Work as a freelancer

 Work as a freelancer

Read about what you should keep in mind when working as a freelancer, and get tips and tricks that come in handy!

Five things to keep in mind when working as a freelancer

Freelance work is one of the fastest-growing forms of work in the world right now. According to figures from the USA, 34 percent of the workforce are already freelancers or independent workers in one form or another. For young people, the figure rises to 38 percent and is rising rapidly.

Freelance work is growing along with the internet economy. New platforms on the internet make it increasingly easier to work from home as a freelancer for clients who can be anywhere in the world.

Why more and more people choose to work as freelancers vary. According to a survey conducted by AMEinfo, 35.3 percent answer that it provides a better balance between work and leisure, 29.4 percent say that it allows you to spend time on what you want, while 21.2 percent say higher salary is its main reason.

As more and more people work freelance, and more and more people hire freelancers, the challenges you face as a freelancer have become increasingly relevant for more people. We found five things to keep in mind if you want to start working as a freelancer.

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1. Make yourself available!

The first and most important problem you have to solve as a freelancer is how to make yourself available. In recent years, freelance platforms have emerged such as www.upwork.com and www.freelancer.com that try to make the matching of buyers and providers as good as possible. These platforms act as modern classified ads, where providers post jobs to be solved, and freelancers provide offers.

To be noticed, you need a well-filled profile that highlights what you can and good reviews. Make sure you highlight the skills that are in demand. Examples of work that are highly valued are IT and programming, design, and creative writing. Several of the platforms also have integrated tests that allow you to document your skills.

The development of the infrastructure for freelance work is still in the start-up phase. We can expect that better solutions will be launched over the coming years.

2. Praise yourself right

After you have created a profile and made yourself visible, the first dilemma quickly arises: what price should you take?

The first step in figuring out what pricing to put on you is to see what others at your skill level are putting on the platform. For some tasks, you are part of a global labor market, while for others you often have local advantages such as language that limits the competition.

Since the provider does not know how good you are in advance, you are welcome to pry yourself a little low in the beginning until you have received some good reviews. Ultimately, however, it is the basic market economy that applies: supply and demand. If you get a few inquiries, you price yourself too low, you get more than you need, you price yourself too high.

3. Build a "brand"

As a freelancer, you are a form of self-employed and will appear as professional as possible to your customers. It is often natural to set up a simple website where you make visible what you can and what you have done before. This is especially relevant if you perform design work.

• Buy domain names and create your websites. Several cheap online solutions cost only a few hundred bucks a year. With a publishing platform like WordPress, you do not need any special skills to set up a great website.
• Create a graphic profile. Branding often includes a logo, business card, and email signature. These things do not have to cost much, but give a very professional and tidy impression to your customers.
• Make a plan. What is your niche? Who are your customers and how are you going to reach them? What goals do you have for your freelance business? A small document that answers these questions will be a valuable resource for you to focus your work on and make sure you are clear to your customers. Tips! One who does "everything" often appears as one who can not do anything.

4. Write a contract

As a freelancer, you are an equal counterpart to the person who buys your services. Arbeidstilsynet believes that the concept of employee is usually limited to self-employed persons or others who undertake assignments on an independent basis. In other words, it is not as in consumer law or employment law that you have special protection compared to your contractual counterpart.

It requires a little more of you, and requires, among other things, that you sign a contract that clarifies everything you "take for granted" in a normal employment relationship. The relationship between a client and an independent contractor is usually characterized by the fact that it is the result of the work that is of interest to the client, not the ongoing execution of this.

 

If you use a freelance platform like Upwork, fortunately, this part of the work is done for you, in that you sign a standard contract when you take on an assignment. If you agree with freelance work outside such a platform, we recommend that you write a good and clear contract. It should state who the parties to the agreement are, the specification for the assignment, how any changes are handled, price and invoicing, usage and copyright, liability and disputes, and finally an invoicing. However, the vast majority of such a contract can be reused, and you will quickly find a contract tailored to your purpose with a quick Google search.

5. Have control of your tax

As a freelancer, you receive payment for individual assignments without being in an employment relationship. You have different clients. The most famous freelancers in the "ordinary" economy are journalists, copywriters, actors, photographers, and musicians. But what about taxes and such?

In Norway, there are three ways to work for someone: permanent employee, freelancer, or self-employed. Being a freelancer in the sense of the law means that you are a non-employed wage earner. You then have some rights as an employee, but not all. Defined in the National Insurance Act § 1-9 as "By freelancer is meant in this Act anyone who performs work or assignments outside the service for salary or other remuneration, but without being self-employed". As a freelancer, you are paid the same salary as an employee. Your client must deduct tax in advance and pay the employer's contribution to the state.

The fewest "freelancers" on the internet will, however, have such a close relationship with the actors they perform work for that it will be natural to become a freelancer within the meaning of the law. When you work on the internet, it is for most people most likely to receive income as a business income as a self-employed person. It is then entirely your responsibility to make sure that you register your income correctly. A self-employed person does not receive a salary, but invoices the client for the assignment, and is usually registered as a sole proprietorship.

It is not ideal to be self-employed, and you miss out on many social rights an employee has. In short, it can be said that the rules of working life in Norway have not "fully followed the lesson", and we can only hope and believe that there will be rules adapted to modern working life as soon as possible.

tips and tricks

• Include the deductions! If you are self-employed, you should not tax for expenses used for income generation. This means that you can, for example, enter expenses that are directly related to your freelance activity, such as your computer or camera, and deduct it from your taxable income. For everything that costs less than 15,000 kroner, you get a full business deduction immediately. Remember vouchers in the accounts that explain the transaction!

• Use an invoicing program! If you do not use a freelance platform that arranges it for you, make sure that you send invoices by the law. A free invoicing program like Conta invoice ensures that you get all the necessary information. http://conta-faktura.no/

• Take out insurance! As a self-employed person, you are not covered by all the parts of the National Insurance that we usually take for granted. This makes it extra relevant to take out private insurance such as accident insurance, pension, and health insurance

Good luck as a freelancer!