New year, new you? Kicking your freelance business into overdrive? Getting your feet wet? Out of the freelance biz, but still looking for the occasional side gig?
The really cool thing about freelancing is that it fits YOUR life. You can do as much or as little as you want, and the work is still going to be there. With 2017 out of its awkward training pants and kicking into high gear, companies are looking to freelancers to help them get their new year goals off the ground. And no, that’s not a sales pitch. That’s a genuine fact from people that make their living freelancing and know these things!
The somewhat less cool thing about freelancing, especially if you’re just getting started, is that freelance jobs rarely just fall into your lap. You usually have to do a little digging, and you may have to submit several bids for projects before you can get those first one or two (or ten) to get your foot in the door.
To do that, you need to know where to look.
We did an earlier blog post on where and how freelancers can look for writing work. However, writing isn’t the only freelance gig out there. If you’re a graphic artist, a programmer, a photographer, a translator, there’s a gig out there for you! And if you are a writer and you’re not finding the jobs you’re looking for on our previous list, many of these sites place writers as well. It never hurts to take a look.
Guru offers one of the widest ranges of freelance services out there. As a matter of fact, from what I’ve found, they’re second only to Upwork. That’s not a legitimate, verified statistic, however, so don’t quote me on that!
As Guru also offers to work in design service, it is important to create designing portfolios such as UI/UX design portfolio and interior design portfolio also.
Freelancers on Guru have access to a job board with placements in:
- IT, Software and Web Development
- Writing and Translation
- Legal
- Sales & Marketing
- Admin Support
- Engineering & Architecture
- Management & Finance
- Design, Art & Multimedia
- And an ambiguous category just labeled “other”
Employers determine your employability based on your profile, so if you’re planning to work with Guru the first thing you want to do is make that as comprehensive as possible. The company uses SafePay, with employers paying for the job up front, so payments are always guaranteed.
PeoplePerHour is a newer arrival on the freelance scene, despite having opened their doors in 2007. Several new investors have pushed them up the popularity chart for finding freelance jobs, and it’s definitely worth taking a look.
Many fields are included in their freelance lineup, but what makes PeoplePerHour really cool is the number of options you have for finding work. You can post under their fixed hourlies section, outlining what work you’re willing to do and what price you want for it. Employers can then come to you, and you don’t have to worry about haggling over a price for your services.
Like most freelance sites, there’s an established job board where freelancers can go looking for work. When a job is posted, relevant freelancers can be invited to bid either by PeoplePerHour or the employers themselves. Everything is managed through a centralized workstream, and payments are held in escrow to be released.
We’re less familiar with this organization, so if you’ve worked with PeoplePerHour help your fellow freelancers out and let us know about it in the comments!
Toptal is another name we’re not too familiar with, but they made Entrepreneur’s list of the top 15 sites for finding freelance work, so it seemed worth checking out. The site advertises themselves as the home for the top 3% in freelance services, working closely with big names like JP Morgan to place freelancers in a number of industries directly related to business and finance, including software developers, data scientists, designers and finance experts. Their comprehensive list of freelance offerings is too extensive to include here, but you can scroll down and find it at the bottom of their home page.
Remember…
Not every site is going to be a perfect fit for every freelancer, so if you start working with one and find out that it just isn’t working for you don’t be afraid to look somewhere else! There’s a reason there are so many options out there. Take advantage of them. And good luck!
**If you have a freelance site or job board you really like, tell us about it in the comments.**
Also, looking for a design agency to help you build your website, check out our friends at CSSDesignHouse.