October 21, 2022
How to be an Effective Freelancer, Freelancing with Topcoder and More
If you have always dreamed of being your own boss and working whenever and wherever you want, then freelancing might just be the right thing for you. Freelancers are not employed by companies, instead they are self-employed and they provide their services to clients on a project or a contract basis.
How to be an effective freelancer
Many freelancers go on to become very successful but some of them fail. Here are some tips to be an effective freelancer.
Specify your skills
A common mistake that a lot of freelancers make is that they are very broad about their skills. Clients are not looking for freelancers with general knowledge, they instead want freelancers that can do a specific job and can do it really well. For example, stating that you are a front-end developer will not be very attractive to clients. Instead, you can state that you are a React Developer or an Angular developer.
Join a freelance platform
You need to sell your services in a place where there is a high demand for those services. Creating accounts on different freelancing websites allows you to be surrounded by potential clients, make connections, and get your name out there. For example, you can create a professional profile on Topcoder. You can add your skills, education, experience, and portfolio which allows potential clients to go over your profile and decide if you are fit for the job.
Make a strong portfolio
If you’re a freelancer, you have probably been asked about your portfolio. A portfolio is a great way to display your work and it helps potential clients know what you are capable of.
Here are some tips to create a good portfolio:
First, you need to select a platform that suits you. For example, if you are a web designer you might want to use a website like Behance.
When choosing what to display in your portfolio make sure to showcase your best work.
Along with each piece of work, write compelling descriptions of what you did and how you did it.
Use high-quality professional images.
Stay organized
One of the most important skills that you need as a freelancer is time management. You have to set time aside every day to work on your projects and you also have to be good at estimating how long each project will take. You also have to be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
Benefits of freelancing with Topcoder
Topcoder is a crowdsourcing company, it has a big community of developers, data scientists, competitive programmers, and designers from all over the world.
If you are thinking about becoming a freelancer, you must consider freelancing with Topcoder. There are many options for you to choose from so you can be sure that you will find something that suits you. Here are two of the paths that you can choose:
1. Challenges
Topcoder, at its heart, is a competition-based community. There are many types of challenges like design challenges, development challenges, data science challenges, SRMs (algorithm challenges), etc. These challenges are put out to community members where they can participate and submit their solutions. This allows different skilled individuals to work on the same challenge and produce many amazing solutions. Then the best solutions are combined together to create the final deliverable. Each challenge has a number of monetary prizes that are handed out to the winners.
Benefits of challenges
Challenges are freelancing with a twist, you are still working and earning money but it’s much more fun than traditional freelancing.
Even if you don’t win a challenge, you will gain a lot of new information and experience.
Having a high rating due to competing in SRMs will help you land jobs in good companies.
2. Gigs
Gigs are more similar to traditional freelancing than challenges. Gigs are full-time, freelance positions where you work directly with the customer, unlike the challenges where you don’t interact with the customer. Having a good profile that shows your expertise in a certain field is enough to start applying for gigs.
Benefits of Gigs
Gigs give you all the perks of being a freelancer and also give you the security and stability of a normal job as you will get a stable income every week throughout the duration of the gig.
It gives you the chance to work with big global companies and work on real projects which will give you a ton of experience.
The pros and cons of freelancing
Making the decision to be a freelancer can be a hard one, so here are some pros and cons to help you decide if it’s the right thing for you.
Pros
1. You get to choose your clients
In a traditional job, you don’t have control over the type of projects you work on or the clients you work with. So even if you are not interested in the project or you don’t get along with the client you will have to work to keep your job. On the other hand, as a freelancer, you have complete control over the projects you work on and the clients you work with.
2. Earning more money
In a traditional job you can only earn what the people in charge think you can earn. You can make good money working at a traditional place but you are entirely reliant on someone else deciding whether you need a raise or not. But as a freelancer there is no limit to how much you can earn, you decide your rates and prices.
3. Flexible working hours
As a freelancer, you need to be available to your clients when they need you, but other than that your work hours can be as flexible as you want. You can work at night or during the day full-time or part-time, or you can work on the weekends or take them off.
4. You can work anywhere
Traditional workers have to be located where the work is. This doesn’t give them many choices on where to live and there is always a chance that their company will require them to relocate in order to get a promotion or to even keep their job. But as a freelancer, you can work with clients from all over the world from the comfort of your home. Also, you will save time and money that would otherwise be wasted on commuting.
Cons
1. Less job security
One of the cons of leaving a traditional job is that you won’t have the job security it provides.
In a traditional job there is always a steady stream of work and you will have a stable income every month. But when you work as a freelancer you are responsible for finding clients, getting paid on time, and having enough income.
2. No paid time off
In a traditional job you usually have access to paid sick days and time off. But when you are a freelancer you need to plan ahead for any time off that you want to take.
3. No employee benefits
Employees get access to options like pension plans, health insurance, etc., but as a freelancer, you need to secure your own health insurance and pension plans.
Top twenty freelance skills to learn
1. Application Development
Unlike web developers, who make websites that work on any platform, app developers make applications for specific platforms like iOS or Android.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is a rapidly growing field. To work as an AI engineer you need to have skills in math, programming, database work, and problem-solving.
3. Software Development
Software developers develop and create computer programs. They create all types of software from an app on your mobile to a computer’s operating system.
4. Data Analyst
Data analysts analyze data to gain information and identify trends. Then they use this information to make important business decisions that affect the company’s bottom line and daily operations.
5. Search Engine Optimization
The goal of SEO is fine-tuning websites so they rank as high as possible on the search engine results page. All brands want to be the first thing customers see when they search for something relevant.
6. Videography
Whether it’s shooting video content or editing videos, video production is a very valuable skill to learn. You can learn it through online tutorials for free and you can even start with your phone to make high-quality videos and then buy more professional equipment once you start making money.
7. Photography
Photographers use their experience and skills to create amazing shots that attract attention and captivate the audience.
8. Accountancy
All companies need accountants but some companies don’t hire full-time accountants due to their budgets. As an accountant, your job includes everything from bookkeeping to business accounting and taxes.
9. Editing
Editors are responsible for revising and coordinating written materials and manuscripts for publication. The written material that editors work with include books, magazines, newspapers, and online content.
10. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants give administrative services to clients. Their responsibilities include scheduling appointments and travel arrangements, taking phone calls, and managing the emails of their clients.
11. Translation
As a translator, you will work on everything from marketing material to product descriptions to make them available in other languages. For example, you might translate law documents, medical work, and educational material.
12. Writing
As a freelance writer, you will work on things like magazines, newspapers, books, etc. Usually you will work at different publications simultaneously
13. Tutoring
If you love teaching but don’t want to head into a classroom, online tutoring is a great choice for you.
14. Social media marketing
As a social media marketer, your job includes producing and publishing content on social media accounts. Your main focus is selling products and services and keeping the followers engaged.
15. Human Resources Advisor
HR advisors act like employee advocates to improve work relationships. They help in developing and overseeing complaint procedures, they make effective hiring practices, and they also integrate the benefits of the employees.
16. Public Relations Manager
PR managers oversee all aspects of the communication of the company with the public. This is very important because if the company has poor PR management it might hurt its reputation which leads to a decrease in profit.
17. Business Consultant
Business consultants work with their clients to suggest methods to improve overall performance and productivity.
18. Financial Consultant
Financial consultants study the client’s financial situation to help them find ways to pay off debt, save money, or set up their retirement plan.
19. Information Technology
IT professionals are needed in all types of companies. As a freelance IT professional you can take many career paths including security consulting and network administration
20. Excel
Excel freelancers are hired by companies for multiple reasons like preparing data for presentation, creating displays, and reviewing formulas of Visual Basic to make sure that the spreadsheets will function correctly.
The most in-demand skills for freelancers
If you want to be a freelancer there are many options that you can choose from, however, some skills are more in-demand than others. Here are the three most in-demand skills for freelancers:
1. Web Development
There are two types of web development: front-end and back-end. Front-end developers develop the part of the website that the user sees while back-end developers handle the administrative side and make sure that the site is running smoothly.
2. Web Design
Web designers create websites to increase a brand’s online presence. It’s not only about making the website look good, the website also has to perform well and provide a great user experience.
3. Graphic Design
As a graphic designer, your job is to turn ideas into reality. Graphic designers create visual concepts like logos, book covers, ads, website graphics, etc. They use specialized software to create amazing fonts, layouts, and visual elements.