How To Start Freelancing On The Side While Traveling
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a world of grief for the majority of human beings on the planet. In addition to the obvious fact that it is a deadly virus, it is also cause a lot of hardship for people’s wallets. You don’t need accounting certifications to know that less work means less money, but luckily there are plenty of side hustles that are actually thriving during the stand down periods. Delivery services, for instance, are a great way to make a couple of extra bucks so you don’t have to throw your career away and pursue something else full time, and freelancing is also a great way to bring in some bucks.
The freelance market accounted for more than $1 trillion across the globe in 2019, and it’s certainly showing no signs of slowing down, especially with so many more people being unemployed. One thing that most people don’t realize when they hear the term “freelancing” is that there is a niche for almost any skill set on the planet. Generally, people think of writers or graphic designers as freelancers, because of the ability for those jobs to be done remotely, but as we are seeing with COVID, pretty much any job can be done remotely, to some extent.
No matter your gig, there’s probably something out there for you that can be monetized for a side hustle to help you fill the gaps caused by COVID. Hopefully you like it, and maybe it could eventually become a full-time gig. Here are some tips on how to start your journey.
Make Yourself Small
Contrary to a typical resume where you want to highlight as many things as possible in a small amount of space, a good tip for freelancing is to pick one thing you’re really good at and focus on selling yourself that way. For instance, you may be a graphic designer… but there are literally tens of thousands of other graphic designers who freelance. Now if you’re a graphic designer who loves metal music and knows everything about it, make that your focus and you’ll have any metal band around knocking at your door when they need some new merch designed!
Diversify Yourself
We all know the phrase “getting your foot in the door,” and it can, indeed, be difficult to get a foot in the door with freelancing. Luckily, though, there are a ton of doors you can keep an eye on, and when one opens, the others tend to do the same. Once you’ve created your image, it’s time to get yourself “out there.” There are plenty of third-party freelance hubs that connect job seekers with job doers, with UpWork and Fiverr being two of the most popular, but even beyond that your options are aplenty.
Social media can help, as well, and following the steps of a good social marketing campaign can give you tips on ways to get your name heard and create content that will get a lot of views. Good ol’ craigslist is also a great place to find single-hit jobs that you can ultimately add to your profiles on the aforementioned hubs, and eventually work just starts coming to you.
Remember to Save Some
Whether on the side or as your main gig, freelance taxes are as odd as some of the jobs themselves. Most accounting experts think it’s safe to save 15-20% of your freelance income to be used for tax time. On a positive note, though, freelance income means tax write-offs, too, including things like your home internet, cell phone, and even some rent if you also use the space for your work.
Go for It!
For many, the most difficult thing for new freelancers is finding the motivation to do the parts of the job that are not paid. Creating profiles and searching for clients is certainly not fun for everyone, but there are ways to do it very successfully, some of which were mentioned here. Once the ball starts rolling, though, freelancing really can become a full time gig rather quickly if that’s what you want!