You might be surprised at the different career options you have if you want to freelance from home.
Recently, I had a discussion with someone in my “real world” neighborhood about working from home.
“It’s great that you can write from home,” this person said. “But I don’t write. How can I work from home when my job is ….?”
While it’s true that writing, especially professional blogging, provides a number of opportunities to successfully freelance from home, it’s not the only profession that offers this chance. You might be surprised at the things you can do from your own home, on a freelance basis, once you build up a bit of a reputation.
Freelance from Home: What Can You Do?
The magic of the Internet is the connectedness that allows for a number of professionals to work remotely. Some of the common non-writing jobs you can do as a freelancer include:
- Graphic design
- Software development
- Coding
- Marketing
- Public relations
- Administrative assistant
- Teaching (I have a relative who teaches from home at an online charter school, and my husband teaches online classes for an accredited university)
It’s also possible to do a number of consultation-type jobs on a freelance basis. My husband occasionally does statistics consulting. Right now he has a freelance “job” in which he goes in for meetings twice a month, and does the rest of his work from home.
If you have knowledge, it’s possible that others want to take advantage of that expertise. They might even be willing to pay top dollar for it. Consulting on a freelance basis can help you land any number of clients, from those looking for temporary help with a social media campaign to those who want someone who offers more permanent services.
Before you write off the idea of working from home, stop and think about what you have to offer. There is a very real possibility that you could turn your skill set into a freelance from home career.
Earn More by Working for Multiple Clients
One of the great things about being able to freelance from home is the fact that you can work with multiple clients. I once had a client try to slip a non-compete clause into a freelance contract. It’s a good thing that I read my contracts! This clause meant that I wouldn’t have been able to write for anyone else in personal finance space.
Almost my entire livelihood consists of writing for people in the personal finance space. Unless someone is willing to completely replace all of that income, I refuse to sign a contract with a non-compete clause.
When you work for multiple clients, you add to your income diversity. This is helpful because you aren’t entirely reliant on a single source of income for your family’s financial well being. If I lose a big client, there’s almost always another opportunity. Plus, even a “big” client of mine represents no more than 1/5 of my monthly income. I am still able to provide the necessities of life for my family while I replace the income. It’s not an all-or-nothing income proposition when you freelance from home.
What do you think? Could you make the leap and freelance from home? What’s the skill set you have that would allow you to work from home?
It’s interesting that it takes a leap of faith from the world of employment into the world of freelance.
I’m a blogger and writer, and have also had some work both in website programming and 3D modelling. I noticed that when it comes to casual and comfortable income, writing is the best for me. I find it much more enjoyable to write and have discussions, over creating technical content by request.
On the other hand, making money from writing is not an easy market to approach. Blogs tend to attract more visitors the longer they exist. So, for a new blogger, it takes a lot of patience. Also, if I remain true to my own topics, then it will take even longer to create some sort of crowd for myself.
I’ll go back to thinking about the next topic people would find interesting to read about… 🙂
http://www.AssafKoss.com