Additional income stream through freelancing

Unfortunately, passive sources of income like paper assets can’t immediately generate a big cash-inflow. You need to invest regularly for many years to build a significant amount of income from gains and dividends.Perhaps you now suddenly find yourself treading the path of freelancing since you’ve realized that the corporate world is not for you or perhaps just looking for an additional income stream.

The Philippines has a big pool of world-class talent. We all know this not just through famous singers who made it in the global scene but also through the hard work of our OFWs and the booming IT-BPM industries.

Most freelance jobs are part-time (short duration, seasonal or project based) which gives you more breathing space in your daily routine and calendar.Being a freelancer has its pros and cons and it’s best to have some idea of what you are getting yourself into and manage one’s expectations.

Freelancing is Hard Work
Most people only see the tip of the iceberg and fail to see the process. With freelancing, you are a one-man (or woman) company. You are the manager, the CEO, and you manage all the work. Freelance income is directly proportional to your skills and effort. If you work too hard, you may get sick and have to pay for related expenses yourself, unless you have set-up your own HMO and Insurance plans.

Work from Home (or anywhere)
Freelancing provides the opportunity and access to more work; avoid long commutes and getting stuck in traffic; freedom to choose who you work with, where you work and what hours you work; while potentially interacting with clients from around the world which enables you to be paid in various foreign currency; and lastly being able to balance or integrate work with your “other lives” such as pursuing your hobbies, spending more time with your family and the like. You only need to have a stable and fast internet.

This is also relative, as some may be fine with working with just a laptop and internet while others who specialize in technical related work may need to invest in their own home office.

Bigger potential Earnings
An experienced freelancer can be paid $11-$15 (USD) per hour for VA/Admin related work (could be fixed duration or project based) while for technical specialists (web design/developer, animation and the like), an average of $20-30 per hour.

Although there are freelancers who may not be paying taxes, almost all those I know actually are registered service providers and pay their taxes; they do this as most of them love to travel and an income tax return is very useful for securing visas to specific countries.

Get started!
Freelance jobs are often the best platform to jump into entrepreneurship. It’s pretty common for freelancers to quit their office jobs and focus on building their own business.

Realize that there is an abundance of opportunities out there, all you need to do is to look, decide and then just do it! Making a living as a freelancer is indeed possible. The start is always the first difficult hurdle,but also understand that there’s no such thing as overnight success.

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

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The writer is an RFP® - registered financial planner of RFP PH, Licensed Real Estate Broker and Director of CERTA, Inc., a family estate planning and investment advisory firm. To know more, please visit www.certa.ph
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Originally Published in Philstar - The Freeman Newspaper last March 28, 2017.