According to Wikipedia, a freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer longterm. The term was first used by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) in Ivanhoe to describe a "medievel mercenary warrior" or "free-lance" (indicating that the lance is not sworn to any lord's services, not that the lance is available free of charge). It changed to a figurative noun around the 1860s and was recognized as a verb in 1903 by authorities in etymology such as the Oxford English Dictionary. Only in modern times has the term morphed from a noun (a freelance) into an adjective (a freelance artist), a verb (an artist who freelances) and an adverb (she works freelance), and the noun, "freelancer."
Being a freelancer is something I have always had to do between jobs all throughout my career. Even with a full-time job, I could and would freelance on projects at night or on weekends or both. Now, the jobs are less with smaller budgets and bigger expectations – its insane. So, what do you do? Can you afford to sit it out and wait for the perfect full-time job? Do you want to sit around and wait for the perfect full-time job while the rest of us are out there trying to change the old ways of doing business?
To make a change, you have to take a stand. As a freelancer, I stand for knowing your worth and getting it monetarily. As an owner, I stand for giving the client impeccable design and service for less dough. From my years of working with the major studios, I have a system, or a way, of doing things so that even if I am a third party in a design transaction, the client hiring me can afford my rates and they know immediately that I am not here to fool around. I take pride in my work and I have been fortunate enough to have learned from the best. Make sure you know the area of your expertise, who your competitors are and where you can get support. (FreelancersUnion.com)
According to a story CNNMoney.com did online in June 2009, the percentage of freelance employees that make up any workforce is already at 31% as of the date of their story. By 2019, the Labor Statistics, WorldatWork Projections are that 40% of all workforces will be made up of temporary, self-employed, or freelance workers. They predict this trend to spread beyond traditional bastions of freelancing to professionals such as accounting, engineering, health care, law and even sales. All are already starting to rely more heavily on contract work.
We are in the early stages of a new workforce and CNN agrees. Talk to your friends to find out who else is thinking of starting their own business. Maybe you can team up to start one together? There are lots of related posts on the net and you should definitely do your homework before you venture out on your own. And, when you finally do decide to take the plunge, be sure to get a professional graphic designer to design your logo, blog header and or website. If you don't look good, no one will want to buy what you are selling.
