“Freelance” is a term that is used to describe a person who works as a self-employed individual, without being committed to a full-time or part-time employer on a regular basis. Full-time freelancing is basically being self-employed and not committed to any one company. You must have heard those seemingly perfect freelance stories: some designer quits his job and starts freelancing, and now he’s making more money than he was while employed at a company, and so on. Being a freelancer sure beats the constraints of a regular 9-to-5 job, but as they say, freedom always comes with a price. Bayt.com has recently conducted a poll to gauge perceptions of the freelance job market in the Middle East. The poll entitled “The Bayt.com State of the Freelance Market in the MENA Region”, June 2013, reveals that freelancing is considered by 75.2% of respondents to be a good option for someone working in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. So, how viable is freelancing in the MENA region? And is it possible to take on freelancing on a full-time basis? This blog post will strive to answer some of your questions based on the poll findings.
With freelancing, you get to choose when you work. You’re working for yourself, after all. Are you a morning person who wants to stop working at lunchtime? Or are you a night owl who loves to sleep in? As long as you get the work done, that’s all that matters.
If you have the drive in you, you can stand to make more money freelancing. You can take on more clients or more projects than if you were working for a company. In fact, 64% of professionals in the region would take up freelancing to earn more, while 55% say that freelancers have the potential to earn more than full-time employees.
31% of professionals in MENA say freelancing is a good option for a better work-life balance. As a freelancer there are many ways that you’ll be likely to see your family more. This could be the fact that you’re actually working from a home office. Not only will this make you happier but it will give a boost to both your creativity and productivity.
We all seek to do things we love and get paid for it. Confucius was right when he said, “If you enjoy what you do, you'll never work another day in your life”. Today there are many people who wake up in the morning and don’t look forward to a day’s work. With freelancing you can do things you love and get paid at the same time. 24% of professionals in MENA believe that freelancing would allow more focus on what they love to do.
When you’re a freelancer you can mold your future to a large degree. You can choose what kind of projects to work on, when to do them, how much extra work you need, and what direction to take. 12% of professionals feel that freelancing can give them better control over their career path.
At a company or firm, you’re pretty much guaranteed work. You come in and there is always work for you to do. As a freelancer, on the other hand, work is never guaranteed. Based on the overall state of the market, opportunities are not always plentiful.
With inconsistent flow of work comes inconsistent income. When you freelance you'll never know exactly what you'll get paid from month to month. This can be hard to live with for many people, especially when you have a lot of fixed monthly expenses that have to be paid.
With freelancing, you don’t just spend time working; you also need to spend time finding new clients and work. When you work for a company, the incoming work is taken care of for you. Even though you may know some people here and there, actually having them sign a contract with you doesn't have to be all that easy. In fact, 31% of professionals in MENA said that they don’t know how or where to start. This is why networking in freelancing is key to success.
Again depending on which country you’re in, there are laws and regulations you need to know. It can be quite a job to read up on all these and get everything done right, but it's necessary. Visa issues are considered a major concern for 15.6% of professionals in MENA who want to embark on a freelancing career.
Being your own boss, getting up in the mornings, doing what you’re supposed to do and so on takes a lot of discipline. One thing that’s definitely for sure is that freelancing isn’t for everyone.
The biggest bummer of all: you’re not getting any medical coverage, paid sick days, paid leave, retirement savings, and many other common employee perks and benefits if you want to take up freelancing as your latest career move.
In light of the above, it’s definitely hard to be a freelancer. But it can also be extremely rewarding. Most things have pros and cons and it’s up to you to decide how all of these points weigh in on that final decision. Our study has found that good freelancers are flexible and adaptable (28%), have great self-confidence (16%), are good at multi-tasking (15%), have good time management skills (15%), and have excellent communication skills (10%). So, the best candidates for a freelance career are self-motivated, punctual, and organized individuals who do not mind working alone. They must enjoy working from home and setting their own schedule while successfully managing to achieve a good work-life balance. If you ever decide to become a freelancer remember that Bayt.com has many freelancer jobs that you can apply for anytime you want! (Photo credit: Dave Morris on Flickr)
