Freelancing is a contract-based profession where the person uses his skills and experience to provide services to a number of clients. A freelancer is a self-employed individual who doesn’t have to commit to a single, long-term employer and typically charge by the hour or day and is not required to register as a business if they operate under their own name.

In simple terms, freelancing is when you use your skills, education, and experience to work with multiple clients and take on various projects without committing to a single employer. 

People are talking about freelancing more than ever before because there are more freelancers today than there have ever been in history.

Other terms for freelancing

Not everyone uses the term “freelance” or “freelancer” when it comes to work that a freelancer may do. In fact, even many freelancers refer to themselves as “self-employed.”

So other terms you may want to be aware of that relate to freelancing include:

  • Contract work: Jobs where you are working to fulfill a short-term or part time contract
  • Contract job: Same as above.
  • Independent contractor: This is the IRS classification of a freelancer
  • Contract consultant: This term refers to a consultant coming in under a 1099 contract for a short period of time.
  • Contract-to-hire: Contract-to-hire roles provide a sort of “test period” for a freelancer before they are hired full time.

How does freelancing work?

Freelancers accept payment in return for providing some sort of service. That agreement is generally part-time or short term.

Sometimes people pay freelancers to work a set number of hours per week or per month. That arrangement is often referred to as a “retainer.” A retainer refers to when you retain the services or right to someone’s time. A lot of legal professionals work on retainer. Every month, they bill a set amount of time to the client, regardless of whether that full time is used or not.

It’s really one of the simplest and most pure forms of entrepreneurship: the freelancer provides a specific service or outcome, and the buyer pays them a fee directly.

What type of work can I do by freelancing?

Companies are becoming much more open to and interested in hiring freelancers doing many different types of work. So freelancing has become much more acceptable for a wide variety of roles.

According to Forbes, the best freelancing gigs are:

  • Marketing
  • Business Project Management 
  • Web Development
  • Writing
  • Accounting 
  • Insurance Inspection 
  • Teaching/Tutoring 
  • Social Media
  • Graphic Design 
  • Administrative Assistant 

How do I start freelancing?

You can actually start freelancing any time by simply accepting payment to complete a job for someone else.

Most freelancers will want to go a step further though and formally incorporate their company, open a bank account, and create an online presence for their freelance business.

There are three main paths to making money as a freelancer:

  • Working with clients directly
  • Subcontracting
  • Freelancing platforms or websites

Conclusion

Freelancing means to be your own boss. There are many different types of freelance jobs, and more companies are hiring freelancers than ever before.

Freelancing can be an incredible way to earn a living on your own terms. It’s up to you to decide if freelancing is right for you. But if you’re going to freelance especially locally in Trinidad and Tobago, investing in Freelance Trini can help you make the jump quickly.