Freelance Culture in Pakistan

Freelancing, a term commonly defined as an individual who sells his services for an organization or a client but has no permanent affiliation with any of the two rather he/she is hired on project to project basis.

Today, world has become a global village and you can earn money while working from home as a free lancer if you have a PC and and internet connection – while working with any free lance website or organization. All you require is skill, which can content writing, data mining, web development, programming language and above all, you are self-motivating.

Regarding Freelance culture in Pakistan today, there is a clear dissent between those who call freelance culture on the rise and those who believe freelance culture is witnessing a decline.

Firstly those who believe that freelance culture is on the rise in Pakistan believe that since there is a financial crunch in the Western world their big companies are outsourcing the services to cheaper countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

While those who believe freelance culture is on the decline say that financial crunch has resulted in less clients and thus low rates for economic crisis bitten.

These days free lancing is not the opposite of unemployed seeking job rather it has become a career choice for individuals who are good at handling themselves and are disciplined in their work routine.

Following are the necessary points for a starting free lancer who has pre-requisites for being freelancer i.e. knowledge about the subject, self-discipline and self-management well:

• Present yourself well
• Research about your client
• Knowledge of terms and conditions of client
• Proper Contract Documentation
• Commitment to work

Present Yourself / Portfolio:

It is highly effective to maintain a strong portfolio of you that reflects your aptitude and your best works in the field you have working experience and going to work as a free lancer now. It doesn’t need to have your all works included but only the best works of you.

May be your clients are in far off country who might not have a chance to meet you or talk to you, so in this case your only reflection will be your work which they can examine. Your portfolio must convey your enthusiasm to you potential client.

The best type of portfolio can be your own Website that has your works and links to your contact and any other details.

Research about your client:

While initial contact with a prospective client may be through a website or through a phone call, it is very necessary to research properly about the client online or through other means.

While bigger freelance websites usually pay their clients on a proper routine basis there may be some other rules for not so big or wealthy clients. To avoid later complications it is better to do a good research before finalizing your contract.

Knowledge of terms and conditions of client

It is necessary to care fully read the terms and conditions of client to keep a smooth working under standing with your client. Some times it may get uneasy at the finalization of your project when you haven’t read the terms and conditions carefully and your client take a toll of you.

Proper contract Documentation:

Once you have done proper research about your client it is necessary to done proper documentation about your project and about your client. While some may prefer only word of mouth as trust worthy others may prefer a signature signed document with the client.

Documentation regarding project per hour rate and your work hours should be mentioned carefully to avoid any hick-ups. Rates, however low on working per hour are preferred for a free lancer as compared to rates based on your work.

Commitment to work:

Having reflected your best works you still need to show a strong commitment which can be through your own strong quote or anything that can reflect your enthusiasm and oozing confidence about your field of specialty. Moreover, it is better for a freelancer to work in a specific niche and try to polish his skills in that specific niche instead of doing every thing at the same time. Freelancer should be a master of his niche.

It is also necessary not to commit more work projects which you can’t complete within your deadline. Your clients have nothing to do with your other activities and any excuses for not finding time for your particular work would be useless and will only affect your credibility as a freelancer.

Here are some of the big Freelance websites where potential freelancers can find work :

• oDesk.com
• Freelancer.com
• vworker.com
• Elance.com
• 99designs.com
• Guru.com
• Scriptlance.com
• ifreelance.com