Is It Too Late To Start Freelancing?

 Why Africans Should Start Freelancing Now

Now is a great time to start freelancing. Freelancing has always been an option that plenty of people have used to earn an income but thanks to our new normal post COVID, corporation, small and medium companies are now testing freelancers to fill the gap in their workforce. With the uncertainty of todays world, employees are quitting their jobs with more frequency abruptly and it's easier for most companies to outsource work to freelancers before they permanently fill positions.

Freelancers For Startups

It's also a great option for startups who cannot afford to have full time employees to dedicated positions. Full time and part time employees have to work in company offices, have benefits and dedicated salary every month. However, freelancers can be paid per task and per project whenever needed making it a great hiring option for start ups.

Freelance Careers

It's also a great time to hire freelancers because of the change in careers. New careers are popping up to accomodate future tech and social media filled world. Even old careers like marketing and advertising are being replaced by digital marketing, which five years ago was not being taught in university. The work force is being forced to hire digital marketing firms who through freelancing, have learned the new way of digital marketing.

Specialized Skills

Freelancers specialize in specific fields at a time and hence can hold more competency than traditional employees. Social media managers are a good example of this. A company may have managers that oversee business operations, however, they may need a social media manager whose sole responsibility is to manage social media accounts. A freelance social media manager is a very common addition to most brands, although it will not be created as a full time position. A social media manager is also a great addition during marketing campaigns and product launches and then scaled back once marketing campaign is over.

Competitive Edge

Freelancers are often self-motivated because their business relies on constantly being better than the competition. They are often replacable at the drop of a dime, and they have to consitently produce good work in order to keep getting hired. Businesses find that freelancers can often be more reliable than traditional employees because they don't always expect to be asked to work on a project or task.

Freelancer also get to benefit from their business arrangement because freelancers earn higher income. This is because they can have multiple clients and charge more based on the project difficulty and complexity. They also get to work as many hours as they want, choosing which project to pick up earning themselves more money. 

The flexibility of hours worked can also vary for freelancers choosing to work around their family obligations, travel arrangements, religious and national holidays. This means that freelancers will show up to work ready and available to work bringing their A game to every job they pick up and work on.

If you are looking for remote workers?

Are you a freelancer? Why do you choose to be a freelancer? Comment below and share with our community of African freelancers. 

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