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I want to be a freelancer
all over the world

This is so true. The way I’ve described freelance to people before is like running a small business being a sole trader, but expected to produce the work of a company while being paid as an employee… or at least that’s how you’re perceived, especially if you’re not working directly with a client (ie you have middle men like agencies or studios brimming the work in, then trying to outsource it as cheap as possible to maximise profits). So loving what you do is a must, learning industry standard rates is a must, being honest about your skills in each area is a must (when comparing industry prices vs your own value). Also, knowing when to charge hourly rates, day rates, project rates is a big thing to move forward… charge to little and you’ll either scare a client off, be expected to produce work well over that prices worth, or worse of all, be pigeon holed as cheap and forever be referred to by that client as cheap, meaning more people wanting/expecting cheap work. Another major point is knowing contract law, stages of payment & different aspects of IP, copyright and licensing… and where possible, avoid work for hire type setups. Also… if you use your own software, hardware & equipment… you are not a freelancer so never be used as one.

aleksey

yeah, not being exploited is a whole other topic for an article :))

Seth

Thanks a lot, I’m also quitting my job to become a freelancer because that’s what I’ve always wanted and as a matter of fact, it’s scares me sometimes. I really love this article. Thanks

aleksey

glad you enjoyed it 🙂

best of luck!

yevheniy

Thanks for this! And how do you even start working as a freelancer? What sites do you recommend for this?

aleksey

This is a good idea for another article. But the basics are: “make cool stuff and put it where people can see it”. It won’t always work, but without this it will be much harder. Like any business, you need to develop a skill that people need, and then find the people that need it, and convince them to give you money in exchange for your help. A good way to start is looking at job boards and see what people are looking for, then develop skills that you enjoy and that seem to be in demand, and then show as many people as possible what you can do.

Actually applying for most job posts is a waste of time, they get 1000’s of applications. You want them to find you before they even go to post on a job website.

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