For the past decade, freelancing has become an extremely accessible career path for anyone that’s willing to put in the time, dedication and effort into perfecting their craft. Not only do they have to learn a unique skill set that is both flexible and efficient, they also need to market their services to a wide range of potential customers.
Thanks to the advent of social media, the affordability of computer hardware and software, the rise of freelancing hubs and even the generosity of experienced professionals that take the time to make tutorials and guides, the career of a freelancer has never been this enjoyable or simple.
Anyone Can Learn a Skill
Thanks to online guides and tutorials that are widely available on the internet, learning a new skill is simply a matter of time and effort as opposed to money or opportunity. You don’t need to take a university or college course to learn something nowadays, and you don’t need to spend thousands on a degree or course when there are so many free learning resources available to everyone.
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The Internet Is Filled With Free Things
From freeware software such as GIMP and Krita for artists and LibreOffice for writers, more and more software developers are building their applications from the ground up as free software that anyone can have access to. In addition, there are also free resources for various applications, such as these freebies for Photoshop found at www.designrfix.com/freebies/free-photoshop-patterns. There are thousands of royalty free stock images for bloggers and designers, and you can even get free professional invoices or basic finance management software, and let’s not forget free storage space in the form of Google Drive and Dropbox.
A freelancer can get started with free software and upgrade to paid software in the future if they want to—but if they manage to start and maintain a steady list of clients without expensive applications, why not save that money?
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More Startups Means a Higher Demand for Freelancers
Business is always booming. As long as there are new companies starting up, there’s going to be a need for cheap labour. Cheap doesn’t mean that you have to work for pennies, however, it just means that compared to hiring an employee, a freelancer represents a cheaper option to get a job done. For example, a high-profile fashion magazine might look for an experienced graphics designer to overhaul their web page, but a startup tech magazine might be willing to work with inexperienced writers to diversify their portfolio and also receive some cheap content.
Cheap and Convenient Hardware
You can pick up a decently powerful laptop for a couple of hundred dollars. This will be a laptop capable of running productivity programs such as Photoshop, and it can undoubtedly handle office applications. If a laptop is too bulky or expensive, then you can even pick up a tablet device or a Chromebook for a value-oriented workstation that you can take wherever you go. If you’re at home, then a desktop computer is even cheaper while offering a similar level of hardware power. It doesn’t cost much to get hold of a computer anymore, and with all the opportunities it offers you, there’s no reason not to own one.