How COVID-19 Made Freelancing the Future of Work from Home

Freelancing used to be perceived as a temporary source of supplemental income with a place in the gig economy as opposed to a main source of income. In fact, many people still see it this way. However, with the economic strain that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on several business sectors, many businesses have been forced to lay people off in an attempt to safeguard themselves against bankruptcy.

Few people know that the freelance market has been on the rise in the past few years. In fact, it’s quickly becoming a much more potent contributor to the U.S. economy. Even with the impact of the pandemic, the growth of the freelance market shows no signs of slowing down.

What Makes Freelancing Optimal During the Pandemic?

It’s safe to say that the majority of freelancers experienced little to no impact from the pandemic work-wise. In fact, many freelancers are earning more now, as many tasks need to be accomplished despite a large number of layoffs. 

Hiring a freelancer holds many benefits, one of which is that companies are not obliged to pay employee benefits to freelancers. Not only that, but businesses are able to hire skilled professionals on project-based terms, which means that they’re able to pay to have work done on an as-needed basis.  It doesn’t have to be a long term investment.

However, for many freelancers, it’s not just a matter of working from home or having accessibility to the internet, it’s also about knowing where their next payment and check is coming from. This is why it’s more important than ever before for freelancers to establish themselves within their industry, while also relying on their home as their place of business.

This will help all freelancers not just through the current troubling times we are in, but will also prepare them for the better days ahead.

Freelancers Are Inherently Adaptable

Freelancers are flexible workers, and often have their own equipment and their own training. They aren’t tied down to a single location as you would normally be with an office job, and they aren’t dependent on office equipment to perform their tasks. Freelancers can get their work done almost anywhere, whether it’s at home, their favorite coffee shop, or at coworking spaces such as Novel Coworking.

In comparison to other co-working solutions like WeWork and Regus, you will see that Novel has a more friendly working environment that can cater to the needs of both individual freelancers looking to work on their own, or even for businesses and brands of all sizes. These same opportunities and working placements can also be useful for content creators and blog writing teams as well.

While the idea of leasing out space for your side hustle or full-time business might not seem like a huge expense, it really all does come down to the operating costs of your business and making sure that you are making more than you are spending.

To help with this process, we can take a look at the short video below provided by Investopedia, on the process of understanding operating margins within a business. Can you imagine no longer having to pay for office space, employee equipment, and the use of utilities? Freelancing cuts operating expenses while also increasing profit.

Candidate Availability and Diversity

A client-freelancer match works both ways. Both parties have an ideal person or business to work with. With local hires, it’s difficult to be able to find such a match, especially since companies can work only with candidates that are locally available. This is not the case when dealing with freelancers.

Due to the internet, businesses now have a much more diverse applicant pool to choose from. The pool of freelancers includes people from all industries, with varying skill levels, experience, and education. Ironically enough, despite the massive increase in diversity, it’s also much easier to find a professional that suits your needs. It’s just a matter of using the right search parameters, and the platform will filter out search results for you.

Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, freelancing has quickly become the future of the work industry, and we hope that this encourages more people to give it a try. Not only is it one of the safest ways to earn a living during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s also a good way to future-proof your earning capacity.