Freelance Entrepreneur

On hearing the word ‘freelance’ or ‘freelancer,’ we usually imagine writers who are independent without any affiliation to a particular publishing company or a business establishment. However, a freelancer can be in any area of work not only in writing or journalism. A freelancer is “self-employed person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any particular employer” (Sir Walter Scott1771–1832).

Today’s business environment may seem discouraging to many aspiring entrepreneurs as the businesses are curtailing their budgets and consumers are shying away from spending. However, one has to sow before he or she can hope to reap. Like any storm, ‘This too shall pass.’ Those who can lumber along during the storm will certainly rise again.

The key is to keep the entrepreneurship alive on a low budget. This can be achieved by becoming a freelance entrepreneur. I will recommend all the readers of this blog to visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124157147509390007.html and read the article on this subject by Sarah E. Needleman. There are companies who are looking for business services on project-by-project basis. Sarah recommends the following sites for finding freelance work: Odesk.com, Sologig.com, VirtualAssistant.com, Mr-SEO.com, Guru.com and Elance.com. I have personally visited those sites and have found them useful and user-friendly.

So, my advice to the aspiring entrepreneurs will be to keep their skills sharpened as freelance entrepreneurs. This will help them preserve the cash which they will need for expanding the business when the current recession is over. And remember this dialogue from Shakespeare’s Macbeth:

Macbeth: “If we should fail?”
Lady Macbeth: “But screw your courage to the sticking place, And we’ll not fail.”