Free sites vs. free membership sites

When starting out as a freelancer, you will most probably do not have a lot of money on you. This means that when you are looking for that first job, you will be pushed to look for sites that offer you free memberships. Most of the sites that offer free memberships will often take a percentage of the total amount of money that you make while working through them. Although this may seem unfair to some people, it is actually a good way to work. This is because you get to work and then pay for the job later. This works very well with people who do not have a lot of money to work with at the start. It is also a very good model for the reason that if you do not work, then you are charged nothing. A good way to think of this is like when you go for a holiday for two or more months and you are not in a position to work. If you were on a paid site, that would mean that you pay for the two months even if you did not work.
Moving on to the paid membership sites. Most of these sites are very good to work for. This is because they often offer you a better pay then the free membership sites. Why then would someone go for the free ones if the paid ones offer a lot of money?
This can happen for several reasons:
• The first one is that the entrance conditions for these sites are very stringent. In most of the sites that I have tried to work and register for, the entry is often an interview where you have to write an article in a very short time span. This is often fifteen minutes. Given that you are coming up with a 150-word (usually) article and writing it in 15 minutes, you do not have a lot of space to work out the article. This means that you do not put your best into the writing and thus you most probably get rejected.
• The second one is obviously the amount of money that they charge for you to become a member. Some of the sites can charge as high as $19 per month for a membership. If you are just starting out and you do not have a lot of clients and work, you can begin to see why this would be a big problem for you.
• In most of the cases, there are a lot more clients in the free membership sites than in the paid sited. This is for the same reasons that a freelancer would choose a free site. A client does not want to pay for membership without the guarantee that they will get the best of the best. With that said, they would rather go for the free membership sites knowing that they will lose nothing if the articles or job is not of the quality that they need.
All in all, the choice for a free or a paid site rests on you. You have to look for the one that works better for you and go with it. Most of the freelancers often start with the free sites and then go on to register with the paid sites once they get the gist of the online workplace.

 

what makes for a good workspace?

You may have heard and understood that you need to define the space that you will be working in in order for you to give the jobs that you will be taking all the concentration that they need. Once this is done, you will find that you will constantly be providing quality work and thus you will have happy clients who may come back for more.

In order to have the perfect workspace, you need to have a space that fulfills most if not all of the below criteria:

1. It must be spacious and comfortable- this means that the place that you choose must have enough space for you and whatever furniture you may want to put in there. You also need to ensure that once you get the furniture or the workstation, it will be comfortable enough to work in.
2. It should be away from distraction and noise- this is very important as it will give you the chance to work in peace and give your jobs the concentration that they deserve. It also ensures that you will have some alone time to plan for and timetable your jobs in silence and with all the concentration that is needed.
3. You need to have comfortable furniture in there-you will find that you will have to sit for long periods of time while you work. Thus it is a good idea to get furniture that will be comfortable for you and that will not let you tire no mater how long you sit. You also have to have furniture that will let you rest and stretch from time to time i.e. the space afforded by the furniture should not be too restrictive.
4. The space should have adequate air flow- we need oxygen to think. Thus you need to have proper circulation of air as it gets too uncomfortable to work in stuffy spaces. The good air flow will also ensure that it will not get too hot in the afternoons. Do not forget to have the option of shutting the airflow for the cold nights that you may need to work.
5. Have the space customized to fit your own needs-this is actually very important because if the space is made to your specifications, then you will; fit in more easily and thus will be able to work more comfortably. Also ensure that all the things that you need are there. If you need a tea pot, then have it. If you g\feel a microwave should be in there, then have it. Do not forget to have air conditioning if you feel that you need it.
6. Lastly, have all the amenities that you need- the most important thing to have is power. This is must because you will be running computers and phones in there. Thus get a place that has reliable power supply. If you can, have the internet installed in the workspace because you will find that you will be using it a lot.

You have to balance usability and workability. This means that you need to have a space that you will be comfortable in and at the same time that you can work comfortable in. please try to get the space that you are sure will work for you. remember that you do not have to rent the space as you can curve a small space In your house for this. Also keep in mind that what works for me might not work for you and thus you need to have the space made to your specifications and in the way that you will find it easiest to us and to work in there.

 

A workspace is a must

One of the biggest and most common mistake that most of the freelancers make is to jump right into the thick of things and start searching for and filling job applications. while filling the applications is not a bad thing, there are a few things that have to be in order before the freelancer gets to working.

even before you apply for that job and even before you decide which website you would like to work at/in, you have to define the space that you will be working at. this means that you have to get a room or a space in the house that you are living in and designate it your freelance workspace.this is actually one of the most important things that you can do to propel your success.

but why have a workspace?

this is a question that you may be asking by now and the answers is simple. first of all, if you are serious about working and earning by being a freelancer, then you have to give your contracts the seriousness that they deserve,this mans that you have to first of all be in the right mind frame to work. this will be aided largely by the space that you have curved put that you will be working in. if the space is small and untidy, i can bet you that you will not be in the best frame of mind top perform your best and thus you will not succeed.

the other thing that you have to keep in mind is that there will be jobs that will demand that you concentrate. if you have a space away from any disturbances then you will be able to do so. the space will also allow you  to get jobs done with as little disruption as possible. this is something that you would like if you are working on high profile jobs.

by now you may be asking how you can choose the space and what you need at the workspace. watch out for the next post.