In our last blog, we broke down how to work from home in a traditional route. In this series, we will explore another route to remote work. This blog will explain how to learn new skills and contract out your skills.
What is an Independent Contractor?
You might have heard it before. Be your own boss. Set your own hours. Work for yourself. But what exactly does that mean? And how can someone achieve that type of flexible schedule? Learning new skills that you can contract out is an option to flexibility and control over your schedule. How is this possible? An independent contractor (or freelancer) is hired to perform specific tasks for an organization as a nonemployee. By being a nonemployee, you can set your hours and the type of work you will perform, prior to starting a contract.
The benefit to this alternative route is that you can work for more than one organization at a time, set your own hours, and have control over your work schedule.
What skills are in high demand that can be contracted out?
Skills in areas such as sales, graphic design, marketing, database management, HR, web development, and accounting are all in high demand. These skills are also in growing and thriving industries that have continued to stay stable despite the impact of the pandemic.
These skills can be contracted out to an organization through a freelance agreement or an independent contractor agreement
Why should I freelance my skills and how should I do it?
There are multiple benefits associated with contracting out your skills. You are in control of your schedule and can control the type of work you are doing. You are not tied to a company like a regular employee and have flexibility over how many contracts you take depending on your availability.
Where do I go to become a contractor?
After upskilling and when you are ready to be an independent contractor, you can contract out your services through numerous platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr that allow you to set your rates and hours. Additionally, you can filter job postings by contract and only apply for those roles. You can also advertise yourself on LinkedIn as a contractor and filter through jobs on LinkedIn that are contract only. Once you begin to acquire clients, you can showcase your work with a simple website or portfolio which will help market yourself to prospective clients.
Being an independent contractor is another option that can lead to future work from home opportunities as well as control over your schedule and who you are employed by.
Learn more about SkillUp and our training catalog here
