Business on the use of freelance services. When freelancing is not enough. Or how to build your own creative business. How to improve your life right now

Freelancer comes from the English freelancer, which means “free worker”.

For example, in the novel Ivanhoe by Walter Scott, the freelancer is a “medieval mercenary warrior”.

Freelancers carry out work on orders from various clients, whom they find on their own, and receive payment for the result of their work. This is not quite an entrepreneur yet, although a freelancer has already taken a certain step towards entrepreneurship.

If you are, say, a freelancer, then you get paid when you actually work and do your job. Entrepreneurs, unlike freelancers, often use their own finances to build their own business, or rather, to build their business, their business structure, so as to receive income even while they are sleeping.

Freelancing is not yet a business; rather, on the Internet it is analogous to a regular hired job. The entrepreneur is engaged in business at his own peril and risk, with the investment of his funds in the beginning and in the development of the business.

Freelancing, as already noted, is an important step towards entrepreneurship. In the process of freelancing, you have to learn how to look for clients, communicate with them, clarify the nuances of the order and convince you to carry money.

You will also have to learn to develop and develop skills and ideas, and then test their viability in the market.

Why not compare online earnings with the usual offline earnings of an employee?

Freelancing, for example, is good because you can start working immediately and try to realize all your intentions. As practice shows, you can make money on virtually anything (of course, depending on your own knowledge and skills), but first you will need to change and correct your thinking. What does this mean?

Many users are looking for freelance form. At the same time, they constantly compare the amount of time they will have to spend on a part-time job and the possible earnings with what they are doing, for example, at their main job. This hardly makes sense if there is little to no internet experience.

It is better to try to get at least some result paid by customers on the Internet for a start, and then draw conclusions on which direction to move.

I remember a lady once asked me about making money on the Internet. At the same time, having retired, she just started to master the computer. My advice - to try to start work on the comment exchange - caused a storm of indignation in her: they pay a minuscule compared to her previous work offline!

What was the use of explaining to her the next steps of a novice freelancer, for example, about the need to create an electronic wallet, register and much more, which she did not know and did not know how to do.

After all, on entry level more important is not the Internet earning itself, but the ability to work in general on the Internet.

You can start with freelancing (self-employment) to test the level of your business skills. In most cases, it is freelancing that is the bridge to the subsequent, larger-scale entrepreneurship on the limitless expanses of the Internet.

Difference between internet entrepreneurship and freelancing

Freelancers exchange their time for banknotes (sometimes for a much larger number of them than as a hired employee).

Internet entrepreneurs, on the other hand, strongly depend on the models for building their business, on systems, structures, and automation tools. And, of course, entrepreneurs depend on hired employees (freelancers) who can work without their direct involvement. Most likely, freelancers will be able to perform their work with high quality only if there are clear instructions from the entrepreneur in video or text format.

The key question for an Internet entrepreneur is: "If I suddenly fall out of the process, will the business continue to function?" Is your answer yes? Then you are a true entrepreneur.

In other words, if your business works smoothly, and regardless of your participation in it, then you have moved to the level of a successful entrepreneur, which was your goal. You have built a suitable model for your business, which now works for both clients and your employees, and, of course, for you and for your personal income.

How to start your journey from freelancing to online entrepreneurship?

Here is a typical, if you like, plan for a potential income from an online business (in fact, there can be many options).

Choose an enticing idea, then, to attract visitors.

The simplest advice for inventing a bright business idea: combine your best practices / hobbies / skills to find what you are really strong at, and find out how to actively use it in order to meet the needs and problems of the target audience.

Remember that you can make money, first of all, on what you love to do most of all and are the best at doing it. Do not start from the very beginning for something that is not your “hobbyhorse”, it will not be your advantage over many other people. Take on "your business."

By the way, instead of your site, you can create in social networks- it is even simpler, and the result can be quite comparable with the result from further use of the site.

Convert those visitors to your website or business page into loyal subscribers by offering them something in exchange for their email address.

Create useful and engaging content, in other words, you need to fill your website or business page with interesting materials. And ask new visitors to subscribe to your updates and news in exchange for their addresses Email, to their E-mail.

Convert subscribers into more or less loyal customers by making email newsletter with an offer to buy something from you.

You can offer a physical or digital product for sale, training courses, all kinds of services or even coaching. The goods and / or services you offer should be of interest to you in the first place, and you must firmly believe that these goods and / or services will bring considerable benefit to the consumers to whom you offer to purchase them.

For a while, first you post great content for free and send out update notifications (blog posts, or whatever else you produce or offer for free), and only then consider that you have the “right” to actively sell.

If sales are absolutely not suitable for you, you can find other options for monetizing your site or working on the Internet without a site at all. Again, there are many options for earning money now in social networks, but this is a separate conversation.

Automate the process

When the ice has broken, sales or other income options have more or less started and even look relatively stable, you can automate the whole process.

Through dedicated marketing programs for e-mail and the main sales funnel (the main sales of your most popular goods or services), a young business will be able to generate income without your constant involvement.

Continuous exploration of new opportunities

Everything flows, everything changes, and it happens especially quickly on the Internet. Old opportunities can stop working or decrease dramatically in income.

Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the phenomena and events that appear on the Internet, and at the same time to constantly learn, without this there is no way on the Internet.

As, however, in everyday life, offline:

Study, study and study again!

(This quote is usually attributed to V.I.Lenin, although he wrote about teaching communism, in the first place, but not capitalism and not entrepreneurship).

Recently, when I added the 11 Freelance Commandments to my article “The 11 Freelance Commandments (already),” I said that freelancing is a business. After some time, I once again returned to this statement and thought that it was somewhat baseless, and that many would be right in stating the opposite. This thought became the source of this article.

What is freelance and what is business.

So let's start from the very beginning:

Freelance(eng. freelance- free spear) - remote work. V modern world this word is used to denote a relatively recent form of work organization, in which the employer and the performer can be as far away from each other as desired. Project execution is guided by electronic means communication or by phone. (Wikipedia)

Entrepreneurship, business- an independent activity carried out at its own risk, aimed at the systematic receipt of profit from the use of property, the sale of goods, the performance of work or the provision of services by persons registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law. Efficiency entrepreneurial activity can be assessed not only by the size of the profit received, but also by the change in the value of the business ( market value enterprises). (Wikipedia)

At first, if we look at both definitions, they will seem to us different and the answer to the question of whether freelancing is a business, how would it turn out negative by itself.

Let's put everything on the shelves ...

Let's take a look at and apply the definition of a business to freelancing point by point:

So:

Does the freelancer operate independently and at his own risk? I will answer yes, and I think you will agree with me.
Is the activity of a freelancer aimed at systematic profit - no, we work simply because we work :) (just kidding). Of course, the activity of a freelancer is aimed at systematic profit.
Does the freelancer use property, sell goods and provide services. I think that questions about the services and use of certain property are unnecessary. But what about the product? A commodity is a product of labor produced for exchange and capable of satisfying human needs (Wikipedia). Well, who can say that a site, a site layout, a print layout, a text is not a product?
“Registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law” - the definition “free - free” does not necessarily mean free from taxes and the law. Although, in my personal opinion, a person himself has the right to decide whether to enter into a relationship of mutual settlements with the state. Moreover, if the state in this case is not obliged to him.
But no one bothers a freelancer to formalize the status of a private entrepreneur and be "registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law" ...
Well, as for the cost of the effectiveness of entrepreneurial activity, then you can evaluate it by profit. And what about the cost of a freelance business? Why not. Again, a freelancer invests certain funds in his activities: buying equipment and programs, paying for communication services and other things, supporting his site. In all this, both labor hours and real monetary units are invested. And in the end, good freelancer become "branded". His name becomes the bearer of real material value, and his fame in the relevant circles and his customer base, in themselves, represent direct material value.

It would seem that if you disassemble the definitions in parts and apply it to freelancing, then it turns out that freelancing is still a business. But it would not be fair not to hear in this article the opinion of, in my opinion, quite an authoritative person, which I found in the blog “I have work! There is a blog ... ”in the article How is your business different from freelancing?

Antonyms or synonyms?

“The very concept of“ business ”implies that the owner can take and leave for a while, and the business will work and bring in money, following a once developed strategy, business logic, by performing established business processes. With freelancing, this is impossible, in order to receive money, a freelancer has to work ... work hard and efficiently.
Your freelancing does not turn into a business from the moment you started accepting money by bank transfer. It is not difficult to accept money by bank transfer - registered the company with limited liability, private enterprise or private entrepreneur and forth.
The correct signs of a business, as I imagine it, is the fact of ordering a large number of services from other businesses, for example, printing of advertising materials, noticeable expenses for communication and transport, for processing correspondence, the presence of clients with high turnover, the fact of the official hiring of unreleased personnel for full working day with division of duties, for example, salesman, accountant, Technical Specialist, the presence of a hierarchy among the hired personnel. "

These statements in the context of the article caused a lot of comments. I do not presume that they are not correct, but I can say that they can be applied to freelancing. After all, it's not a secret for anyone that among freelancers there are many people who do not produce anything themselves, but in fact are project managers. At the same time, using outsourcing, they form their own portfolio, create virtual studios and do business. And let the one who says that this is not a business and not freelance throw a stone at me.

Another thing is when we talk about the fact that freelancing is not only "remote work", but philosophy and a state of mind, but stop ... Philosophy absolutely does not operate with material objects, just as the state of mind is not a material substance. And therefore, if we are talking about money, profit, then let's remain materialists.

And as for me, from the point of view material definitions freelance and business are guided by the same principles. And even if they are not absolutely identical, they are very similar. Of course, you can disagree with me - and you will be right. I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments.

I think that those who read this article are not their first day in freelancing. And the question is, is it really true, what do you do - do you work, or do you have your own business?

For a long time I could not answer this question, and as soon as I received a clear answer, I immediately moved to a new level and finally began to make good money on freelancing. Let's figure it out together.

Freelance is work or business

First of all, it is important to understand that freelancing and remote work are two different things... Those. if you are officially employed in a company, receive a monthly salary, and at the same time simply work from home according to a schedule convenient for you, then you are not a freelancer. You are just a remote worker. And this is work - yes! The same as in the office, only the office is your home.

Second, if you work with only one customer on his project, receive a monthly remuneration from him for your work, and at the same time do not look for new orders and clients for yourself, then you are not a freelancer either. You are also a remote worker.

A freelancer is a businessman, entrepreneur who provides clients with any services. In fact, a manicurist who works at home is also a freelancer. Those. it is a free worker, a private specialist who works with different clients and provides them with his services.

And do you know what prevents many freelancers from making good money? Exactly that they are not ready to do business! They just want to work 2-3 hours a day and get paid for it. If this is about you, then urgently get a remote job in any company.

If you are ready to play like an adult, then welcome to the freelance business! Here you are your own boss, your own sales manager, your own assistant, and your own specialist. You independently find clients (although it is better if they find you themselves), sell your services to them yourself, conclude deals (even if often without any papers), get paid and fulfill the order on time.

What's the biggest challenge? No, not that you may need to issue an individual entrepreneur, not that it is difficult to find clients at first, not that sometimes you can simply be thrown. It's hard to take full responsibility for yourself!

Remember that if you decide to go freelancing as an adult, then you became a businessman... And then no one except you will move and bring you orders and a lot of money on a silver platter.

The main conclusion is that freelancing is a business, and you need to treat yourself like a businessman and work with clients in the best traditions of a client-oriented business. This is the starting point for your freelancing success!

There are quite a few businessmen on Habré, even more freelancers and hired workers.

Most of us (I’m for sure!) Have fallen into the trap of the life rut, approved by society, as a standard: school => institute => work for hire. Someone immediately went to freelance or business.

But the choice is not always made consciously.
In this article, I will try to objectively consider the pros and cons of each organizational form self-realization in order for such a choice to be made. Personally, after a deep rethinking, I gave up a promising career and went to my startup.

Let's start comparing the set of parameters that I consider the most important, all estimates are subjective - based on our own experience in hiring + business, as well as the experience of friends in freelancing.

Employment

- Amount of income fixed by the labor market. It is possible to increase your income 10 times, but 100 times is almost impossible.
+ Stability of income that makes budget planning easier, creates a sense of confidence.
+ Social guarantees- the employer often includes in the social package medical insurance, expenses for food, communications, transport.
+ Training at the expense of the employer - either directly, with attending courses or within the company, or independently, but at a paid time.
+ Team, which often gives not only communication, support, but also friends.
- Schedule although flexible, as a rule, implies a minimum of 40 hours of work per week.
- Recreation is limited, as a rule, to 4 weeks, and even then with coordination (and the more valuable you are, the more difficult) with the authorities, oh geocorrection in most cases, you can forget.
- Freedom of creativity strongly limited by the scope of tasks descended from above.

Freelance

- Amount of income again fixed by the labor market, but it may well exceed the income from working for an uncle.
- Stability of income lower than in employment, strongly depends on your qualifications and ability to present it.
- Social guarantees
- Education at your expense, the client will not pay for it.
- Team absent, which means lack of support and communication.
+ Work schedule You decide for yourself. The client, of course, sets deadlines, but you have the right to decide what time of day / week you work.
+ Rest, geocorrection- up to you. Do you want to work hard for 1-2 months, and then rest for six months? This option is quite realistic.
+ Creative freedom fixed by the framework of the client's tasks, but you choose the projects yourself!

Business

+ Amount of income virtually unlimited.
- Stability of income low, today you can be a millionaire, and tomorrow you can be a beggar.
- Social guarantees- all expenses are borne by you.
- Education at your expense.
+ Team You choose yourself, however, you can do without it.
+ Work schedule completely yours.
+ Rest with competent automation, it can be permanent; geocorrection in the case of online business, it is almost inevitable, there are many places on Earth where it is much cheaper and more pleasant to live.
+ Creative freedom reaches its climax - you can set yourself a task, choose a way to solve it, and enjoy receiving feedback from the client.

You must understand that the significance of each of the factors for each person is different... The set of factors may also differ.

To find out which is more suitable for you, I suggest filling out the table. In my case, it looks like this:

Change the coefficient of significance of the parameter and calculate the total amount in your table.

This will give you an initial understanding of where you are and where to go.

What if there is no way to change the form of activity?

I do not advise you to drop everything immediately. Think it over properly connect your intuition... In your free time, take some tentative steps while exploring new ground.

How to improve your life right now

Each of the considered disadvantages can be leveled, or even brought to a plus.

Employment

Income amount: think how much money you lack for a comfortable life? Perhaps hiring a job will more than provide this level. Update your resume, go to interviews, talk to your boss about growth opportunities - this will give you an understanding of what you are worth and what you can achieve.
Schedule: Make it flexible by agreement with your boss, or by changing jobs.
Rest, geocorrection: Find a contract job. She is not without her drawbacks (absence social guarantees), but at the end of the project you can rest as much as you like. Organize yourself remote work Perhaps working by the sea is more productive for you?
Freedom of creativity: become a highly qualified specialist, an order of magnitude more creative tasks will become available (simply because no one else can solve them). Become a leader - you yourself will be able to distribute tasks, including yourself.

Freelance

Income stability: Find clients for monthly escort.
Social guarantees: earn more, spend less with geocorrection, apply for an individual entrepreneur for contributions to the Pension Fund.
Education: Allocate time for self-education, there are enough materials on the network, even professors of leading American universities already conduct free online training (

Maxim touched upon the topic of effective selection of freelancers for his project, as well as the subtleties and organizational issues on the very course of cooperation with remote workers.
I decided to look at the topic of Freelance from a slightly different angle.
In the scheme "employer-freelancer", the remuneration, as a rule, is received by the latter.
But how can you make money on this scheme?
What kind Additional services may be of interest remote worker, and which - the company that is looking for this employee?

1. Finding freelancers for employers.

One of the most primitive, but, nevertheless, very effective ways- staff recruitment.

Based on the needs of customers: the purpose of the work, type of work, budget, timing, geographic factors, etc., you find contractors for them who are ready to cooperate.
Few customers are experienced enough on the Internet to know how to use exchanges.
Few know how to work with freelancers properly, let alone how to choose a truly competent professional.
Especially often employers face such problems, who first looking for performers on the Internet.
Someone is thrown, someone is done poorly.
And sometimes they do it poorly, and the customer is not dreaming about it, not spiritually.
This is especially true in cases where he is poorly versed in the area of the problem.

Standard case: a company needs a website.
Someone advises the director to use the exchange to find an artist on the network.
The company finds a freelancer, gets a finished product, and is glad that it saved money (studios tend to be much more expensive).
But in reality, it may turn out that the site is made on some widespread public template, or laid out in one place, or, much worse, made on a zero (hacked) engine.
And that's not to mention the quality of design, code, etc.

Therefore, recruiting may well expand to project management or execution control.
Consulting services are also added here.

2. Search for orders for freelancers.

Accordingly, the reverse side of the medal is the search for orders for remote workers.
As a rule, in such cases, agency fees are used from each order.
There can be at least two options:

You give the freelancer an order at their regular prices and get a fixed percentage of the deal.
You wind up your amount towards the regular freelance price.

In the first case, you are paid by the freelancer, and in the second - by the customer.
Theoretically, you can combine this point of earnings with item 1. That is, to take money from customers for the selection of a freelancer, and from a freelancer, accordingly, to receive agency fees for "customizing" the order.
It is somewhat reminiscent of rollbacks, by the way, but the profit is so significantly higher.

3. Promotion of a freelancer.

The bottom line is the organization of a company that promotes a freelancer either online, or on exchanges, or on forums, or on social networks, or wherever possible.

For example, a freelancer signs up on the exchange for the first time.
He needs a rating, he needs a positive attitude, he needs a reputation.
It is clear that these parameters can be slightly increased.
For this, the money is taken. Personally, of course, I do not welcome this method, but as a means of earning money, maybe it will come in handy for someone.

Or another option.
A freelancer, for example, has a website.
You register accounts for him on all exchanges, post announcements and reviews on forums and message boards.
Perhaps you even provide website promotion services! Freelancer - flow of orders, growth of reputation, brand awareness.
To you - monetary reward.

4. Ambulance for a freelancer.

This way of earning something in itself is reminiscent of freelancing.
The main point is to help the freelancer in the following cases:

1) If you do not have time to place an order.
2) If it cannot (can not get in time) find any materials (cliparts for design, information for articles).

Ideally, such work is better automated.
That is, to create, for example, a web service on which requests with urgent assistance would be published.
The freelancer writes what he needs, sets the price and "throws a cry."
The disadvantage of such a scheme is that it can also throw a cry on the exchange on which it works.

However, there is an alternative development option.
You can take the search for information as a basis and organize an exchange of relevant topics.
That is, any user who has a need for various materials: pictures, articles, statistics, source codes, etc., lays out the corresponding application and indicates the price.
Directly your profit -% of transactions, contextual advertising etc.

5. Coworking office for freelancers.

This business idea came from the United States.
Coworking office is an office where workplaces are rented.
One office may contain, for example, 10 workstations.
The workplace is actually a chair (or two chairs if you plan on holding meetings), table, internet, telephone.
It's hard to work at home - freelancers are familiar with this problem like no other.
Therefore, they are offered the option to work in the office at any convenient time.
At the same time, the cost of monthly rent of a workplace is relatively low - $ 50-200 per month, which for a freelancer quite acceptable.

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