Self-employment | What are its areas and the most important tips for success in it

Self-employment is considered one of the best means that puts you directly on the right path to financial freedom and self-employment. Perhaps you are tired of your office work, are striving to earn extra income or maybe your side hobby has become extra work that you do after office hours.... Whatever reason you have, there is no doubt that self-employment is becoming more widespread and common day by day.

If you are reading our article today, you are most likely thinking about entering the world of freelancing, but you feel lost about which field is the most suitable for you to choose, or the first step you should take. But don't worry, in today's article we will learn about the most important areas of freelancing, and the best tips that put you on the right path to success in it.

Advantages of self-employment

Unlike in previous decades, when self-employment was an escape for many from the pressure of office work, today it has become an essential job and the first choice for millions. Due to the advantages it provides, we can summarize them as follows:

1. Flexibility that's what the whole concept of freelancing is all about! If you hate waking up early in the morning and hate working on several projects at the same time, freelancing is your best option. It allows you to set your own schedule in which you choose the projects you want and the working Times that you deem appropriate, which gives you the freedom and flexibility to do other things that you like. In fact, flexibility is the main advantage and the main reason that prompts many to turn to self-employment.

2. Fewer working hours when you choose the freelance route, you also choose the work pressure you want, and working hours are often less than the traditional working hours of up to 40 hours per week.

3. Freedom to choose a workplace you can work anywhere you want... in the office, cafe, co-working spaces or even on Mars! 73% of freelancers say that the reason they choose freelancing is the ability to work from anywhere!

4. Reducing expenses many complain that their office job is not financially rewarding, and that half of their salaries are spent on transportation, daily lunch expenses, or others. Well, in case you decide to enter the world of freelancing, you will save yourself a lot of secondary expenses, and you will find that you have become more able to save and enjoy your income. But, of course, you need to better manage your expenses and finances.

Areas of self-employment

At the beginning of the emergence of freelancing, its fields were limited to some writing or translation jobs, but today, with the development of technology and means of communication, it has become possible to do almost any job remotely. This has led to the expansion and growth of the field of self-employment. Below is a list of the most important of these areas divided into three main categories:

The first category: creative jobs

They include the following:

1. Blogging

The blogging world is very wide, as we find some who make an income for themselves by creating their own blog. Or by finding official sponsors and advertisers promoting their blogs. Others also teach for other blogging companies that pay them to work by the hour or per post.

2. Advertising writer

Another popular job that can be done remotely, is copywriting. In this job, you have to write texts for advertisements or advertising materials as directed by the company you are hiring. This may include any of the following:

·        Writing content for a website.

·        Write a product description for an e-commerce website.

·        Preparing short explanatory texts and paragraphs for publications of social media platforms.

3. Managing social media platforms

As a manager of social media platforms, you will be responsible for all social media channels of a particular company, and you will have to use your marketing skills in increasing the number of followers, delivering the company's message to as many users as possible. In addition to interacting with them, responding to their inquiries and performing a task very similar to customer service.

4. Graphic design

Companies often need different designs, but they may not be so many that they hire a full-time designer. If you have a background in design, and you like to work on designing diagrams, web pages or printed materials, you can create these designs from your home and work as a freelance graphic designer, but of course you need to have an academic degree in design, and master working on appropriate programs such as Photoshop

5. Digital painting

The field of digital drawing is less technical than graphic design, and you can work in it even if you do not possess a specialized academic degree. It allows you to work on fun projects such as children's book covers, magazines or wall pictures, among others.

6. Proofreading

If you are a grammar lover who always pays attention to typos, grammar and spelling errors, proofreading may be a suitable job that you can do from your home. You can provide proofreading services for books, texts, resumes and any other written material printed or published electronically.

7. Audio commentary

Have you ever wondered about those voices that you hear in the commercials of your favorite movies, commercials or YouTube channels All of them have been recorded by vocal performers, many of whom probably do this work as independents. So why don't you use your vocal material to do such a thing Of course, you must have the necessary voice-over skills from the safety of the audio outputs, the manner of delivery, the appropriate tone... etc.

8. Photography Photography

Perhaps you are an amateur photographer, have you ever thought about using this hobby as an additional source of income A lot of websites and companies need photographs to add to their blogs or pages on social media platforms, and your photos may be from them. You can build your own website and provide this service, as well as other services such as editing and editing photos, holding private photo sessions.

Second category: administrative and technical functions

It includes the following:

1-administrative assistant

Administrative assistant jobs are experiencing increasing popularity every day. You can be a remote administrative assistant for only one person, performing tasks such as:

·        Data entry.

·        Calendar and agenda management.

·        Reply to e-mails and calls.

·        Payment of bills.

You can also provide administrative assistance services on a larger scale for several people or for an entire company.

2. translation

In case you are fluent in several languages, the golden opportunity is in front of you, and the demand for you as a translator is very high! You can use these skills in the field of self-employment, where you can translate articles, books, movie scripts, TV shows, technical texts, legal documents, as well as many other materials...Just choose the right field of translation for you, and start your new job as a freelancer.

3. copying and transfer

Perhaps you have never heard of this function in Arabic, but the word "copyist" has most likely passed you by. A copyist is a person who listens to something said out loud and then types it into a specific document. This may be a speech, a seminar, a virtual conference, or a film, the text of which must be written before proceeding to the translation process. In short, the material being copied includes any form of information that has not yet been written. The copying job is considered one of the most profitable freelancing jobs, in which payment is made per hour. But she needs advanced listening and comprehension skills.

4-programming phone applications

If you have the skills to create and program mobile applications, then in this case you can do this job from your home. You will often find your clients from your previous work experience, but some internet sites will give you the opportunity to apply for a large number of job opportunities in the field of programming.

5. data entry

This function does not need a lot of creativity or skill, all you need is speed in printing, as you will be given a set of different information to turn it into a specific document in the form that the client wants. This may include filling data into tables, printing them as a Word file, or otherwise. It's a great way to gain additional experience that will benefit you when applying to various managerial jobs. And they may be very appropriate in the event that self-employment is an additional means of obtaining a side income, and not the primary source of income.

6. programming

You can write computer programs from anywhere in the world as long as you have a computer and a good internet connection. So why not do it while sitting on your porch sipping your cup of coffee and pampering your pet cat! The rapid development of technology and the high dependence on the internet in various areas of business means that there is a constant need to build new websites or maintain existing ones, so the opportunities in the field of programming are abundant both full-time and as a form of self-employment.

7-Law and rights

Yes, you can work as a freelancer even in the field of law and rights! A lot of companies today need legal services such as: reviewing employee contracts. Legal research and legal writing. Consultations on registration of trademarks and intellectual property rights. Information about patents. In addition to a lot of other services. You can work freelance in the legal field, and it is better here to look for opportunities to cooperate with startups that are often in the greatest need of legal advice than others.

8. customer service

This job may be less flexible than other freelancing jobs, since you will need to deal with clients by answering their calls and messages via mail or various chat applications at specific times. But nevertheless you are still able to do this task from your sofa or kitchen.

Category three: fitness and sports functions

This category includes the following:

1-personal trainer

There are many job opportunities in the field of fitness and sports that you can find at sports clubs near you. But, you can use this skill in freelancing as well. If you have your own exercise room at home, or some space to do exercises, you can work as a personal trainer, and help others achieve their Sports Goals from the comfort of your home.

2-yoga instructor

As with a personal trainer, you can also host yoga classes at your home if you have enough space to do so. And in case you can't, in this case, just record lessons in the form of videos and post them on your own YouTube channel or page on social media platforms.

3-nutritionist

If you're passionate about helping others stick to a healthy diet, you might want to consider working as a freelance nutritionist. But keep in mind that you need to have an educational background and some experience in this field. For example, you can hold face-to-face counseling sessions with your clients to help them change their eating habits, lose weight, treat some of the diseases they suffer from, or work to prevent them from certain diseases by changing their eating pattern and diet. It is noteworthy that you can hold these sessions through phone or video calls too, you don't have to go to meet your clients in person, which shortens time, effort and money!

4-Personal Trainer

He is also known as a life coach, he is a person who supports others and helps them to adhere to positive habits of various kinds, such as overcoming the problems of procrastination and procrastination, adhering to a healthy lifestyle, or improving the ability to set goals and work on their implementation...Etc. As with a nutritionist, a personal trainer can hold his sessions face to face, by phone calls or video calls.

Fourth category: teaching jobs

It includes the following functions:

1-private tutoring

Whatever your specialty, scientific or literary, you can take advantage of your diploma and experience in giving private lessons to both university and school students. Unlike before when private lessons were limited to the neighborhood or the city, now you can offer private lessons to students from other cities and even other countries. You can build your own site to provide these services, or register on one of the platforms specializing in providing private lessons, and then start giving these lessons by video calls. All you need is some self-confidence and the ability to communicate information in a simple pleasant way, as well as some skill in marketing yourself.

2-online courses

This function is very similar to tutoring, but it is not limited only to educational materials. Whatever skill you have, you can simply turn it into an online course, which people from all over the World Watch and pay you for. You may initially need to give free or cheap courses so that you can build your reputation and spread your name in the online world, so that you can then charge more for what you offer.

3-curriculum developer

If you have experience in the field of education, writing and developing curriculum content can be a great opportunity for self-employment. You can contribute your expertise to the development of various curricula, which may range from simple textbooks to complex university curricula. Of course, the higher the level of the curriculum, the more valuable the income you bring.

6 practical tips when starting freelancing

Freelancing may not be a suitable option for everyone, some still prefer an office work environment, regular work for specific hours every day. However, if you are one of those who want to be independent with their lives and get more flexibility in their jobs, then in this case you may need to quit your job and enter the world of freelancing.

Here are 6 practical steps that will help you at the beginning of the road:

1-Always keep the employment contract

Self-employment does not mean working without laws or legal documents. Always make sure that you and the client or entrepreneur have a clear contract, as the latter helps you to:

·        Determine the remuneration negotiated between you and the client.

·        Clarify the project criteria and scope.

·        Determine the deadlines for the delivery of the project.

·        Statement of the consequences of the cancellation, suspension or postponement of the legislator.

Not only that, contracts protect you from legal problems and unexpected disputes and guarantee you to get your full rights in case of any disputes.

2-be sure to divide the cost of the project in stages

It can be difficult to guarantee obtaining your rights while working independently even with a written contract. So always be sure to divide the cost of the project you are working on in stages. Before you start working with a specific client, for example, you can demand to get a down payment, then require a second payment when a certain percentage of the work is completed, and get the last payment after the project is delivered.

This way you will be guaranteed to receive your full fees, and even if any disagreement occurs, you will have received at least part of your fees, and in any case you can not complete the work until the amounts are paid in full to you.

3-set prices for your services intelligently

This advice is especially important for those who make self-employment their primary means of income. Remember that in this case you may need to pay certain taxes being self-employed. In addition to other basic obligations such as health insurance, personal expenses and saving for retirement.

Consider all these factors, calculate their total value and then determine the price of your service based on this. And do not set random prices that may not cover your expenses.

4-organize your time

It may seem easy to you, but most freelancers know that it's not as easy as it seems. So be sure to set a schedule for the tasks that you have to complete, and stick to it well, as this allows you to:

·        Delivering projects on time and not being late.

·        Give every customer the attention they deserve.

·        Creating a balanced life system and reconciling work and personal life.

5-use technology in your work

There are many tools, programs and applications that you can use in freelancing, whether to communicate with your clients, organize your tasks, or to help you focus and create a suitable working environment. Feel free to use them and take advantage of them to achieve the greatest possible productivity.

6-be an expert in your field to attract new customers

You may be wondering at first about how to attract new customers and expand your business. Well, at first you have to choose a specific field and become an expert in it.

Then try to specialize in one of the areas of self-employment, and then be sure to share your experience and these skills with everyone who you find will listen to you. You can also market yourself in other inexpensive ways such as:

·        Networking in person at various events and conferences.

·        Create your own blog.

·        Update your personal page on social media platforms periodically.

·        Participation in events and public speaking in them.

·        Post advertisements about the services you provide on the websites that provide this service, or on the relevant social media pages.

So this was a collection of the most important tips that put you on the right path in the field of self-employment. Do you have the qualifications and skills to take this step?