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Since the rise of digital life and the online world, opportunities arise for us to do things differently, in new ways. We no longer need to go to the supermarket, or the pizzeria, or even the bank. They either deliver the goods and their services to us or whatever we need to do can be done while working remotely on our mobile phones, in a few quick taps.
And it doesn’t end here. Things have changed in the working industry due to the presence of the Internet as well. As we don’t need to go out to shop, we don’t need to go to work to do a job either. We can sit in the comfort of our bedroom (Just as I am doing it right now) and do the job or we can do a job while we are on a remote island (by working remotely).
This is, however, not a type of work that is suitable for everyone with any type of job. Of course, a teacher can teach remotely via Web-conferencing apps, but a nurse needs to be close to the patients in order to take care of them. On the other side, not every personality type is qualified to work remotely or freelance.
Basically, there are certain prerequisites for doing freelance jobs and being your own boss, which are as followed:
You have a proactive personality
If you are someone who needs guidelines and rules to follow a job and cannot work independently, then working as a freelancer might not be a good choice for you. But if you have a proactive personality, you are an initiator and you don’t need to be managed to do a job in a neat way, then, if your job allows it, you can be your own boss by becoming a freelancer.
For example, you can start to work as a freelance lead generator or working as a freelance virtual assistant. These are some of the top freelancing careers if you want to start your job independently.
Your work has a creative nature
People who work as artists or creative designers, those who work in music creation and creative writers (and other kinds of writers, since writing is a creative job in nature), and many more who work in a creative way, can work as a freelance graphic designer or any other artistic freelance careers and become their own bosses. All they need is their skills and a freelancing platform to introduce their skills and find clients to get hired.
7 tips for working as a freelancer outside of your 9-5 work
You work better at nights
If you are not a 9-5 Monday to Friday person, and you perform better in the quiet of the night, as some freelance developers do, then maybe it’s time to say goodbye to your day job, and say hello to a freelance job that doesn’t bound you to work within a certain limit of time and space. The benefits of freelance working are what you need to read to get more information.
It might not have been an option decades ago, but it is now an option because we are connected to each other through the web and if we need to deliver a project as fast as we finish it to the company we work for, we can do it by sending it via the Internet and our location and time is not of concern to them. We can easily start by working remotely today.
You would like to travel the world
Is it too much to ask if you would like to travel to a new place every 3 months? Or if you want to live in East Asia while your company is in Silicon Valley? No, it’s not. If you deliver results, why should it matter how and from where you do it?
While some people prefer a more sedentary lifestyle, others love to move around and see the world and it shouldn’t conflict with their work. Well, it used to, but not anymore when they can start working remotely.
These types of people have even named themselves “digital nomads” and working for them is a means to pay for their lifestyle. If you are among these groups, then don’t worry about losing your 9-5. You will find your suitable job on freelancing platforms in no time.
You don’t need to work 8 hours a day to deliver results
It’s a matter of speed. Some people are faster than the average, some others are slower. It might take you 3 hours to do a logo design job with the same quality (or even higher) that takes someone else 12 hours. It depends on many factors like work experience, agility, and even intelligence.
That’s why having an 8-hour rule for every job and every person is pointless. It is a waste of resources. That’s why, if you are among the group who don’t need to spend as much time on a job as a normal person spends, it’s time for you to become your own boss and either start your own company or become a freelancer in that area.
It works best on result-based jobs like logo design or data entry jobs. However, for jobs like blogging or dropshipping, still, time is important and they need to work a certain amount of time to do the job completely.
You perform better solo than in a team
Like rock climbing, some people prefer to work in groups (be it a group of 2 people) while others prefer solo climbing. It’s more dangerous to climb solo because you have no one to protect you against a fall (the metaphor applies to the jobs too), but it’s worth the freedom and independence that you have.
The same thing (well, almost) happens when you work on your own. Companies prefer teamwork and people with team working personalities, but some jobs are better done by independent personalities, by introverts. And although these people might not be a good fit in some companies, their skills and qualities are still required by them.
If you think you are among this group of people, then find a job that suits your personality and talent most and start working solo today. You may find that you have done the wrong job for the wrong reasons up until now and your talents lie in a job that you do on your own.