{"id":2421,"date":"2019-05-01T10:17:53","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T08:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rocketpad.co.za\/matoyana\/?p=2421"},"modified":"2019-05-14T06:50:54","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T04:50:54","slug":"is-freelancing-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rocketpad.co.za\/matoyana\/is-freelancing-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Freelancing for You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The earliest recorded use of the term \u201cfree lance\u201d was in 1819 from Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe<\/em>, in which a feudal lord calls his paid army \u201cfree lances\u201d. The two separate words became used to describe a medieval mercenary who would fight for whoever paid them, like a Middle Ages \u201cgun for hire\u201d, and as Merriam Webster says<\/a> \u2013 freelancing has been a \u201cbattle\u201d ever since. Do you want to join the battle? We\u2019ve put together five points to help you assess whether a career in freelancing is for you.<\/p>\n

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  1. Freelance Statistics<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cI didn\u2019t want an unsatisfying career. And I didn\u2019t want to commit to one place \u2013 either one company or one location. I wanted to make my own decisions.\u201d Rocco Baldasarre <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Africa and South Africa <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Africa has 10.1%<\/a> of the world\u2019s freelancers \u2013 with more growth expected. The most common business sectors for freelancers in Africa include economics, graphic design, translating, writing, photography and technology.<\/p>\n

    In this country, The Southern African Freelancers’ Association (SAFREA) recently shared new statistics and insights<\/a> into the local freelance world. Interestingly, in their survey of nearly 400 people, women dominate in the world of freelancing with more than 77% female respondents and they also found that freelancing has no age limit; with feedback ranging in age group from 19 to 80. (Download the full report here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

    The United States<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In the United States there are 53 million people<\/a> doing freelance work, making up 34% of the national workforce. In addition to this, twice as many freelancers have seen an increase in demand in the past year as have seen a decrease.<\/p>\n

    Freetrain<\/a> goes on to report that the average weekly hours spent freelancing in the US increased by 72 million hours per week from 998 million in 2015 to more than one billion hours per week of freelancing in their latest findings. This is largely attributed to technology simplifying work online as 64% of freelancers found their work via the internet, a 22% increase since 2014.<\/p>\n

    The EU<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u201cFreelancing in Europe\u201d reports<\/a> that freelancing in the EU is the fastest growing labour segment, having increased by 45% from just under 6.2 million to 8.9 million in 2013, to 11 million in their most recent find. The report echoes what we\u2019re seeing in Africa too:<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe digital revolution has empowered many talented people to become freelancers, i.e. self-employed workers who have their own company but do not employ other people – consultants, graphic designers, web developers, SEO experts…\u201d<\/p>\n

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    1. What\u2019s the difference between being self employed and a freelancer? <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a0\u201cFreelancers write, design, consult, advise, do taxes and hang wallpaper. Freelancing is the single easiest way to start a new business… Entrepreneurs use money (preferably someone else’s money) to build a business bigger than themselves. Entrepreneurs make money when they sleep. Entrepreneurs focus on growth and on scaling the systems that they build. The more, the better.” Seth Godin<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Generally speaking, being self-employed or an entrepreneur means you would probably focus on one type of work or project \u2013 this could be for a client or work you create for yourself without being directly employed by someone.<\/p>\n

      A freelancer may be skilled at a number of things (for example: writing, editing and proofreading) so they are more likely to have different project with a range of different clients, perhaps even from different fields of work.<\/p>\n

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      1. Does it actually matter what we call ourselves? <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \u201cThe only really committed artist is he who, without refusing to take part in the combat, at least refuses to join the regular armies and remains a freelance.\u201d Albert Camus<\/strong><\/p>\n

        It does matter how you define yourself: whether it is a freelancer or self-employed or an entrepreneur. It matters because knowing who you are gives you the ability to map out a clear business model, it helps identify and focus on your skills, and it helps with what to say \u201cno\u201d to – especially if you want to have a high level of independence.<\/p>\n

        According to Entrepreneur, John Rampton<\/a>, freelancing is the less risky and more affordable option if you want to start a business. You already have the skills and it doesn’t require much money to kick-off. His article, The Self-Employment Identity Crisis<\/em>, encourages aspiring freelancers \/ self-employed people define who they are by answering the following questions:<\/p>\n