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Forbes.com: Freelancers Now Make Up 35% Of U.S. Workforce

by Joe Mobley
3 replies
Freelancers are also earning more, the survey found. Among respondents, 46% raised rates in the past year.

Among those who quit a traditional job to freelance, more than half are earning more than they did getting a steady paycheck.

And, perhaps reflecting their improved financial situations, 53% of freelancers believe that having a diverse portfolio of clients is more economically secure than having one employer.
Forbes: Freelancers Now Make Up 35% Of U.S. Workforce

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Joe Mobley
#35% #forbescom #freelancers #make #workforce
  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Joe,

    What you didn't mention in your post, were some of the downsides or difficulties of freelancing mentioned in the article. I think it only fair that these issues be brought to light. These quotes are from the article itself:
    1. "Among those who quit a traditional job to freelance, more than half are earning more than they did getting a steady paycheck." But many of these people are working longer hours in order to find freelance work, build up savings for lost job security, health insurance, vacations, and other perks. Also, the other half of those quitting traditional work to freelance are now earning less than they did before.
    2. "The main motivator for full-time freelancers is to be their own boss, the survey found. For part-time freelancers, it is to make additional income." It seems that those who are freelancing part-time are doing it by choice because their full time employment is not paying them enough or they would like to freelance full time but can't find enough work to be engaged full time.
    3. "The survey found that among part-time freelancers, 57% said that what is preventing them from quitting their job to freelance exclusively is worries about an unsteady income." This "unsteady income" rarely goes away. When you depend upon others to give you work on a per-job or per-project basis, you always have to be concerned about promoting what you do for a living. It would be nice if a freelancer was so good, so popular that he/she had unlimited work from which to choose . . . but that isn't typically the reality of freelancing - especially in the beginning of one's independence.
    4. "To address the challenge of unpredictable income, the Freelancers Union is looking into new kinds of unemployment insurance and ways to address the lack of access to affordable healthcare that has continued to plague independent workers, despite the Affordable Care Act. The research found that 20% of full-time freelancers still dont have health insurance." Unpredictable income, no alternatives for unemployment insurance, and lack of access to affordable healthcare (even despite the Obamacare act) will continue to be downsides to freelancing.
    5. ". . . more laws are also needed to ensure freelancers get paid. The Freelancers Union is promoting the Freelance Isnt Free Act in New York City, which would crack down on people who hire freelancers but dont pay them for their work." This can be a real problem, especially for freelancers that don't have established clientele that have proven to be dependable payers.
    6. What was not really questioned in the article was the sponsors of the survey - The Freelancers Union and Upwork. Of course both these partners are going to present freelancing in the very best light possible. Freelancing as a larger portion of the overall economy, seems to me like it's not always a voluntary choice - workers are laid off, or are downsized, or fired and then have a hard time finding replacement work - so they turn to freelancing not necessarily for the lifestyle but because they can't find work in their field. In addition, sometimes freelancers have no choice but to find additional employment, as many school teachers and public workers will attest. In addition, young people just out of college or trade schools often can't find work in their chosen field and end up freelancing because they have no other solid employment prospects.
    I'm not trying to put down freelancing or be negative on the practice . . . I do it myself. But understand that freelancing can be a tough and challenging way to earn a living - especially while you are trying to get established in your marketplace(s).


    The very best to all of you,


    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author neshaword
    Whenever I see an article about freelancing, I look up for the combination "gig economy." It's inevitable. And, it doesn't have to be necessarily a bad news. Some of my freelancer colleagues are a bit optimistic. One day we will all be freelancers, this way or another, more or less. Yet, under the circumstances, I don't have enough time to deal with the theory and the perspectives. It is what it is and I can't do a thing about it. I'm looking for new projects and clients restlessly. For all those guys who are currently in cloud nine as freelance newbie, I can only say that this our defeat rather than our victory over corporations. When they say, I don't have a boss now, I reply, instead of one boss, you just got yourself a dozens bosses. To those who say, I can't forget about 9-to-5 working hours, I can say, now you will work around the clock.

    There is no romance in freelance! What a lovely title for a new thread, don't you think?
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    • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
      The term "Freelancer" originated from the practice of freelance writing in the offline world.

      It's a very competitive market, assignment of tasks is very dependent on the relationship that the buyer has with the provider, and the buyer typically has more potential suppliers of content than he/she really needs.

      It's even more competitive in the online world, simply because the pool of providers is much larger, and while there are also many more publishers... a large number of the online "publishers" are simply looking for about 10 articles and they are usually all focused on a particular niche. Those publishers rarely represent any long term source of revenue for the provider.

      If you're trying to compete in this arena I would suggest that you need to start by redefining yourself.


      Change your mind set!!!

      You don't want to be a "freelancer"... you want to be an independent contractor.
      Don't try to compete against those that charge $x/word, or $x/hour.
      Don't confine your offerings to articles... be willing to create short ebooks, and to provide cover graphics and a squeeze page template with that ebook. If you have the skills, add slide presentations to your list of product offerings.

      Note - if you don't have the skillset to add additional services, you might want to consider outsourcing those services to someone else

      ALWAYS define the task BEFORE quoting a price !!! ...and get it in writing.

      Then - give the prospective customer a fixed price quote for the complete project.


      You'll get fewer customers this way, but every project will be profitable, because besides getting a very well-defined project (that you helped define), you will have had the opportunity to cost out that project, factor in your desired profit margin, and "upsell" related services.
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      Sid Hale
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