A decade ago, if you had told someone that you are earning money from the comfort of your couch without being permanently committed to any business enterprise in any way, people would have laughed at you.
While today, if you told someone the exact same thing they will probably envy you. With an astonishing 1.57 Billion people across the globe identifying as freelance workers, freelancing in many ways has already overtaken the global market and the trend does not seem like it will subside anytime soon.
The United States, being a dominant player in the global economy, is obviously not immune to this trend. In 2023 73.3 Million people in America are involved in freelance work and this figure is expected to cross the 90 Million mark by the year 2028.
Freelancing is such an attractive option that over 71 percent of Americans interviewed for a recent study in 2023 stated that they are planning to enter the freelance market soon. And who can blame them, with over 30 Percent of freelancers making over 75 Thousand Dollars a year from the comfort of their homes the opportunity seems a little too good to pass.
And it’s not just workers who have joined this rush towards freelance work. Several major employers, primarily in the tech sector prefer hiring freelance workers. And it’s not just about saving up in additional costs associated with hosting and facilitating employees at the office. Hiring freelancers helps employers hire global talent.
Take Google for instance, over 54 percent of the tech giant’s entire workforce consists of freelancers. And companies big and small are now jumping on the bandwagon. Over 70 Percent of all small and medium-sized enterprises in the United States have reported using freelance services at least once.
In very simple terms, freelancing feels like the future of work. Which begets the question, are you looking to the future or are you still stuck somewhere deep in the past?
If you’ve answered in the affirmative, this write-up is going to help you a lot. But before we delve into our main discussion, there are a few things that are pertinent to mention.
To break into the freelance industry, you need two essential tools, a good machine (laptop and PC) and a fast-paced broadband internet connection. And while over three-quarters of all Americans have the former figured out the number of people suffering from a lack of the latter is astoundingly high.
Americans from rural, remote, or sparsely populated areas generally lack access to modern and high-speed broadband technologies like fiber optics and tend to be dependent on ancient technologies like DSL. Even though they don’t have to be.
Modern service providers like HughesNet satellite Internet are deploying state-of-the-art technologies to beam highspeed broadband signals to rural Americans continent-wide. So, before you jump into the freelance sector ensure that you have dumped your DSL in favor of more advanced satellite-based options.
Now, that we have the prerequisites figured out, let’s look at some of the easiest-to-use freelance platforms for beginners looking to sell their services online.
1.) FIVERR
Fiverr is one of the most dominant freelance platforms in the world. And this is just not mere opinion, the statement is backed up by breathtaking statistics. In the year 2021, the platform boosted over 4 Million potential service buyers and a service volume of over a Billion Dollars. And the market has not cooled down since.
Using the platform is fairly simple, sellers put up services along with price quotes, while buyers can compare these sellers based on reviews and select the ones that best suit their needs. There is no bidding involved and the platform facilitates direct communication between sellers and buyers.
Once the project is completed and payments have been made the seller can withdraw their cash within 2 weeks, after paying Fiverr a 20 percent commission of course.
2.) FREELANCER
Freelancer, aptly named, is another website that supports the freedom to work as you choose. The website is famous, primarily in the third world, and relies heavily on countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh for its overall traffic.
But that does not mean that folks operating out of the U.S. market have no use for the platform. After all U.S based vendors are the second biggest source of traffic on the website. And the number two spot is no less attractive because the website rakes in over 6.7 Million in traffic every year.
Generally, the platform follows the same model as Fiverr, though it charges half the commission, making it more favorable for freelancers’ pockets.
3.) UPWORK
Upwork follows a fundamentally different model when compared to the other players on the list. The rules are a lot more rigid and sellers need to make more robust profiles to be eligible to sell on the platform.
The platform has lesser traffic for both buyers and sellers through the users are generally considered to be more substantive. It is telling that the average earning volume for vendors on the platform is many folds when compared to the other two platforms on the list.
Upwork also has a different selling model. Instead of just listing down the prices for their services the platform demands that sellers make competitive bids to buyers. In short, vendors have to compete against each other not just in terms of quality but also in terms of costs.
This gives the platform a more buyer-oriented tilt. But one benefit that buyers have is that the platform does not require sellers to pay uniform commissions. The amount of money you pay out to the platform decreases as the amount of money you make increases.
So, when it comes to Upwork it pays to stick around for longer.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The nature of work is changing. Companies are becoming more flexible in the way they choose to employ workers. In the same way, many workers are also looking to take advantage of how the freedom that comes with task project-based employment. For those of you who are missing out, the above-mentioned platforms are the best place to start.
