Bringing Balance Back
Freelancing isn’t slowing down any time soon. In fact, it’s just getting started.
As more people turn to the flexibility and freedom that comes with self-employment, the freelance industry is facing a state of transition. Once dominated by digital marketplaces, this power of ownership is shifting back to the freelancers themselves.
The Two Worlds of Freelancing
Freelancers typically operate between two choices: work locally, securing clients on their own, and work online, through marketplaces like Upwork and Freelancer.
Working locally allows for freedom, and freelancers can control how they engage with their clients. However, freelancers may face limited opportunities for growth. Successful freelancers need to proactively manage their network in order to keep current clients happy, sell themselves, and attract new opportunities.
Knowing you have to start looking for the next project like:
For freelancers who struggle with self-marketing (due to a niche skill set or general discomfort with selling/preference for doing), online marketplaces have gained popularity by providing freelancers access to clients all over the world. Freelancers can join and begin browsing potential jobs right away.
The Reality of Online Marketplaces
As these platforms matured, their policies absorbed freelancer freedom and prioritized delivering client value with commoditized talent. Today, freelancers on these platforms face expensive fees, international competition for hugely under-valued jobs, and strict rules depicting exactly how they are supposed to work with a client. Freelancers must decide if convenience is worth the loss of control and freedom.
The policies these marketplaces believed would protect their business are backfiring. Today, experienced and specialized freelance veterans have been driven away and the growing numbers of new freelancers continue to find it extremely difficult to use these platforms to get established.
Local Networks Aren’t The Only Solution
Platforms like Covailnt bring local engagements online. Members can bring work (like a project they may not have time for or a client need that is outside their skillset) to other trusted freelancers in their network. For those looking for work, members can unobtrusively advertise their availability right from their profile photo. Covailnt doesn’t restrict how two parties should work together, and is focused on preserving the freedom that brought so many people to freelancing in the first place.
The Tide is Turning
Covailnt is a web app for freelancers who need to work with people they trust. Covailnt makes it painless for freelancers to connect and collaborate. Users can see other’s skills and style at a glance, instantly know who’s booked up, and work with those who work the way they do.
Want to start connecting and collaborating with people you trust? Sign up to be a part of the Covailnt beta today! While you wait for your invite, you can join the freelancer conversation happening right now on Slack and add yourself to our growing Freelancer Directory.
