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HOW TO BECOME A FREELANCER IN SOUTH AFRICA.
Are you a South Africa? Are you looking for ways to boost your income, or earn extra money for yourself?
Have you heard of freelancing?
You can freelance in your spare time, do it part-time, moonlight, or even make your career and work full time as a freelancer in South Africa.
Freelance websites are online platforms where people who are looking for work can do so, and where employers looking for people post their offers.
As South Africans we have heard of or read about the unemployment rate in South Africa, and that many people are looking for work or ways to supplement and boost their earnings.
Also, South Africans are being retrenched, put on short time, or are temporarily unemployed, and there are many job losses in our economy.
If you are working as a freelancer in South Africa already, then you know the ins and outs of what it means to work in this way.
Are you fortunate enough to have regular clients?
Are you looking to expand your services, and do you want to list on more freelancing sites?
If you are South African, there are a few international sites where you can offer your services, like Fiverr, Upwork, or Freelancer, to name a few.
But did you know that there are South African freelance sites you can advertise your services on?
WHAT IS A FREELANCER AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
As a freelancer, you offer your services for a fee.
The fee will vary depending on the type of work you are offering, and the amount of time needed to complete the job.
One of the positives to being a freelancer is that it allows you to be self-employed or to work part-time, moonlighting to earn yourself extra money.
Being a freelancer, you may find yourself working on one project at a time, or you may choose to work on various projects at the same time.
Read your contracts carefully, as some contracts may only allow you to work on one task at a time.
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FREELANCE JOBS.
There are many different jobs you can do as a freelancer.
Here are some of them:
Teaching/ Tutoring
Designing: graphics, logos
Writing: copywriting, editing, proofreading, ghost-writing, copywriting
Virtual assistant
Pinterest assistant
Accounting, Bookkeeping
Data entry
Sales
Marketing
Computer science and IT
Software developement
Before you start working as a freelancer, you must have a plan of action, know what you are going to do and what you want to achieve.
Know what rates you are going to be charging, ask yourself if the rates are fair if you are charging enough for your services, and factor in your time, experience, and the materials you may need to use for your services.
Sometimes people start with a lower rate or fee, and as they gain experience their rate/fee increases.
You will be responsible for paying your taxes.
WHAT DO YOU NEED IN ORDER TO BECOME A FREELANCER?
What skills and equipment do you need to become a freelancer in South Africa?
You will need space to work in, be it a home office or just a quiet area where you can work without loud interfering noises, and where you will not be interrupted.
A laptop or computer, you may also need certain software programmes.
A telephone
Earphones or earbuds.
A high-speed internet connection.
A table or desk, and a comfortable office chair for those long hours you may need to sit while working.
Office supplies, and a place to keep all your work documents safe.
A whiteboard may come in handy to help you keep track of all the jobs you are working on.
You will be working on your own, so you need to be disciplined, and have a schedule for yourself and stick to it so that you can manage your time wisely.
A project management tool is extremely useful and will help you to be more productive.
Have a portfolio ready to show prospective clients who may ask to see it.
Your portfolio is there to show prospective clients how good you are, so include samples of your best work.
Your potential clients may look at a few freelancer’s profiles, so you need to convince the potential client why you are the best for the job.
As a freelancer, you need to be knowledgeable in the area or areas in which you are going to be offering your services.
There are many free online courses you can take to improve your skills and to learn new ones to add to your skills base.
You need to be able to budget. If you do not know how or you are not particularly good at budgeting, there are online resources to help you learn and improve your skills.
Being thick-skinned, and having tenacity and confidence will help you on your journey to becoming a freelancer.
Be prepared for rejection.
If you lack confidence, read books that will help you to become more confident in yourself and your skills.
Freelancing work can be extremely hard, so working in this manner may not suit everyone.
If you decide to become a freelancer, be patient and persevere.
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For a list of freelance websites to join read my follow up post:
21+ BEST FREELANCE WEBSITES FOR SOUTH AFRICANS TO JOIN IN 2020.
Thank you for reading, please remember to share this post.
Leave a comment and let me know what kind of online or work from jobs, you are interested in.
HOW MUCH WILL YOU EARN AS A FREELANCE?
How much you will earn as a freelancer in South Africa will vary greatly dependeing o your field and level of experience.
Payment methods include:
PayPal, Payoneer and bank wire transfer.
Many freelance platforms have their own payment systems.
These websites will give you more information about the rate charged by South African freelancers:
Remember to find reviews and feedback, from people who have been working as freelancers on Indeed, Glassdoor, and Trustpilot.
I hope you have found the information useful.
Please remember to like and share this post, thank you.
Please leave a comment and let me know what kind of online work you are looking for?
If you are looking for freelance websites to join read this post:
21+ BEST FREELANCE WEBSITES FOR SOUTH AFRICANS TO JOIN IN 2020.
CONCLUSION.
Believe in yourself and work towards your goals of becoming a freelancer in South Africa.
If you put in the time, you will see results, slowly but surely.
Identify what you are good at, promote those skill. Keep working on ways to better your skills base.
I hope you have found this post informative.