Freelance business. 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” in translation.

For example, in Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, the freelancer is a "medieval mercenary warrior."

Freelancers perform work on orders from various clients that 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 are paid when you actually work and do your job. Entrepreneurs, unlike freelancers, often use their own finances to build their business, or rather, to build their business, their business structure, so that they can earn income even while they sleep.

Freelancing is not yet a business, rather, on the Internet, it is an analogue of regular hired work. 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 on the path to entrepreneurship. In the process of freelancing, you will have to learn how to look for clients, communicate with them, clarify the nuances of the order and convince you to bear the money.

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

Why is it not worth comparing online earnings with the usual earnings of an employee offline?

Freelancing, for example, is good because you can start working immediately and try to realize all your intentions. Money, as practice shows, can be made on virtually everything (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 in the form of freelancing. At the same time, they constantly compare the amount of time they will have to spend on part-time work and possible earnings with what they are doing, for example, at their main job. It hardly makes sense if there is practically no experience of working on the Internet.

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

I remember a lady once asked me about making money on the Internet. At the same time, having retired, she had just begun to master the computer. My advice - to try to start working on the comment exchange - caused an uproar in her: they pay meager compared to her previous work offline!

What was the point 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 earnings itself, but the ability to work on the Internet in general.

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

The difference between online entrepreneurship and freelancing

Freelancers exchange their time for banknotes (sometimes for significantly more of them than as a hired employee).

Internet entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are highly dependent on 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 participation. Most likely, freelancers will be able to do quality work 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 positive? Then you are a true entrepreneur.

In other words, if your business works without failures, 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 customers and your employees, and, of course, for you and your personal income.

How to start your journey from freelancing to entrepreneurship on the Internet?

Here is some typical, if you like, plan for potential earnings on online business (in fact, there can be many options).

Choose an enticing idea and then choose one to attract visitors.

The easiest tip for coming up with a great business idea is to combine your work / hobbies / skills to find what you are really good at and figure out how to actively use it to meet the needs and solve problems of the target audience.

Remember that you can make money, first of all, on what you love to do most of all and know how to do it best. Do not take from the very beginning for something that is not your "horse", will not be your advantage over many other people. Take care of your own business.

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

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

Create useful and attractive content, in other words, you need to fill the site 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.

Turn 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 must be of interest to you in the first place, and you must firmly believe that these goods and/or services will bring significant benefits to the consumers you offer to purchase them.

For a while, you first 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 a “right” to actively sell.

If sales are absolutely not suitable for you, you can find other options for monetizing the 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 gone and even look relatively stable, you can automate the whole process.

With the help of special marketing programs for email and the main sales funnel (the main sales of your most popular products or services), a young business will be able to generate income without your constant participation.

Constant exploration of new opportunities

Everything flows, everything changes, and this happens especially quickly on the Internet. Old opportunities may stop working or be greatly reduced in income.

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

As, however, in ordinary life, offline:

Study, study and study again!

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

Recently, when adding the 11 Commandments of the Freelancer to the article "11 Commandments of the Freelancer (Already)", I said that freelancing is a business. Some time later, I once again returned to this statement and thought that it was somewhat groundless, and that many would be right in arguing the opposite. This thought became the source of writing this article.

What is freelancing and what is business.

So let's start from the beginning:

Freelance(English) freelance- free spear) - remote work. V modern world this word is used to refer to a relatively recent form of work organization in which the employer and the performer can be as far apart as they like. Project management is carried out with the help of electronic means communication or telephone. (Wikipedia)

Entrepreneurship, business- an independent activity carried out at one's 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 amount of 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 different to us and the answer to the question of whether freelancing is a business, as if by itself, turns out to be negative.

Let's put everything on the shelves ...

Let's analyze and apply the definition of a business to freelancing point by point:

So:

Does the freelancer carry out activities independently and at his own risk? I will answer yes, and I think you will agree with me.
Is the freelancer's activity aimed at systematic profit - no, we work simply because we work :) (just kidding). Of course, the activity of a freelancer is aimed at systematically making a profit.
Does the freelancer use property, sell goods and provide services. I think that questions about services and the use of certain property are unnecessary. What about the goods? A commodity is a product of labor produced for exchange and capable of satisfying human needs (Wikipedia). Well, who will say that a site, site layout, polygraphic layout, text is not a product?
"Registered as such in the manner prescribed by law" - the definition of "free - free" does not necessarily mean free from taxes and 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. Especially if the state in this case does not owe it anything.
But no one prevents a freelancer from obtaining the status of a private entrepreneur and being “registered in this capacity in accordance with the procedure established by law” ...
Well, as for the cost of the effectiveness of entrepreneurial activity, then it can be evaluated by profit. What about the cost of a freelance business? Why not. Again, a freelancer invests certain funds in his activities: the purchase of equipment and programs, payment for communication services and other things, support for his site. All this is invested both in hours of work and in real monetary units. 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 a direct material value.

It would seem that if you take the definition apart and apply it to freelancing, it turns out that freelancing is still a business. But it would not be fair not to hear in this article the opinion, in my opinion, of a rather authoritative person, which I found in the blog “I have a job! There is a blog…” in the article How does your business differ from freelancing?

Antonyms or synonyms?

“The very concept of “business” implies that the owner can take and leave for some time, and the business will work and bring 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 must work ... work hard and efficiently.
Your freelancing does not turn into a business from the moment you start accepting money by bank transfer. It is not difficult to accept money by bank transfer - registered a company with limited liability, private enterprise or private entrepreneur and forward.
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 promotional products, noticeable costs for communication and transportation, for processing correspondence, the presence of customers with high turnover, the fact of officially hiring non-remote staff for full working day with segregation of duties, e.g. salesperson, 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 to say that they are not true, but I can say that they can also 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 someone who says that this is not a business or 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 a 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 freelancing and business are guided by the same principles. Although they are not absolutely identical, they are very similar. Of course, you may not agree with me - and you will be right. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments.

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

I could not answer this question for quite a long time, 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.

Freelancing is it a job or a 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 just work at home according to a schedule convenient for you, then you are not a freelancer. You are just a remote worker. And it's work - yes! The same as in the office, only the office is your home.

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

A freelancer is a businessman, an entrepreneur who provides services to clients. In fact, a manicurist who works at home is also a freelancer. Those. this is a freelancer, a private specialist who works with different clients and provides them with his services.

And you know what prevents many freelancers from making good money? Exactly what 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 find clients on your own (although it’s better if they find you themselves), sell your services to them yourself, conclude deals (even if often without any paperwork), receive payment and complete the order on time.

What is the biggest difficulty? No, not that you may need to draw up an IP, not that it is difficult to look for clients at first, not that sometimes you can simply be thrown. It's hard to take full responsibility!

Remember that if you decide to go freelancing in an adult way, then you became a businessman. And then no one but 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 to your freelancing success!

There are quite a lot of businessmen on Habré, even more freelancers and employees.

Most of us (I certainly did!) fell into the trap of a life rut approved by society as a standard: school => college => work for hire. Someone immediately moved into freelancing 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-actualization so that such a choice can be made. Personally, after a deep rethinking, I gave up a promising career and went to my startup.

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

Employment

- The amount of income fixed by the labor market. It is possible to increase your income by 10 times, but by 100 it is almost impossible.
+ Income stability, which facilitates budget planning, creates a sense of confidence.
+ Social guarantees- the employer often includes medical insurance, food, communications, transport costs in the social package.
+ Training at the expense of the employer - either directly, with attendance at courses or within the company, or independently, but at paid time.
+ Team, which often gives not only communication, support, but also friends.
- Schedule, even if flexible, usually means a minimum of 40 hours of work per week.
- Relaxation limited, as a rule, to 4 weeks, and even then with agreement (and the more valuable you are, the more difficult) with the authorities, oh geocorrection in most cases you can forget.
- Creative freedom is strongly limited by the scope of tasks descended from above.

Freelance

- The amount of income again, it is fixed by the labor market, but it may well exceed the income from working for an uncle.
- income stability lower than in employment, strongly depends on your qualifications and the ability to present it.
- Social guarantees
- Education at your expense, the client will not pay for it.
- Collective absent, which means lack of support and communication.
+ Schedule You define yourself. The client, of course, sets deadlines, but you have the right to decide what time of the 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 very real.
+ Creative freedom fixed within the framework of the client's tasks, but you choose the projects yourself!

Business

+ Income actually unlimited.
- income stability low, today you can be a millionaire, and tomorrow - a beggar.
- Social guarantees- all expenses are borne by you.
- Education at your own expense.
+ Team You choose yourself, however, you can do without it.
+ Schedule completely up to you.
+ Rest with proper automation, it can be permanent; geocorrection in the case of an online business 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 how to solve it, and enjoy receiving feedback from the client.

It must be understood that the significance of each of the factors for each person is different. The set of factors may also differ.

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

Change the significance factor of the parameter and calculate the final amount in your plate.

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

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

I don't recommend quitting immediately. Think it over properly connect intuition. In your free time, take tentative steps, exploring new ground.

How to improve your life right now

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

Employment

Income: think about how much money you lack for a comfortable life? Perhaps employment 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 the authorities, or by changing jobs.
Rest, geocorrection: Find a contract job. It is not without its drawbacks (lack of 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 will be able to distribute tasks, including yourself.

Freelance

income stability: find clients for monthly support.
Social guarantees: earn more, spend less with the help of geo-correction, issue an IP for contributions to the Pension Fund.
Education: set aside time for self-education, there are enough materials on the net, even professors from leading American universities are already conducting free online training (

Maxim touched upon the topic of effective selection of freelancers for his project, as well as the subtleties and organizational moments in the course of cooperation with remote workers.
I decided to look at the theme of Freelancing a little from the other side.
In the "freelance employer" scheme, as a rule, the latter receives the monetary reward.
But how can you make money on this scheme?
What kind Additional services may be of interest remote worker, and which ones - the company that is looking for this employee?

1. Search for freelancers for employers.

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

Based on the needs of customers: the purpose of the work, the type of work, the budget, the timing, geographical factors, etc., you find contractors who are ready to cooperate with them.
Few customers are as experienced on the Internet as to be able to use the exchanges.
Few people know how to work with freelancers, let alone how to choose a truly competent specialist.
Especially often employers who for the first time search for performers on the Internet.
Someone is thrown, someone is done poorly.
Moreover, sometimes they do it poorly, and the customer is neither a dream nor a spirit about it.
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 search for a performer on the network.
The company finds a freelancer, receives a finished product, and is glad that they saved money (studios tend to be much more expensive).
But in reality, it may turn out that the site is made on some common public template, or made up through one place, or, much worse, made on a null (cracked) engine.
And that's not to mention the quality of design, code, etc.

Therefore, recruitment may well expand to project management or performance control.
This also includes consulting services.

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 may be at least two options:

You give a freelancer an order at his regular prices and get a fixed percentage of the deal.
You wind up your amount on top of the freelancer's regular price.

In the first case, the freelancer pays you, and in the second case, the customer.
Theoretically, you can combine this point of earnings with item 1. That is, to take money from customers for selecting a freelancer, and from a freelancer, respectively, to receive agency money for “fitting” an order.
It is somewhat reminiscent of kickbacks, by the way, but the profit is so significantly higher.

3. Promotion of a freelancer.

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

For example, a freelancer registers 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 screwed up.
This is what the money is for. Personally, I, of course, do not welcome this method, but as a means of earning money, it may come in handy for someone.

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

4. First aid for a freelancer.

This way of earning something in itself resembles freelancing.
The main point is to help a freelancer in cases of:

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

Ideally, such work is best automated.
That is, to create, for example, a web service that would publish requests for urgent assistance.
The freelancer writes what he needs, puts a price and “throws a cry”.
The disadvantage of such a scheme is that he can just as well throw a cry on the exchange on which he works.

However, there is an alternative development option.
You can take as a basis the search for information and organize an exchange of relevant topics.
That is, any user who feels the need for various materials: pictures, articles, statistics, sources, etc., puts 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.
A coworking office is an office where workplaces are rented out.
One office can have, for example, 10 workplaces.
The workplace is actually a chair (or two chairs if you plan to hold meetings), table, internet, phone.
Working at home is hard - 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.

It might be useful to read: