computer screen. You would need to keep those in mind while designing for different interfaces. Modern Tools To digitize your designs, you must have the knowhow of the tools. Adobe Photoshop can be a good place to begin, before you head to Illustrator. Different tools serve different purposes in a single project and it is important to have multiple ones in your arsenal given the competition. A Solid Portfolio As is the case with most freelance jobs, building a portfolio is perhaps the most important step. Identify trends before the rest and think out of the box, be it a historic game of football or a celebrity’s birthday, it could be your chance to make a viral design. A lot of designers try out mock designs for ongoing campaigns by major brands, which is a good way to garner instant attention. Unless you need a high profile website, as an amateur, there are a lot of websites such as Wix which let you build a website for free. Considering the advent of Instagram, and given that everything about your job is visual, it is important to build an aesthetic Instagram profile and keeping your audience engaged everyday. What It Costs If you have a fair idea of how designing works, becoming a freelance designer doesn’t require a lot of investment. If, however, you want to start from scratch and need a design course, the costs would go up significantly. The first thing you would need is a good computer or a tablet. Tablets are preferable since they are easier to put illustrations on. An Apple iPad would be a good option to look at. A third generation iPad Pro would cost you close to INR 80,000. For software tools, Adobe’s suite of products are fairly good. A subscription for the entire suite of products comes down to about […]

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Tax Tips for Freelancers

Event Details Wanna learn about writing off business expenses to lower your taxes? Come to this FREE information session! register to: laurel [at] brooklyn [dot] coop or 718-418-8232 x2112 You’ll learn: – the pros and cons of declaring cash income – how and why to track and write off business expenses – how to take the home office deduction – how and why to set up and make quarterly tax payments The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session where you can get all your questions answered. ** Don’t be late, pizza is served at 3pm sharp! ** Can’t make it? We’re offering this workshop again: Wed. 2/12 6pm @ 315 Grove St. Thu. 2/20 7pm @ 834 Dekalb Ave. Also check out the “So You Wanna Be An LLC?” workshop:Mon. 1/13 6pm @ 834 Dekalb Ave. Our full schedule of workshops is here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/br…

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Why Understanding Your Cash Flow Is So Important for a Freelance Designer

It’s a common misconception that, as a freelance designer, you don’t need to fix up your financial statements anymore. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. As a freelancer, you still need to manage the financial side of how you’re making a living. Managing your cash flow is vital to your work and having a backup plan if something goes wrong. What Is Cash Flow? Cash flow is the flow of money in and out of your business, which is freelance designing. Cash that flows in will come from the payments from your clients or customers you made designs for. Customers that don’t pay on schedule will cause a delay in cash flowing in. On the other hand, cash that flows out will be payments for your own expenses. Why Is It Important To Understand Your Cash Flow? 1. Know How Much You Have There is a difference between having cash on hand and cash that will be receivable in the future. You need to make a distinction between the two. Sometimes, a sale is made or work is done for a client, but the payment for it has yet to be sent. It can also be hard to track your income if you don’t have an invoice template . This is why it’s important to understand your cash flow: to know how much money is coming in or is supposed to come in. If you don’t understand your own cash flow, you might miss out on some income that hasn’t been paid yet. Always remember that income is not recognized until you receive it in cash. 2. Shows You The Money Trail By understanding your cash flow, you will also be able to know where your money went exactly. You might be getting a good amount of income, but if your bills are flying left and right, your expenses might be the cause of your bankruptcy. If you know how to read your cash flow, you can prevent this from happening by being able to analyze your cash flow. Your cash flow statement will tell you where you’ve spent the most on and how you’re spending your money. If you notice that you are spending too much on a specific area, you can curtail your expenses in that section. 3. Financial Forecasting When it comes to freelance designing, you also need your finances to project how you’re going to do in the future. Many of your decisions for the future will be dependent on the cash you have. By understanding your cash flow, you can make better decisions for your business. For instance, by understanding how much cash you have and are expected to get, you can also plan how you will finance your growth in the next year. Depending on how well your cash flow is doing, you can decide whether you need to loan from a bank or raise capital aside from your internally generated funds. 4. Allows You To Prepare and Remedy Problems There might […]

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Become Your Own Boss and Start a Freelance Career in 2020

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. The gig economy is booming, which has led more and more companies to invest in freelancers and contractors for jobs. Whether it’s a one-off project or consistent, low-touch work, businesses trust freelancers to deliver high-quality work for less cost than a full-time employee. That means there’s a lot of work out there for freelancers, you just have to know how to take advantage. The Complete Freelancer Master Class Course can help. This extensive, 13-hour course features a nine-step process designed to take your passion and turn it into a high-paying freelance career. Regardless of what your core competency is — from copywriting to business analytics — this course will help you understand how to grow your business. You’ll learn how to determine pricing, get more high-quality clients, and work for yourself first. The course will teach you how to create and maintain growth, develop positive relationships, and work faster and more productively than ever before. Before you know it, you’ll have the tools, resources, and know-how to operate your own freelance business on your own time. Be your own boss. Normally $499, The Complete Freelancer Master Class Course is on sale now for just $15 .

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Top 5 Online Freelancing Marketplaces

Freelance marketplaces, sometimes known as outsourcing marketplaces, are a convenient way to match online buyers of services to sellers willing to perform that service at a very reasonable price. Small businesses and individuals, after registering and validating their email address, can post projects suggesting their requirements. Sellers can then bid on that project at a predetermined price – usually a fixed fee. There are a lot different platforms for freelancing, we will tell you about 5 of them here. 1. Fiverr Fiverr is the best freelancing platform right now. It has been working on the basis of mulitples of 5 as you can get a freelancer for little work in 5 dollars or 10 dollars etc. There gigs created on Fiverr, by the freelancers in which they what task they will provide in the specific amount. Finding writing “gigs,” is not as difficult as it seems. There is a high demand for writers and freelancers in just about any area of expertise. However, you may have to start off writing for free. Yet, you are still making your name known to viewers and building respect with the magazine. It also, looks great in your portfolio. Some websites may also list companies looking for freelance writers. Clients do give review after the work has been done. Through these reviews next clients do provide the task, the freelancer getting reviews as 5 out of 5 will get more work from the clients. 2. Upwork Upwork is also a reliable source for freelancers and companies who want to buy services through freelancers. Here people come a post their problems and set the prices to bid. Freelancers come here and bid on the posts of the people as proposals. Then the client who posted the job reviews all proposals and gets the best one for his task. Freelancers at upwork also earn hundred thousand by getting a lot of projects at same time and outsourcing as well. But Upwork is responsible for getting paid and the quality of the work as well. You can select any freelancer on Upwork by reading the reviews of them by the previous clients; it is almost similar to the Fiverr. 3. Grouputopia Today, companies are interested in saving dollars and time by electing to freelance work; instead, of the hassle of overhead and overhead expenses. Online magazines are a good place to start. It seems that most are looking for writers. Many of them need editors or developers. Other platforms have big prices on them for getting you task done. You can go towards new platforms for getting your work in a good budget. Grouputopia is best for this choice if you want to limit your budget and get a quality work as well. Most important fact about this platform is that, they charge you just 6% commission and they release the payment in just 7 days. For taking in mind this amazing fact, we have ranked it after Fiverr and Upwork on top. 4. Ruprr Freelancing […]

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