Why working as a freelancer on oDesk could be your next career move

work at home dad

Freelancing is a job that most people know little about. The world of a freelancer can seem mysterious to outsiders as well as ever changing and insecure. Freelancers are usually highly skilled individuals who have decided to take their career into their own hands.  This can be a fabulous option for work at home moms.

What Is a Freelancer?

A freelancer is someone who performs multiple tasks, or ‘projects’ for a variety of different employers over the course of a fiscal year. They work for themselves and sell their particular skills to clients who need projects completed. Often the freelancer is given the free reign of a contract and allowed creative license and freedom to complete the task whichever way they choose.

Freelancers that work for longer periods are sometimes referred to as ‘permalancers’ and often fall into the position through employment of a single contract from which a business relationship grows between freelance and client. This might sometimes benefit both parties; the employer because they like the original work and the freelance because the market can sometimes be very unpredictable.

Freelancers were originally named so because in medieval times, knights without allegiance would roam the country looking for work. These were referred to as ‘free’ lances because of the weaponry they carried. They are not called this because they work for free, or for very little money; many freelancers who have found a niche and a client base can make a very adequate salary.

Why Become a Freelancer?

Freelancing is the first and easiest step to working for yourself. There is more creative freedom than most jobs and once you’re established you can pick and choose which projects you complete. In this way, you can often work on something you’re really passionate about and really enjoy, as well as having a varied roster of potential jobs.

As a freelancer, you can expect no two days to be the same. If you’re good at content writing you might be drawing up press releases for a mid-range furniture company on Monday and contributing to a blog on flower arranging on Tuesday.  You can also choose which days and when you want to work, so you can wait until the kids are in bed, or work harder on the weekend, when dad can take care of the kids.

There is also a great satisfaction knowing that you will be doing work and helping many different people out. If you work more high profile projects or are allowed to publish work under your own name, you can start to build a portfolio off of which you can launch bids for bigger, more ambitious projects for bigger clients.

Why Use oDesk and How Does It Work?

Of course, there are many different freelancing websites out there that facilitate the great work that many freelancers do and many clients benefit from. oDesk is different because of how dynamic it is. As a new freelancer, you can easily bid on projects and start your career.

That is, indeed, how freelancing on oDesk works, as it does on many other sites. An employer will post a job advert. Within this advert an employer can write a job description, ask applicants to answer certain questions, set certain restrictions (e.g. only looking for workers in North America) and specify the type of job, be it hourly or fixed price:

An hourly job is one where you, as a freelancer, get paid for every hour you work on a particular project. oDesk have a handy little program that you can use to track your work and bill your clients for exactly how much time you spent.

A fixed price contract is one where an amount is agreed upon by both employer and is paid when the project is completed and submitted.

What makes oDesk so much better than its competitors is how much of a complete service it is. As a freelancer you can guarantee your privacy as well as benefit from an easy to understand and use interface which allows you to keep track of projects and interact with clients.

Literally anyone can start freelancing on oDesk. If you have a particular skill, or are looking to develop meaningful experiences then freelancing is for you, and there is no better place to start than somewhere that can nurture your career and also provide high stakes contracts when you become establish.  It is a perfect job for a work at home mom and can even give you the option of location independence. Just make sure you avoid any online scams!

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