Freelancing offers a wealth of unique benefits to freelance professionals as well as project owners. Millions of companies are moving away from traditional full-time employees and approaching freelance workers to get the work done. Skilled freelancers are helping businesses unlock their true potential by delivering quality work within a faster turnaround time and with minimum supervision.
The countless benefits of freelancing make it a lucrative proposition whether as a side hustle or a full-time job. Over the years, freelancing has gained immense popularity with around one-third of the global workforce associated with the gig economy.
The recent onset of the global pandemic COVID-19 has eventually led to a freelance boom as the businesses moved forward in an attempt to embrace the new normal. Let’s have a look at some of the benefits that you can avail yourself of as a freelancer.
The primary driver that lures freelancers is the freedom that comes with being your own boss. You are accountable to no one and no one is micromanaging you. You can choose what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. There are no formalities to wear a certain attire or follow a formal dress code. Moreover, most freelance jobs allow you to operate from the comfort of your home; substantially saving up on the time lost in commute.
As a freelancer, you can choose whatever you want to do in the time saved up; be it taking up a hobby or indulging in some self-care, you get to decide! It also liberates you from the confinement of complying with corporate decisions and dealing with coworkers you don’t vibe with. Freelancing offers you the autonomy to choose the work-life balance that you wish for i.e. take a break when you want and choose the hours and days that you feel are supremely productive for you.
According to a survey, two-thirds of the freelancers say that freelancing gives them the leverage to work from anywhere, and over one-third have been able to move on account of the flexibility that freelancing offers (Freelancing in America: 2015).
Another notable driver for freelancing is profitable earnings. According to a survey conducted by Freelancermap (2019), 61% of freelancers are earning more than their counterparts doing full-time corporate jobs. Freelancing nurtures financial independence as you can build a portfolio of clients which hedges the risk of relying on a single source. Moreover, you get to park all the profits in your pocket and you don’t have to work for a flat rate irrespective of the scope of the project; rather charge accordingly.
As a freelancer, you get the opportunity to have multi-faceted exposure based on a variety of clients across a myriad of industries and sectors. You also get a chance to develop meaningful work relationships with clients based in different geographic locations of the world and learn about their work styles. The best outcome of working on a diverse range of projects is the complementary opportunity to learn and practice something new. Freelancing also helps broaden the horizon. As opposed to a traditional full-time job, freelancing lets you step out of your comfort zone and work on something that you were reluctant to try. You can choose to learn a new craft or improve on your existing skill instead of waiting for the annual corporate training.
On account of impressive benefits, project owners, businesses, and corporations are increasingly using freelance professionals to fill the skill set gaps in their current employee workforce and outsource project-based work to on-demand workers.
Freelance professionals are available for a wide variety of tasks including writing, designing, programming, project management, finance, human resource, and many more. Let’s explore a few key advantages of hiring a freelancer for project owners. Hiring a freelance professional is cheaper as opposed to a conventional full-time employee as it allows you to save up on the cost without any compromise on the output. As a business, you can potentially save up on overhead costs such as office supplies, equipment, and space given freelancers don’t need dedicated spaces to work. Moreover, costs such as training costs, retirement benefits, health insurance, social security, and paid time-offs are also non-existent.
Gig-workers allow project owners access to a highly-talented workforce with no liabilities once the project is complete. You are not obliged to rehire a freelance worker or reinstate the contract once the project is closed. You can also terminate the freelancer without any formalities of notice period and resignation.
Freelancers are their own bosses so they are pretty independent in terms of managing the work. This translates into minimal handholding and lesser supervision as freelancers have a swift and smart approach to work.
When hiring a full-time employee, businesses are confined by geographic constraints. Whereas when considering a freelancer to fill the same position, businesses open their avenues to hire the top-notch talent from virtually anywhere in the world as opposed to settling for the limited options in their vicinity. This diversity also accounts for fresh perspectives, an influx of new ideas, and out-of-the-box solutions. Free from the company’s historical mindset, freelancers offer ingenious ways to solve a problem and a different approach to understanding the audience.
Outsourcing the work to a freelancer helps the company save time and money spent on training and onboarding the employee. It also allows you to make changes without impacting the internal processes and organogram.
