↪ World Economy suffers when a few ideas gain too much traction. And as each country faces the unemployment dynamics, the freelancers grow. So, these rebranded Self-Employees increase each year. Thus, the world looks at the gig economy for enhancing the productivity.
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But every idea has multiple bittersweet sides. The culture of the 'freelancers' isn't any different.
Race to the bottom
Competitive environment helps you grow. Both as a professional, and as a human being. The line between Healthy Competition and the Cut-throat Rat Race, is blur. It's thin and almost invisible, like the light grey fonts on 'modern' websites. Even you want to read it, you can't succeed in this action.
You know how the entire world is pursuing a Freelance or Self-employment route.
As such, more people are available to work on a single project. And the Low Pricing Wars don't help either party. Still, the clients are careful about what to pay. So, many freelancers offer their services at the Lowest Possible Price.
The Insecure Humans are everywhere
In an ideal world, you and your client (or your freelancer) should Video Call. After all, 'Face to Face' communication is a more assuring way of building a bond of trust. But, this world is never an ideal one. So, most of the times, the communication involves Emails and Voice Recordings.
Yes, I prefer Email. But the possibility of encountering a fake person, can go down if you study the other party.
For an instance, if you are in the role of a Client, you can check the freelancers sample for plagiarism. And a freelancer can visit the Client's profile, to verify the ratings. See, this is an age of paid reviews. Yet, a little critical study of Reviews can help you detect the genuine reviews.
Communication Breakdowns due to Misunderstandings
From the situation of the unverified payments, to the case of poor quality service; your conversations matters. If your client or your gig worker is responding too late, request them to answer sooner. Is other party has unrealistic demands for a quoted budget? Ask them about it.
No need to yell. No need to hurt each other. Speak with an intention of helping them.
Sometimes the clients don't know the market rates for a project. Occasionally, a freelancer might over-promise and under-deliver. So, speak. And avoid any triggers for a silent standstill. If freelancers and clients waste their resources for fighting each other, only the project suffers.
Delayed Payments and Incorrect Invoices
Like Resume Writing, drafting Invoices and Bills of Supply should be part of School Curricula. Even some well-educated people struggle in this step. Too much detailing and unclear descriptions, are bad for all the stakeholders.
A client needs to clarify the schedule of Settlements. And before judging a client, a freelancer should try to understand why the client is delaying the transactions.
A freelancer and a client work on a project as a Team.
Thus, supporting and caring for each other, is necessary for a successful project.
Many Issues plague Gig Economy, but...
I won't try to act positive. Fake Positivity? Not interested. Still, freelancing has the potential to free this twisted world, from the following shackles.
1. Over-documentation.
2. Centralisation of Power and Influence.
3. Office Politics.
4. Slower Completion Rate.
5. Lack of Curiosity.
6. Obsolete Methods.
The list is not over yet. So, there is no clear-cut answer about the Future of Freelancing. It relies on the internet. Hence, the phrase 'Cyber-Security' invites an entire anthology of different perspectives.
You can do only one thing: moving forward and observe how Freelancing evolves.
1. via PayPal.me
Freelancing Email:
ak@akp51v.com
akp51v@gmail.com [Preferred]
