Must-Have of a Freelancer When Starting Up

Okay, I would be very quick on this. Before you start a freelancing career, there are three basic must-have of a freelancer when starting up.

1. Gmail account - this is the most trusted free webmail and the service is provided by Google. It offers more than 7 GB of free storage and has this awesome application attached to it such as Picasa web albums and Google Docs. It is the email address I have been using with the least spam mails compared to yahoo and hotmail. The most important consideration is, most client requires gmail. This is very easy to set up only takes 2 to 3 minutes and your done. Click here to register to gmail.

2. Skype account - Like gmail account, most employers would prefer to contact you through Skype on interviews and during work duration. It is because skype has more convenient and comprehensive features such as IM, free call and video call. So before applying for a job in one of the outsource sites, skype is one of the must have of a freelancer when starting up . Click here to download skype.

3. Paypal account - Paypal is actually a money transfer site and is the safer and easier way to use for withdrawal of your online earnings. This is the most common way of payment methods for freelancers. Normally, a paypal account is linked to an existing bank account, or to a credit or debit card. So be sure to get these things ready. Click here to sign up to paypal.

So there, basic tips but you can't get your career started without these three most important must-haves of a freelancer when starting up.

Good luck.

How to Earn More than Your Regular Salary Online

                  Do you love to write? Or do you have programming or basic web design skills? If you have the passion and skill of the things mentioned, then you have a big chance to have an online career. How to earn more than your regular salary online is applicable to you.

                 Online freelancing is getting popular nowadays especially that there is a massive unemployment rate.  A freelancer can even earn more than what a regular employment can offer. For example, if a freelance writer gets a contract with a buyer for $ 5.00 per hour and works 8 hours a day, you multiply 5 to 8 (8hours a day) and multiply the result to let’s say 20 (20 working days per month) then one gets a smashing $ 800.00 a month. If you convert that to peso, then it would be 800 times 43 (peso rate as of today) then one would earn P 34,400.00 per month at home! That means you don’t need to go out, spend for fare to office, and buy clothes or office uniform. But if you’re bored at home then you can actually work anywhere you want. Probably you can stay and work in a coffee shop as long as you have your laptop and wireless internet connection with you. Some hotel restaurants offer a free wifi service to customers so it is hitting two birds at the same time. This kind of job is also an advantage to those who are still studying; pursuing a post grad degree or law degree and needs a part time job.

                There are simple things that you need to do to start an online freelancing career. How to earn more than your regular salary online has few simple step by step processes to get started. I’m sure many have heard about freelancers or freelancing but are clueless on how and where to begin. I will teach you the basic steps on how to get started.

1. Know your skills – You have to know what you are capable of doing. If you have the talent in writing then probably you can aim for a freelance writing job. If you are excellent in transcribing data then you might go for data entry jobs. Or if you have skills in web designs and programming then you apply for these kinds of jobs. However, most of the jobs for freelancers are multi-tasking jobs. So one may be required to write and do data entries at the same time or build a website and do simple programming designs. This actually depends on what your employer or client may request you to do. In my case, since I am hired as virtual assistant, I am tasked to write articles, create websites and blogs, do some data entry and link building. Don’t worry, this may sound complicated but they actually aren’t. In this generation where you can research and learn almost everything from the internet, you may find some helpful tips and guide regarding your task online. 

2. Choose your outsource company – This is where you will find an employer, buyer or client and where you bid for jobs. There are a lot of free freelance outsource companies that offer online jobs. So far two of the best I reviewed are: Odesk and Freelancer. These sites allow employers, buyers or clients to post jobs and also for contractors to bid for the job. In my case, since I am using odesk as my outsource site, the employer is actually billed 10% of the total amount of your earnings per week. So if you got an hourly rate of $5.00 per hour then the employer will be billed $5.50 and the $.50 goes to the outsource company.  But that is not for you to worry. What is important is you have a fixed amount per hour that you need to work on. In odesk, you are actually required to take the odesk readiness test before you can bid for jobs. There are also online tests that they advise you to take so you can increase the number of job you can bid per week. 

3. Build an impressive profile – Don’t allow employers to doubt your capabilities. You create your own profile so that means you have the control on how to make it impressive enough for the employers or clients to hire you. Before you get an interview, employers would first take a look at your profile. If it looks dull and unintelligent, then most probably you will just have yourself ignored. Why did I say unintelligent? That is because you can play with it. For example, if you are a graduate in Political Science, don’t just put in Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. You can add additional information to make it look intelligent like Bachelor of Arts in Political Science plus description of what your course is all about. So you can put that you specialize in research and comparative study. In this way, the client would notice the specific details that he is looking for. You will create an impression that you are indeed good in research and writing articles. You don’t have to lie. You just have to know the art of selling what you have. 

4. Be confident in interviews - This is very important. If the client asks you if you are good in article writing or data entry but you have a slight doubt whether you really are, don’t say no or maybe. Say a big YES. Again, it is not lying. It is confidence. When you get the job started, you will be surprised how easy and simple it can be. If you don’t have mastery in certain criteria that he asked, then you can just do some research and learn from the internet and you can do that after you are hired. Remember: you don’t have to know everything before you are supposed to be qualified for a job. But of course, you have to be realistic, if you are applying for a programming position but does not even know basic programming at all, then you might as well think first before doing it because you will be in big trouble.

5. Don’t quit applying – Some are lucky to get a job right away. However, some would take months before they get a contract. It is just a matter of right timing. The bottom line is patience. Like the regular employment jobs, you have to wait until it is your turn. If your first 20 applications were ignored then you may try applying again for another position. Try to check if there is something you need to improve with your profile or your interviews. Learn and think of techniques to catch buyers. Be wise also. If you’ve been applying for almost year and still you aren’t hired for a contract, then perhaps you need to think it over. Maybe better jobs outside freelancing are waiting for you.

              So these are the simple basic steps on how to earn more than your regular salary online. I could only share few for now based on my limited experience. I myself am just new in freelancing but I find it very easy and lucrative. I am happy to belong to the lucky few who got their first contracts within 3 days from joining an outsource site. Who knows, maybe you’re next.

More tips and info in my next post. :)

What is a Freelancer?

Today, there are a growing number of freelancers around the world. It is even regarded as one of the most sought after job because of so many reasons.  Freelancing is a great way to work from home or anywhere convenient for a contractor. As long as he has a laptop or a computer with internet connection he can work in any place of his choice. A freelancer’s work includes but is not limited to writing, data entry, proofreading, web design, computer programming and translating.  Other freelance sites now also cater customer service support and administrative assistance to employers or buyers.  So a freelancer is often defined as someone who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. Usually, they are just working in contractual basis that’s why they are referred to as contractors and not as employees. 

A freelancer’s career oftentimes begins with an agency wherein the freelancer has a contact.  He gets hired in contractual basis and later on gets another contract related to his expertise. Many contractors who have daytime jobs with minimum salary leave their employment because they earn more in freelancing. Some finds this job very fulfilling both in financial and convenience-wise aspect. 

For employers or buyers, there are also some advantages of this freelancing job. They use freelancers in a particular work that only requires a short time or a onetime project. With that, the company has a lesser responsibility in hiring a full time employee and don’t have to provide benefits that a regular employee has. 

There are a lot of freelancing sites available through the internet. This is the most common way of finding a project for freelancers. They create an account, apply for a job posted by an employer and get hired. The site usually charges the employers a small amount for using their system and the contractor is paid through the site. This is more convenient for both the employer and contractor because the site manages the staff time and payment method. So all they have to do is complete the task assigned for them and wait for the payday and usually payment is done weekly.