Freelancer - who is it and what does it do? (Review). Constant development and self-improvement. How does the work process work?

Hello, friends! In this article, I will help you understand who a freelancer is and what he does, because the popularity of this type of employment is growing day by day.

What is freelancing and who is a freelancer?

I gave a detailed analysis of the meaning of this word in my article about.

Interesting fact, that the concept of “freelancer” was first mentioned in Walter Scott’s work “Ivanhoe” to refer to medieval mercenary soldiers. By the way, the novel was published in 1819. That is, this phenomenon is not new at all and has a long history.

But, if in the Middle Ages only warriors had the privilege of choosing when, for how much and for whom to work, today almost any professional can do this. Just think about it - everyone can adjust their work schedule to fit their life, and not their life to fit their work schedule.

A freelancer is a specialist who completes orders for one or more employers. At the same time, it doesn’t matter to the customer where, when, or how long you work, the main thing is high-quality work done on time. Freelancing is not a profession, it is a type of employment. I have been working in this mode for several years now and full responsibility I can say that being a freelancer is a lifestyle.

What does a freelancer do?

If desired, a specialist in almost any field can become a freelancer and provide their services remotely.

All freelancers can be roughly divided into two groups:

1. Those for whom the Internet is a means of communication with their employer. For example, accountants compiled reports and sent them by mail to the customer. This also includes lawyers, photographers, translators, teachers who conduct classes and consultations via Skype.
2. Professions for which the Internet is a field of activity. A limitless field, I must say. Today, a business does not exist if it is not on the Internet. Everyone needs websites that need to be developed, promoted, optimized, and filled with content. Therefore, the demand for specialists such as programmers, designers, and copywriters is growing rapidly. You can check it out.

Why is it profitable to hire a freelancer?

IN Lately All more companies prefer to use the services of remote employees and freelancers. The benefits of this type of employment are obvious: the employer does not pay for office rent, for the table and chair on which you sit, for electricity, for water, tea and napkins. He pays only for your work. Why is this not an ideal scheme?

There is another undeniable advantage: if there is no need for your presence at a specific workplace, this means that geographical boundaries are erased. You can attract a specialist from any corner of the world, which, you see, greatly simplifies the task of finding employees.

How does this happen

Most freelancers work remotely via the Internet. At the same time there is different variants employment:

• Remote employee - in this case, you are officially employed by the company and enjoy all the benefits guaranteed Labor Code, - seniority, pension contributions, vacations and more. At the same time, you work at home, staying in touch with your manager at a clearly defined time. work time.
• Freelancer - individual. You are invited to perform one-time tasks. Sometimes such projects can be very extensive and provide you with work for a long time. In such cases, the freelancer and the customer sign an agreement on the provision of paid services, and sometimes do without it altogether. Simply put, the same scheme as when you go to get a haircut or hire a person to renovate an apartment.
• Individual entrepreneur - many customers, especially large ones, find it convenient to cooperate with such freelancers. Do you have a current account? standard contract, your business generates good income and you pay taxes regularly.

Advantages

As a person who has tested everything the hard way, I can talk a lot about the advantages of working as a freelancer. But let's highlight the main ones:

• Individual operating mode

Let's be honest - how many of the hours you spend in the office do you actually spend working?

There is this joke:
— What place would you like to take in our company?
— A place where no one can see my computer monitor.

Each person has their own productive hours. And not everyone has this time between 9 am and 6 pm. Therefore, very often office workers, unable to concentrate on the task at hand, are forced to create an imitation of work activity. Imagine how many useful things you could do during this unproductive time if you were not obliged to constantly be present at the workplace.

Personally, I start work when my brain is at its peak and I am most effective. There may be several such intervals during the day (and night). The rest of the time I'm with peace of mind I dedicate it to personal interests.

• Unlimited earnings

Your earnings depend on the volume and quality of work performed. You can collaborate with several customers at the same time. Initiative and enthusiasm are welcomed and rewarded. The more experience you have, the more expensive your services are.

• No bosses

There are customers who turn to you as an expert, and this, you see, is a completely different level of relationship. Moreover, you choose who to work with and who not to work with. And if you are not satisfied with something, you can simply refuse to cooperate with this client.

• Employers around the world are at your disposal

When you are looking for work offline, you focus on the distance from home. This is especially true for major cities, where sometimes the travel time to work is several hours. This reduces the number of suitable and interesting employers to a minimum.

When you work online, you don't care where your customer is. You choose a job based on your interests, liking and cost, but definitely not based on distance from your home.

• Ability to work anywhere

Everything said in the previous paragraph applies to you as a performer. It doesn’t matter to the customer where you are: surfing in New Zealand or picking mushrooms in the Mari forests. If the work is done efficiently and on time, absolutely everything is a plus. That is why great amount freelancers are desperate travelers.

• There are no age restrictions. And no restrictions at all

Whether you are a student or a pensioner, a mother of three children or a freelance artist, if you are disciplined and professional, then you can always find work on the Internet.

• Continuous development

When the quality of your work directly affects the amount you earn, you won’t allow yourself to fail to develop. You constantly learn new information, expand your horizons, and acquire new skills. With constant work, your professional value increases every day.

Flaws

Cons in remote work there too. Although for me this is rather specific, but nevertheless:

• Lack of stability

Guaranteed payments twice a month are not about freelancers. From payday to payday is also not about us. Payments are received as orders are completed. And the cost of orders can also differ significantly. With the transition to remote work, I began to take planning my budget much more seriously.

• No team

There are people who go to work to satisfy the need for communication. They cannot imagine themselves outside the team. But if you are not very concerned about the problems of the relationship between surveyor Lydia Petrovna and her daughter-in-law, then perhaps this point can be transferred to the advantages of remote work.

• No New Year's corporate events and gifts on February 23/March 8

You'll have to come to terms with this. And reassure yourself that the New Year in Bali is not the worst alternative to a herring under a fur coat in the office.

• Misunderstanding from loved ones

Freelancers often fall victim to the stereotype that being at home and not working are the same thing. It will take time for your family to realize that you have not moved from the office chair to their neck. Let them get used to this unusual phenomenon - he doesn’t go to work, and he doesn’t run out of money. Very often, after observing one such “rebel,” the rest of the family also switches to remote work.

Where to begin?

Most internet jobs are relatively new. Therefore, many begin to master them from scratch. On the Internet you can find a huge number of educational webinars, articles, and trainings. I tried a lot: some trainings are very strong, some are not done very professionally, some are completely ineffective.

If you already have experience in any of the professions, then you can immediately start looking for customers. There are many platforms where customers post their tasks in search of performers. Here .

Don't expect that your first orders will bring you a lot of money. Be prepared that at first the payment for your services will be minimal. This is fine. Look at this as an opportunity to gain experience, build a portfolio and feedback on your work. First you work for your reputation, so that your reputation will work for you.

In the article you will find even more information that will help you switch to remote work.

How not to give up?

Starting something, especially when you are a beginner with no work experience, is always difficult. But every freelancer has gone through this. And I don’t know anyone who would like to return to work offline. The main thing is to set goals for yourself and not deviate from the intended path. Sometimes the steps towards the goal seem too small and insignificant, but believe me, any effort will yield results.

I wish you personal and professional success, dear readers. Listen to yourself, be brave and live happily!

If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them in the comments, share my experience and perhaps be able to give valuable advice. Share information, friends!

Hello, my dear readers!

Are you familiar with the word “freelancer”? No, but have you heard? Let's talk about it?

Translated from English word"freelance" means free spear. This type of employment involves working outside the organization’s staff.

If you are a freelancer, you need to find clients yourself, do some work for them and get paid for it.

Freelancing can be considered as the first step towards creating own business. In this article, I will tell you in detail about who a freelancer is, what kind of profession it is, and how the first steps in this activity are taken.

Who is a freelancer?

Such people find clients on the Internet, mainly through special ones. In addition, you can find clients using your connections, through your friends, social networks. networks.

According to statistics, freelancers in a quiet home environment earn twice as much as their colleagues working in cramped and noisy offices. The income level of the most experienced “free workers” in almost any profession averages from 30 to 100 thousand rubles per month. Some (mainly IT specialists) receive more than 100,000 rubles. Tempting, isn't it?

What do freelancers do?

Basically, freelancers are hired to carry out specific projects for which they receive money. They:

• translate texts
• prepare drawings
• create websites and various software products
• develop advertising brochures
• and much more

You don't have to be an IT specialist to be a freelancer. The freelance market is in demand for professions that do not require extensive training (for example, rewriters). To master simple specialties it takes from a couple of weeks to one month.

By the way, he teaches many popular Internet professions online school 1Day1Step.

Acquainted with full list specialties you can by visiting one of the freelance exchanges. The following portals are especially popular:

• WebLancer
• fl.ru
• workzilla
• kwork

Read more about these exchanges in.

What is the difference between freelance and remote work?

The remote method of work involves interaction between the contractor and the customer via the Internet, telephone or other communication channels. That is, the contractor and the customer are located at a distance from each other.

Freelancers use the World Wide Web to search for the most profitable contracts around the world. They can live where labor is cheaply paid and at the same time work for those who pay the most.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like any job, freelancing has both its pros and cons.

The advantages include the following:

• Saving money and time. You don't have to get up early, waste time and money traveling to and from work.
• Possibility to work at any time convenient for you. This is especially important if you have children who require constant supervision or if you simply don't like to get up too early.
• Freelancing can be the first step in creating your own online business.
• You are absolutely free and can work and travel around the world at the same time.
• Peace of mind and comfort that are not available in the office.
• A unique opportunity to work in your specialty, even if there is no demand for your profession in your city or it is extremely small.
• Your boss is you.
• If you have a significant number of clients, you will have a stable income. In the office, you work for one “client” - the employer; if he goes bankrupt, then your stability will also come to an end. As a freelancer, having dozens of clients, you don’t have to worry about losing one of them.
• Potentially high level income. As mentioned above, working for “your loved one” you can earn 2 times more than an office worker.

However, freelancing also has disadvantages, in particular:

• Finding the optimal place to work. It is often extremely difficult to find a place in the house where no one will distract you from the work process. But over time, as your income grows, you will be able to provide yourself workplace, for example, buy a larger apartment and allocate one room for a study.
• Lack of any social support. You can forget about such delights of office work as paid vacation and sick leave.
• You buy everything you need with your own money.
• Misunderstanding on the part of loved ones and relatives. Many people cannot understand how they can work while sitting at home. You may be considered a slacker and even a parasite (even if you work 24 hours a day).
• The likelihood of falling for scammers who will not pay for your work. We'll talk about this further.

Fraud

While searching for work on the Internet, you may come across deception and all sorts of “scams”. You may be asked to do a certain amount of work, and after you send it to the employer, you simply will not be paid.

To avoid getting into such a situation and not wasting your time, I recommend looking for employers and collaborating with them through special freelance exchanges, the administration of which can protect you.

Where should you start your career?

Step 1. First of all, decide what you will do. You must have extensive knowledge and real experience in your chosen field.

As already mentioned, in order to become a freelancer it is not at all necessary to be an IT specialist. If you are a teacher, builder, etc. by education, then you can also count on this type activities.

You can write articles on topics close to you, or do a rewrite (retelling in your own words a text taken from the Internet, preserving the meaning of the original). These services are well paid and are in great demand.

• VKontakte group administrator
• Facebook business page administrator
• O call center operator in an online store.

Step 3. The third step for new freelancers is to build a client base. I have already talked about freelance exchanges, look for clients on them.

Payment

Now you need to think about how clients will pay for your services. The payment method must be sufficiently reliable and fast. First of all, the advantage for bank cards, and in the second - for .

On some exchanges, customers pay the performers within the system, and only then the money from the balance can be withdrawn to the card.

When searching for an order, look first of all not at its price, but at its technical specifications. If the order is too tough for you yet, then it’s better not to take it on.

That's all! Share information with friends on in social networks, subscribe to my blog newsletter and see you again.

Sincerely! Abdullin Ruslan

Greetings! Friends, today we will continue to get acquainted with freelance. It doesn’t matter at all what time of day it is - day or night, what you are doing - working or relaxing, because right now freelancers are working on computers. I am sure that now many of you are intrigued and want to quickly find out who a freelancer is and what he does. This is not surprising, because who among us would not want manage your own time freely, work when comfortable, earn as much as you want, and in general, finally stop crowding the subway at 7 am and in the rain, and in the snow, and in the terrible heat five days a week all year round. In general, if you are ready to give up your usual lifestyle in favor of your dream job, Then this article is for you.

Who are freelancers?

Every valiant office worker can boast of his stable salary, vacation at the nearest resort or dacha twice a year and a couple of days off a week. In general, it’s not so bad if you don’t know that freelancers travel for a long time without putting their work on hold. You are probably intrigued and wondering how this is possible? The fact is that once they risked their illusory stability in the office, they decided to become free employees. Let's quickly find out what kind of profession this is, who a freelancer is, and what he does.

Translation and history of appearance

To understand the meaning of the word " freelancer", it makes sense to turn to the English-Russian dictionary. This is where we learn that free- this is freedom, and lancer- this is a shooter. Thus, it turns out that the freelancer is none other than “ free shooter" Are you at a loss? Then let's remember, at school you probably read Walter Scott's work about the valiant knight Ivanhoe. So, it was in this novel that the concept of “freelancer” was first introduced, and it was used to refer to medieval mercenary soldiers. But the work, for a moment, was published in the distant 1819. Thus, we can safely conclude that such a phenomenon as freelancing is by no means new and has, dare I say it, a centuries-old history.

But if in the Middle Ages only warriors had the privilege of choosing when, for how much, and with whom to work, today every self-respecting professional can choose. Just think about it - if you want, you can adjust your work schedule to fit your life, and not vice versa.

The essence of the activity

A Freelancer is a specialist who carries out projects for one or even several clients. At the same time, it doesn’t matter at all to employers where, when and how long you work. All that interests them from such cooperation is high-quality performance of work within clearly established deadlines. I should note that freelancing is not a profession, but a specific type of employment. Personally, I have been working in this mode for more than five years, and if before I did not consider freelancing as a full-time job, I used its opportunities more for part-time work, but today I can safely say that this lifestyle has drawn me in, and I am not ready to say goodbye to it.

What do freelance workers do?

So what do these same freelancers do? By and large, a specialist in any field can go freelance and provide their services remotely, working from home. Conventionally, all available workers can be divided into two categories:

• Those who use the Internet exclusively to communicate with the customer. For example, remote accountants compile reports and then simply send them to customers by mail. This group can also include all kinds of lawyers, photographers, translators and teachers who conduct classes and consultations online via Skype.
• Those for whom the Internet is a real field of activity. I would like to add that this field is limitless. Today, no business can exist if it cannot be found on the Internet. Every entrepreneur needs his own website, the development, promotion, and optimization of which must be regularly done. This is why specialists in the field of programming and web design are in great demand today. Considering that any site needs quality content, the demand for copywriting services is not decreasing.

Start making money on the weblancer exchange

Benefit question: why should you hire a freelancer?

Today more and more larger number Companies prefer to use the services of freelancers and remote workers. I think that the benefits of such cooperation are obvious: entrepreneurs do not have to spend money on renting an office, buying tables, chairs and computers for which you will work, you do not need to pay bills for electricity, water, you do not have to worry about purchasing small household goods like tea, napkins , toilet paper and the like. All the employer needs in this case is to give the mercenary clear technical specifications and pay for his work. Well, isn't this an ideal scheme?

In addition, there is another advantage of such interaction: since there is no need for your regular presence at a specific workplace, this means that geographical boundaries are blurring at all. It turns out that to implement a project you can attract a specialist from almost any corner of the world. Agree, this opportunity greatly simplifies the task of selecting the right employee.

How is the work of a freelancer organized?

The vast majority of freelancers choose to work from home and sell their services remotely via the Internet. However, here you need to know that such employment can be arranged in three forms:

What specialty should I study?

Well, we’ve sorted out the theory, made inquiries about freelancers, and therefore, I think it’s time to think about our own career as a freelance worker. In this regard, I decided to sketch out a small list the most popular specialties in the world of remote work. IN in this case I will consider exclusively online freelancing. If you are interested full list services, then my article “The best jobs for freelancers in 2017” will be useful to you. In the meantime, here’s who they’re looking for in the remote labor market:

Specialists in working with text information

SEO-copywriters and SEO-rewriters, ordinary copywriters and rewriters, content managers, editors and proofreaders of texts and all kinds of translators. To find a job in one of these industries, you need not only master the pen and have impeccable knowledge of languages, but also have certain knowledge in the field of psychology, marketing and analytics. By the way, the real apotheosis in the world of text freelancing is considered to be writers who are ready to write real masterpieces for various publications, agreeing to work for percentage of sales of your creations. Newcomers to the world of freelance can start with . This will allow you to get better at it and move on to more complex and expensive projects.

Programmers and system administrators

They write programs, scripts, and solve all sorts of problems related to the administration of websites, servers and applications. Software product testers can also be included in this category. If you want to make decent money on the Internet, then you need to master the design of various website engines, understand programming languages ​​(at a minimum, you need to know Java Script, PHP And Perl), be able to work with databases and ideally be proficient in markup languages ​​such as html And css.

Designers in all possible forms

The demand for landscape designers, interior designers, graphic designers and web designers is growing every day. In addition, designers are also in demand computer games. If you have a heightened sense of beauty, you have an amazing imagination and, on top of that, you work well with such people. graphic editors like Photoshop, Coreldraw, Maya, 4Studio, 3ds max and the like, which means it makes sense to think about finding your first clients and start working remotely.

Promotion specialists

These are SMM specialists who promote projects on social networks, SEO specialists, optimizers, layout designers, and specialists in attracting visitors to sites using a variety of advertising. If you're wondering how to become a great freelancer from scratch in this industry, you'll have to constantly improve your knowledge, they must be extensive and fresh. Since promotion changes regularly (search engines continually introduce new algorithms, filters, and change basic approaches to promotion), your knowledge should always be hot, fresh out of the oven.

Moneymakers – freelancers

They absolutely do not accept working for someone else, and therefore are constantly looking for more and more new ways to earn money on their own. To earn money, such workers use their own projects, traffic arbitrage, and partnership programs. To succeed in such a difficult task, a money maker has to become a webmaster, a website layout designer, an analyst, a marketer, and many more.

Coaches and trainers

Quite a specific type of freelancer. Representatives of this category are specialists (or consider themselves such) in a certain field and offer their training services. As a rule, they conduct courses online, using the form of webinars, correspondence or chats. However, there are also cases when classes are conducted offline in groups or in the form of individual trainings or schools.

Other options

In addition to the above specialties, freelancers who have experience and knowledge in the following industries can find work:

Pros and cons of freelancing life

pros

I, as a person who has studied freelance from A to Z, can endlessly talk about the merits of such work. However, I tried to pull myself together and highlight the main points. So, among positive aspects freelance life I would highlight:

Individual work schedule

Now let's be honest - how long have you been really spend on performing your work duties while sitting in the office? Each person has his own biorhythms, and therefore at some hours he works better, and at others worse. Not everyone is able to work productively between 8 am and 5 pm. It is for this reason that many office workers cannot concentrate on completing the task assigned to them and simply imitate the work process. Imagine how many useful things you would have managed to do during this unproductive time if you did not have to constantly be at your workplace.

For me, I only take on work when my brain is at its peak, which means I'm at my most effective. I work best from 10 to 15 and from 21 to 23. It also happens that inspiration comes in the middle of the night, and I can safely work until the morning. I spend the rest of my time with peace of mind on household chores, personal interests and hobbies.

Unlimited earnings

Your income as a freelancer will depend only on how much work you do and how high quality it is. Here, initiative and enthusiasm are not punished, but, on the contrary, are welcomed and encouraged. Plus, the more experience you gain, the more you can sell your service.

Lack of management

Most customers communicate with you as an expert, and this, whatever one may say, is a completely different type of relationship. In addition, you can independently choose who you work with and who you don’t. If suddenly you don’t like something in your interaction with the customer, you can simply refuse further cooperation.

You can choose employers all over the world

When you are looking for a job, you first look at how far your place of work is from home. This criterion is especially relevant for residents of large cities, where the journey to the office often takes several hours. In this regard, the circle of potential employers is reduced to a minimum. When it comes to finding freelancers, things are completely different here. The whole world is open to free workers. It doesn't matter what city, country or continent your customer is from. The main thing is that you can choose a project that is interesting for yourself, and the selection criterion will not be the distance from your home, but its price.

You can work wherever your heart desires

It doesn’t matter to customers where the performer is – surfing in Bali or picking mushrooms in the Carpathian Mountains. If the work is carried out in accordance with the technical specifications, the project deadlines are not violated, then everyone benefits. In general, this is the reason why most freelancers are adventurous travelers.

No age restrictions

Freelancing no bias towards yours social status . Everyone can find a job here, both old and young. If you are disciplined enough, your professional quality in demand in this market, welcome to the network!

Constant development and self-improvement

When exactly on quality The final amount of your earnings depends on your work; you simply will not allow yourself to stop developing and stop learning new things. Every day you will receive a lot new information, which will broaden your horizons and help you acquire new useful skills. As long as you keep working, your professional value will increase day by day.

Register and find projects you like on the FL.RU exchange

Flaws

However, it is not devoid of freelance and dark sides. Although I personally don’t consider these points to be disadvantages. In my opinion, this is just work specifics. But since there is no escape from it, and I am making an honest review, I will not hide the disadvantages. So, as for weaknesses freelancing, then it is worth highlighting:

Lack of reinforced concrete stability

Guaranteed advance payment and wages twice a month is not about freelancing. However, living from paycheck to paycheck is not our strong point. Money comes here as the order is completed. Project costs may vary significantly. By the way, it was the transition to remote work that made me think about planning my own budget.

Lack of team

There are people who go to work not so much for a salary, but to satisfy their hunger for communication. It is very difficult for such people to imagine themselves outside the team. However, if you are not too interested in the problem of the relationship between the accountant Valentina Sergeevna and her daughter-in-law, it is quite possible that you will include this point in the block of advantages of remote employment.

No corporate events, team building or bonuses on holidays

You will simply have to come to terms with this point. And then, you can always reassure yourself that New Year under the palm trees in Egypt– this is a very good alternative to Olivier in the office.

You have to spend time searching for orders and suitable employers

When choosing the freelance path for yourself, be prepared for the fact that you will have to constantly advertise your services, spend time creating your own portfolio and regularly view ads on freelance exchanges.

Difficulties with self-organization

It is extremely difficult for many people to organize their work time if they do not have a strict boss standing over them and motivating them with carrots and sticks. The temptation to drop things and just turn on the series will always follow you. If you are not ready discipline yourself, you have nothing to catch on the Internet.

Lack of social package with sick leave and paid leave

If you get sick, you'll have to eat through your stash. Besides, you can't earn your pension at home. If the latter is important to you, you will have to register as an Individual Entrepreneur and regularly spend time maintaining records and paying taxes.

Difficulty creating a work environment

Sometimes it can be quite difficult to explain to your loved ones that the fact that you are at home does not mean that you are not busy. Requests to take out the trash, do laundry, cook, wash dishes, and the like simply do not allow you to get into a working mood. It is very important here to explain to your household that you can only be distracted during non-working hours and clearly demarcate for them when you " At work", and when " Houses».

I must admit that periodically searching for work online leads to deception and all sorts of “scams.” There are times when you are offered to perform certain amounts of work, and after the project is completed, the customer refuses to pay or simply disappears.

To avoid being a victim and to avoid ending up in such a situation, I advise you to look for employers only on specialized freelance exchanges, where The service administration is responsible for the security of the transaction.

So, let's assume that you are seriously thinking about getting rid of boring everyday life in the office and becoming a free bird - a freelancer. In this case you need:

1. Decide what you want to do. To make money on the Internet, you need to have quite extensive knowledge and real experience in the direction you choose. Nobody says that in order to conquer freelance, you need to be an IT specialist. Not at all, the delights of remote work are available to teachers, builders, and even doctors. You can easily write articles on topics that are close to you and share your own knowledge. At first, you can find a job as a rewriter, administrate a group on social networks, or act as a call center operator in an online store. By the way, if you decide to work with social networks, it can be very useful for you.
2. Get some training. At this stage, you just need to get acquainted with the basics of your chosen field of activity, refresh your professional knowledge and “swallow” the information received.
3. Create a client base. I have already said that it is better to use specialized services to find clients. I believe that this issue requires more thorough coverage, and therefore I propose to return to it a little later.
4. Take care of the calculation part. Think about how you will be paid for the work done. The payment method you choose should be reliable and fairly fast. An undoubted advantage in this matter is bank cards. However, if your customer is located in another country, the issue of currency conversion arises. This is why freelancers more often use electronic money in systems such as WebMoney or YandexMoney. I have already talked about that. For those who don’t know, I recommend reading this article.

Freelance exchanges

Well, now, as promised, I return to the issue of finding a job. I made a list the highest quality exchanges for remote workers, which you can study in my separate article. As part of today’s review, I decided to make a small abstract selection of sites where you can start your search for customers:

Registering an account on FL.RU

• Weblancer . In my opinion, the most convenient exchange for beginning freelancers. The site administration is doing its best to protect its users from fraud by employers. In addition, on the exchange it is possible to purchase paid accounts, with which you can significantly increase your earnings;

Registering an account on Weblancer

• Freelance.ru . The oldest and, perhaps, the best freelance exchange in RuNet. This service combines everything - a convenient mechanism for finding workers for projects of varying degrees of complexity, the opportunity to fully communicate with a potential contractor, and protection against fraud through special tools;
• Kwork . Freelance store in which all services are sold and purchased at a single price - 500 rubles;
• Moguza.ru - a store selling digital services. The exchange acts as an intermediary between the customer and the contractor, and therefore minimizes the possibility of fraud between platform participants;
• Text.ru . A specialized copyright exchange where you can fulfill orders for writing articles, earn money from comments and reviews, or sell ready-made texts by uploading them to the site’s database.

Completing tasks from 500 rubles on the Kwork exchange

Let's sum it up

Well, friends, I think this is where we can end our review. If you still have any doubts that freelancing is a real opportunity to start managing your own strengths, skills, knowledge, and most importantly time, I advise you just start. Most of internet professions relatively new, and therefore many have to master them almost from scratch. Don't be afraid to learn new things, take risks and build your life the way you like. Read forums, study professional articles, participate in webinars and trainings. And remember that you should never choose projects based on price. First of all, evaluate the technical specifications, and only then look at the payment. If you think this job is too tough for you, give it up and gain experience. In general, that's all for me. Share your freelance experience in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe to blog updates. See you soon, friends!

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Freelancer: couch potato or free man with money?

The word free lance (freelance) with in English is translated as “free spear,” but in meaning it is closer to the words: “freelance worker” or “free worker.” This concept means working outside the staff of some company, something like private activity.

A freelancer or, as some say, a freelancer is a person who works remotely for himself. He independently looks for clients, fulfills orders and receives money for it.

As a rule, such figures work in the field of IT, marketing and advertising or are representatives of numerous creative professions. However, today a teacher, an engineer, or even a consultant can be a freelancer.

How freelancers work

So what does such an employee do? Anything! The main thing is that customers need it. On the Internet, people usually pay for any useful skills - no one will send money just like that.

Here is the list popular types activities:

• Website administration: content, system administration, support service;
• Architecture and Engineering: architecture of buildings, interiors/exteriors, drawings/schemes;
• Audio, video and multimedia: animation, audio and video editing, dubbing, presentations, music writing;
• Web design and interfaces: website design, banners, design mobile applications, icons, game and program interfaces;
• Websites: layout, web programming, promotion;
• Graphics and photography: 3D graphics, illustrations/drawings, photo processing, photography;
• Printing and identity: layout, design, logos, outdoor advertising, corporate identity;
• Software and systems programming: 1C programming, databases, application software, game development, testing;
• Texts and translations: copywriting/rewriting, editing and proofreading, translations, selling texts, poetry, songs and prose;
• Study and Tutoring: tests, essays, coursework, diplomas, lessons and tutoring.

How the workflow works

A freelancer receives a technical task, following which he needs to complete a certain amount of work. The task can act as a huge text file, with detailed description each item, as well as a short message on Skype.

Typically, a freelancer does not have direct contact with the customer. All communication takes place over the Internet: discussion of the order, edits, payment. Therefore, such an employee can live anywhere, because he is not tied to a specific country/city.

But, nevertheless, he should not be confused with an ordinary remote worker. A freelancer is, first of all, a person who works for himself (self-employed). And where does he work there: in hometown or in a foreign land, in your apartment or office - it’s not so important.

How does a freelancer get paid?

In most cases, payments are made using electronic money. For residents of the CIS, these are systems such as Webmoney, Yandex.Money or Qiwi. Residents of other countries usually pay via PayPal.

But in general it depends on how the customer agrees with the contractor. For example, now you can send payment via the Internet directly from card to card, which many people use.

Where do freelancers find clients?

There are many sites that bring together customers and performers. On such a site, a freelancer registers and fills out something like a questionnaire. After that, he can perform various tasks and receive money for it.

Typically the process looks like this:

1. The customer publishes the task on the website.
2. Performers who are ready to take on the work send their applications.
3. The customer selects a suitable candidate and gives technical specifications.
4. The contractor completes this task, sends the result and receives payment.

On special websites this process is fully automated and many nuances are thought out. If you work through them, then the risk of being deceived is minimal. Such sites are called freelance exchanges.

Orders can also be found in other places: on specialized forums, in groups on social networks. You can also create your own website and attract clients through it. And if you do the job well, over time regular customers will appear and word of mouth will begin to work - then no websites are needed at all.

Who is a freelancer? This is a person who is engaged in performing any work without concluding a long-term employment contract with the employer. He is hired only to perform a certain list of actions, that is, he is a freelance employee. Also, a freelancer is an individual who was invited to work during outstaffing. Since a person engaged in such activities is not on a permanent staff, he can carry out projects for several employers at once. The term “freelancer” was first used in the novel “Ivanhoe” to refer to a mercenary warrior in the Middle Ages.

Most often, a freelancer offers his services himself - through the World Wide Web, newspaper advertisements, and also with the help of personal connections. This activity common in areas such as journalism, unique content writing, translation, consulting, design, computer programming, as well as private video and photography. Currently, the freelancing market is well developed in Europe and America. Now it is rapidly developing in Russian Federation and CIS countries.

What are the disadvantages and advantages of actually working from home?

Pros of freelancing:

For an employee:
- flexible schedule;
- work is possible in any place where there is necessary equipment(PC, laptop, Internet);
- fulfilling only one’s duties;
- lack of dress code;
- work online from home;
- there is no need to pay for travel to the office and back.

For the employer:
- payment only for quality work done;
- significant savings on expensive office space;
- quality control and the opportunity, provided on all freelance exchanges, to send everything for revision.

Disadvantages of freelancing:

For an employee:
- lack of division of labor;
- uneven income, you need the ability to plan your budget;
- when working outside the exchange, there is no guarantee of receiving payment for the work performed;
- in the absence of an individual entrepreneur, there may be problems when filling out an application for a loan;
- who is a freelancer from a legal point of view? This is a person who provides certain services in the field of freelancing. For this reason, it is advisable to register an individual entrepreneur;
- the need to keep accounts and pay taxes;
- for some personality types it is more nervous type work;
- constant search for new orders

For the employer:
- it is necessary to spend effort on drawing up assignments;
- the risk of receiving low-quality work;
- the risk of lack of author's support;
- the risk of not getting a job on time;
- inability to hold the performer accountable.

Who is a freelancer on the Internet?

Currently, a stable group of freelancers has formed on the World Wide Web who successfully earn their living by working remotely. This type of activity is common among programmers, designers, optimizers, translators, copywriters, design engineers and participants in various affiliate programs. Currently in effect a large number of specialized sites that help freelancers find customers.

Legality of activity

In the Russian Federation and former countries USSR freelancers are individual entrepreneurs who provide certain services. Freelancing is an activity that requires mandatory registration, payment of taxes and reporting. But due to weak control of tax authorities, this point is ignored in most cases. Many freelancers don’t even think about the fact that they are breaking the law.

So we answered the question of who a freelancer is. If you are not embarrassed by setting up an individual entrepreneur on your own and are attracted by a free schedule, then this type of activity is for you!