Chris is the first one to use our "ask a question" link on this website and has a great question... I am an entry level graphic artist and I.T. Professional and am interested in venturing in the freelance writing industry. I also own a literary, personal and gaming blog where I showcase my writing skills and to which is available upon your request.Currently I am waiting for an outsourcing company to call me for my first employment opportunity but as I've researched freelance writers and programmers gains better income than those professionals working for a company.
Do you give opportunities for freelance writers like me to write for you and get proper compensation from it? If, yes, then what steps should I take to qualify?
First of all, I think he is probably correct in thinking that working as a freelancer you have the opportunity to earn more income.
The difficulty will be in finding work and not being paid between jobs. That is probably less of a problem if you are hired by a traditional outsourcing company and go to work in their office.
You might also find that as a freelancer, the hours you work are less important, and therefore the 12 or so hour time difference between the Philippines and the USA is less important, ie: with luck you can do most of your work while your boss sleeps!
An additional problem can be getting paid. From what I've seen many companies looking to hire freelancers want to pay them via paypal. I saw one job offer with questions and answers along these lines (the company was looking for workers in South America):
Q: Can you pay via Western Union?
A: No, paypal is free and easy to sign up with.
Q: Can you pay via Western Union?
A: No, paypal is free and easy to sign up with.
Now, the company was completely missing the point of the freelance worker's question. Paypal is in fact free and probably easy to sign up with, but can someone in South America or the Philippines actually receive money they can spend in their country in a free and easy manner with Paypal? I think the answer there is no.
When looking for a freelance job, be sure you know how you'll be paid and your potential clients know the pitfalls you may experience with various payment methods like paypal.
Now, there are many websites designed to put companies and freelancers together. I don't like them much as they seem to be too structured... but can probably be an effective tool:
Once you have a freelance job and are doing the work from home, it's important that you set aside time to dedicate to the job without interruptions from family, friends, instant messenger programs, etc. Give your client your full attention and I believe you'll be ahead of what they get from many of their regular employees!
Now, let's get some comments with more ideas and links (remember to register so you can post an HTML link in your comment).
