Freelancing isn’t just some weird gig people do anymore.
In fact, it’s getting so serious that predictions say freelancing will take up 50% of the workforce by 2027!
Perhaps you’ve thought about freelancing.
You might even be doing it as a “side hustle” right now.
But you haven’t taken the golden leap yet, where your income consists MAINLY of your creative talents.
You may want to consider looking at freelancing as a serious investment.
Maybe even an entire career investment.
Look, the world is changing.
To get an idea of just how much it’s changed, freelancers brought home an estimated total of $1 trillion in annual earnings in 2016.
Needless to say, if you haven’t been keeping up, you’ve been missing out on a serious piece of that trillion dollar pie!
And if you don’t get on the bandwagon soon, it may almost be too late.
If you’re wondering if freelancing is here to stay, here are 14 reasons we (plus some notable experts) believe that freelancing is the future of the work industry:
1. Companies Are Looking For Specialized Skills For One-Off Projects
Freelancers have unique talents and experiences. Most likely they’ve worked for many different clients on different types of projects.
So when they get to combine their creative talent and experience they acquired from previous jobs to help others, it’s a win-win situation for both parties.
Will Lee, CEO of Blue Whale, a company devoted to building a stronger network of one-person businesses said:
“Think about how this could be useful for a company. Say you need a professional writer for a single project. It would not make sense to hire a full-time writer, because your writing needs aren’t enough to justify it.
“Hiring a full-time employee would be expensive and a waste of company money. However, a freelancer would fit the project perfectly. The company would use the freelancer’s skills for the project, pay them, and then the two entities would part ways.”
This approach is smarter for companies.
Sometimes all you need is a one-time project, whether it costs you $200 or $5,000.
And freelancers love getting paid for their creative talent!
Keep in mind: One time projects can quickly turn into monthly checks.
If the work you provide brings in so much value to the client, and they can really see their return on investment in you, it won’t be surprising if they want to do more work with you in the future, or even put you on a monthly retainer.
Blog post: The Ultimate Guide to Winning (and Keeping) Retainer-Based Business
2. Employee Benefits Are Expensive For Employers
Costs for every new EMPLOYEE they hire is exactly what companies DON’T want to spend money on.
Benefits consist mainly of: health insurance, paid time off, and sick leave.
Will Lee, of Blue Whale, said:
“Freelancers are free agents, not part of any company’s permanent staff, so the employer does not need to provide freelance workers with any benefits.
“When freelancers are hired for projects, companies can spend less because they only have to pay the freelancer for their services. This could be one of the fundamental reasons motivating corporations to utilize freelancers more frequently.”
Although this may seem like a total downside, freelancers actually favor this a lot more.
When you’re making six figures in your pajamas, the lifestyle + income you make quickly pays off those benefits.
Blog post: Want to Earn Six Figures In Your Pajamas? These Freelancers Will Show You How
3. Millennials Are “On Demand” Creatures
Something huge to take note of: millennials are today’s largest living generation.
Christina DesMarais, an expert on habits of successful individuals and organizations and contributor to Inc. Magazine says about millennials:
“Working at a company for a decade is something none of them will likely be doing.”
Growing up with a smartphone being pretty much another appendage, this generation is constantly seeking “novelty, connection and immediacy.”
Christina continued:
“When Millennials think about their careers the expectations are so much greater in terms of the experience, the automation, the data that’s at their fingertips. Anything other than that is frustrating.”
When everything is within their reach with a click of a button, whether that’s food, clothes, movies or face chats, making money will be expected to be no different.
Millenials are “high-maintenance” in the way they expect to be treated for their work.
But hey, they know their worth. Can you blame them?
Blog post: 7 Disastrous Mistakes Stopping You From Landing High-Value Clients
4. Getting Work As a Freelancer Is Cheap And Simple
Although finding work on platforms like Upwork, Freelancer.com, Guru and Fiverr go against many philosophies we share in The No Pants Project, many start their freelancing journey on sites like these.
Christina, contributor to Inc. Magazine said:
“Cloud-based platforms which connect freelancers with clients are widely available and inexpensive to use.
“Every business will have access to every worker and it will be only separated by search. The middle operators that have historically defined how the workforce is accessed are going away.”
In The No Pants Project, we teach you how to use simple and cost-effective client-getting methods that get you the quality, high-paying clients you need for a sustainable freelancing business.
A few methods include:
- Email – who knew technology’s most ancient online message carrier could pump out thousands of dollars a month? Yes, I said thousands.
- Facebook – You’d be surprised how much spending $1 a day on Facebook ads can get you. But if you’re looking for strictly free methods, all three of these methods are applicable.
- LinkedIn – 20-100 messages on LinkedIn may be all you need to land clients that’ll pay you the top-tier prices. And you can do it for free 99.
5. There Is No Such Thing As Job Security
If you’re a freelancer, you’re already more prepared for what’s to come.
Amanda Abella, a full-time writer and millenial personal finance expert who wrote Amazon’s Best Seller Make Your Money Honey shares her findings from Fast Company.com:
“This particular Fast Company article pointed out how nearly half of freelancers already see the impacts of AI changing the workforce. This is in contrast to only 18% of the regular employed.
“In other words, freelancers know what’s coming. Since they know what’s coming they can better prepare. Meanwhile, those who are traditionally employed may be in for a rude awakening down the road.”
Job security is a joke, and freelancers know this:
The biggest corporate layoffs of the century have already taken place with huge companies like Wells Fargo being forced to lay off 26,500 of its workers to Citigroup letting go as many as 50,000.
Blog post: 4 Truths About Freelancing Your Boss Doesn’t Want You To Know
6. Freelancing May be Less Impacted By AI
Although artificial intelligence poses a threat to humans to replace their inevitable accounts of error and inefficiency in the work field, Amanda confidently points out two things an AI CANNOT replace:
“The last thing the article pointed out really fascinated me. According to the founder of LinkedIn, freelancing gives people a certain advantage when it comes to the threat of AI – they are in direct contact with the companies they work for.
“In other words, they build relationships and their knowledge base – two things AI can never take from them.”
An AI cannot replicate each person’s unique, creative abilities.
It also cannot replace the one thing that binds us all together: our human ability to connect.
Both are absolutely critical to growing any kind of business.
Amanda continues:
“There is a caveat to this. For example, AI could probably replace my skill as a writer. However, it can’t replace my brain and expertise for consulting. It also can’t build influence like I have.”
7. Technology Favors The Gig Economy
With allowance for face-to-face communication and digital meetings, technology favors how freelancers and clients work together.
Abdullahi Muhammed, CEO of Oxygenmat, a content marketing company and contributor to Forbes Magazine, World Economic Forum, Entrepreneur, Inc., The Huffington Post, Search Engine Watch, The Next Web, Engadget and many other top informational websites shares his insight on the topic:
“Streamlining the communication process means that freelancers no longer have to use slower processes like email to get things done and decisions made.
“Gig workers can work faster, and clients can respond faster, allowing for more rapid deployment of products and services.”
Knowing this, it’s important to note how technology is shifting the business model entirely.
Katharine Togersen, who left the DC consultancy world to be a full-time freelancer and content editor for Website Planet says:
“Today, business can be managed as easily from across the world as it could from across the hall.
“Not only does this global availability exponentially increase the potential client reach, it means that the job pool is no longer limited to those within a certain area.
“Companies that are conducive to remote work open themselves up to a much greater selection of talent.”
No doubt, there is a direct correlation to freelancers and tech companies and again, millenials have a lot to do with it.
Katharine continued:
“It is not surprising that the number of freelancers continue to increase along with the number of tech companies – an industry that now accounts for a quarter of the U.S. market capitalization.
“But companies are becoming more technologically savvy in general, thanks in no small part to a growing workforce that has grown up online.”
This is the Age of Technology.
With more and more online start-ups popping up everyday, it only means they need as much help from freelancers as they can get.
8. There Is Increased Legislative Action To Support Gig Workers
It’s no secret. Freelancers get ripped off when clients refuse to pay for the work they’ve been assigned.
In fact, 58% of freelancers report not getting paid for their work.
However, laws are being put in place to protect contractor rights – a sign of the industry’s growth and importance in the economy.
Those who mistreat contractors are now getting penalized.
In his research Abdullahi states:
“In 2017, a new law in New York City, titled “Freelancing is not Free” went into effect. This law, while laying out requirements for contract agreements between freelancers and their clients, was more focused on ensuring that freelancers were paid for the work they did.
“It provided recourse for gig workers who were not paid and penalties for contractors who reneged on contracts.”
9. Freedom And Flexibility Is Attractive
Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a 20-year-old who likes to sleep in past 9 a.m., who doesn’t like the idea of lifestyle plus work flexibility?
Ayush Goyal, a contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine and co-founder of MissionKya, a freelance marketplace where companies come to strategically outsource projects to freelance experts or agencies says:
“It gives us the option to work at any point in time of the day. Thus, people have started taking the benefit of the same where they invest their time in learning new skills, enhancing them and diversifying the scope of their work.
“Consequently, their additional qualifications let them get into the diversity of services. Connecting with multiple clients for different types of projects evades the possibilities of monotonous jobs.”
Like I mentioned earlier, millenials are obsessed with novelty. They like options.
Freelancing gives them the privilege of picking and choosing which tasks they want to take on.
This ties into the desire for autonomy, a human need, and millenials are ready for it.
Blog post: 40 Fun Freelancing Business Opportunities for Creatives in 2019
10. No Limit On How Much You Can Make
Perhaps the most attractive part about freelancing: YOU GET TO MAKE AS MUCH AS YOU WANT.
And with a generation that wants things fast, cash is no exception.
Ayush says:
“Their earnings are entirely based on the time they invest and the output they produce. Unlike a regular job, it is not constant no matter how much more or less they work.
“Thus, more the efforts you put in, more would be the earnings. It evades the barriers to earning.”
When there are no limits placed on earning, it only makes sense this generation of workaholics would make freelancing their career of choice.
Blog post: 3 Ways To Give Yourself A Raise
11. Going Online Reduces Costs For Everyone Involved
When hiring a freelancer, there are way more benefits than just the elimination of recruiter and insurance costs for companies.
Katharine Togersen says:
“Beyond the obvious cost benefit of contracting freelancers, more and more companies are opting for partially or entirely digital workplaces. This can completely eliminate or substantially reduce some of the biggest overhead costs: rent and utilities.”
Katharine then goes on to emphasize how going online affects costs of the entire business model:
“When scheduling a presentation, why should an organization spend thousands of dollars on plane tickets, transportation, accommodation, meals, and print materials—not to mention lost billable hours—when that same meeting can be conducted in an hour via videoconference for a monthly rate of less than $50?”
Not to mention, every employee’s nightmare is being in stuck in traffic for 2+ straight hours.
Katharine continues:
“Employers are not the only ones to benefit financially from a remote workplace. The flexibility with hours and location that freelance positions often have can equal great savings as well.
“There’s no cost for commute, no expensive take-out lunches or $5 cups of coffee, a reduced need for external childcare, etc. Depending on location and personal habits, working from home can quickly save a significant amount of money.”
Even the environment wins with freelancing in the picture!
“And while this can mean great things for a company’s profit margin, it also helps the environment by cutting back on fuel used in commuting,” says Katharine.
12. Freelancing Shifts The Work-Life Balance
Freelancing builds the bridge to a better quality of life, and more and more people are seeing that.
As a freelancer herself, Katharine mentions the opportunities:
More Passion Based Projects
It is likely that freelancers enjoy performing their services, which has a direct correlation to how well they perform.
“When an individual operates as an independent contractor, it allows him or her to focus on the types of clients or work that he or she is most interested in.
“As someone who has worked for a number of communications consultancies and ad agencies, I can say from personal experience that it can be emotionally taxing to represent a client that goes against your lifestyle or values.”
More Time For Loved Ones
For a long time, parents had to choose between time with family or work.
“However, with an increasing opportunity for remote work and hourly flexibility, parents are able to be actively present for their children in a way that they would otherwise not be able to if they were dealing with a commute and an on-site office.”
Improved Emotional Wellbeing
Remote workers are just plain happier without all the noise of “office politics, inefficient meetings, uninspiring surroundings, etc.”
Happy workers = better results.
Katharine confidently states:
“When employees are happy, they are more driven and efficient. An astonishing 91% of remote workers have stated that their productivity increased.
“What’s more, various studies have also suggested that allowing employees to work from home can have significant reductions in turnover rates, yielding even more financial incentive for companies to employ freelancers.”
Final Thoughts
Freelancing is becoming the norm in a technology and novelty driven workforce.
Here’s a quick recap of why freelancing is becoming an inevitable (but wonderful) part of our future:
- Companies Are Looking For Specialized Skills For One-Off Projects
- Employee Benefits Are Expensive For Employers
- Millennials Are “On Demand” Creatures
- Getting Work As A Freelancer Is Cheap And Simple
- There Is No Such Thing As Job Security
- Freelancing May be Less Impacted By AI
- Technology Favors The Gig Economy
- There Is Increased Legislative Action To Support Gig Workers
- Freedom And Flexibility Is Attractive
- No Limit On How Much You Can Make
- Going Online Reduces Costs For Everyone Involved
- Freelancing Shifts The Work-Life Balance
Whether you’ve barely dipped your toes in the land of freelancing or have been doing it for some time, Mike Shreeve and The No Pants Project team are always looking to help make your journey simple, easy, and sweet as pie.
The future is coming … and we got your back!
