Is it getting better for Freelancers?

[MichaelRose]

I thought it'd be interesting to see what people think about the economy and whether things are improving, getting worse or staying about the same.

Is there more work coming in?

Less competition out there?

Are things improving?

[Cameron]

If more people are going freelance than ever before then there probably is more competition out there but I guess if companies are using freelancers instead of permies then there is more work too!

Would be good to see stats, but also some comments here from the old-timers -- only been freelance myself since May and it's all been good so far

[Daisyhall]

Originally Posted by MichaelRose

I thought it'd be interesting to see what people think about the economy and whether things are improving, getting worse or staying about the same.

Is there more work coming in?

Less competition out there?

Are things improving?

In my opinion, I think there's more work and opportunities for freelancers.

Actually due to the recession, a lot of employers are looking for contractors and freelancers rather than permies.

Competition-wise, I'd say that it's possibly more - since a lot of people are starting to see the value of freelancing and giving up their permanent jobs to join our industry. However, there are a lot of opportunities out there, so I don't really feel like I'm losing out to other freelancers

[Taskcity]

Yeah I think things are being improved.
And there is more and more online resource for freelancer,such as Outsourcing and offshoring resource - Freelancer market (design and more) - Affordable outsourcing platform
Good luck!

[MichaelRose]

Seeing as this is a UK forum I'd like to suggest as an

http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/jobs


I don't think Taskcity will be of use to UK freelancers.

[Taskcity]

Why ？？Just give some reasons！！！

Originally Posted by MichaelRose

Seeing as this is a UK forum I'd like to suggest as an

http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/jobs


I don't think Taskcity will be of use to UK freelancers.

[MichaelRose]

Well... I went and had a look and the sign up process shows you can only get paid in USD and RMB. I think this will cause a lot of issues, accounting and otherwise, for UK freelancers and, seeing as we have our own job service I thought I'd point it out.

Do you work for Task City? Can you confirm that it is available to UK freelancers? It'd be good to know.

[Red-Mrs]

Originally Posted by taskcity

why ？？just give some reasons！！！

fight! Fight! Fight!!!

[freelance4money]

I've noticed a lot of competitors, i.e small design agencies, going out of business. Many of them went from being freelancers to becoming a small company with the designer suddenly becoming a business owner and salesman and managing new staff.

This is ok if you are built that way, but it seems that unless you are business minded you cannot survive in a climate like the one we are going through.

[Howzat]

Originally Posted by freelance4money

I've noticed a lot of competitors, i.e small design agencies, going out of business. Many of them went from being freelancers to becoming a small company with the designer suddenly becoming a business owner and salesman and managing new staff.

This is ok if you are built that way, but it seems that unless you are business minded you cannot survive in a climate like the one we are going through.

Interesting point...and to a large extent I agree. It takes a certain kind of person to create a 'business' in the traditional sense, and for most freelancers / contractors (me included) this is way beyond what they want out of life.

The difficulty comes when you start to receive more and more offers of work, much more than you can hope with on your own. You then have to make a decision as to whether you outsource to someone else or turn the work down.

Three years ago I was turning work down, today i'm wishing some of those orders would re-present themselves!

H