Freelancing to Full-Time: How To Make The Shift

Working from home has become very popular in the last few years, especially in the freelancing world where jobs are becoming easier to find.

Freelancing is great for a wide variety of people who may not know exactly what they want to do or who are comfortable making some money on the side to place on Super Bowl betting odds.

But some may want to turn those freelancing gigs into a more permanent and full-time source of income.

Turning a freelance job into full-time work is possible, but it doesn’t come without its difficulties. A freelancer has to find the situation that is right for them in a field that they are passionate about to turn it into a full-time profession.

It will take time to develop and some trial and error, but it will be so rewarding when it finally comes to fruition.

Freelancing

Freelancing from home is much easier to do today than it has been in the past, but it has made freelancing a much more profitable form of income and has become popular in the business world for upstart companies and smaller companies who do not need large amounts of full-time employees.

And freelancing can be done in almost any field of work that requires a computer and internet access.

Platforms like UpWork, Toptal, Fiverr, Freelancer, and People Per Hour have become very popular for freelancers and businesses alike.

These platforms allow businesses to list job openings and work they have to try to find employees who will work remotely from home.

Freelancers can sift through these job postings looking for jobs they might be interested in and then apply for those jobs.

When freelancing, jobs may be a one-time job, last for a couple of weeks, or could be long-term. Each job will differ in length and type of work.

Some of these jobs are looking for more full-time employees and others have open-ended hour requirements. Pay close attention to these details when applying for freelancing jobs.

If you are looking to turn freelancing into a more full-time gig, there are several different ways to go. You could look for job postings that describe more long-term work that may turn into full-time employment.

Businesses often post that in the description if they are considering a full-time employee. Or, you might just want to string together several freelance jobs for different businesses to make a full-time wage.

Also Read: How to Start a Software Development Business?

Full-Time Freelancer

Many choose to full-time freelance, which means they are taking multiple smaller jobs at once that they work on instead of one full-time job. This allows for more flexibility and freedom to choose jobs.

Perhaps you don’t like to do one job in particular for an extended period of time and like to keep things fresh. This would be a great option to keep your workday from getting stagnant.

For example, if you are really good at working as customer service for companies, perhaps you pick up three freelance jobs that would coincide together well in shifts.

Company A hires you to respond to customer service inquiries from 7 am to 11 am, Company B hires you for a two-hour phone shift from 12 pm to 2 pm, and Company C hires you for a late afternoon shift to monitor their help desk chat from 2 pm to 6 pm. 

You have worked for three companies in shifts that do not overlap from the comfort of your home and you performed three different types of customer service.

If one of these jobs were to end, you could then find another freelance job to fill its place and income. 

Juggling three different companies and/or multiple jobs can be stressful and takes a very organized, self-motivated person to perform. But most freelancers are already self-motivated and find things like this come naturally to them. 

Going Full-Time

So maybe you have been a full-time freelancer for a while now and are enjoying the work, doing a bang-up job for the companies you work for.

Some businesses and companies will recognize the great job you are doing and will want to hire you full-time to become a full employee of their company. This is great news!

Now you have a steady stream of income with some job security in something that you are passionate about and with a company you have built rapport with.

Also, this gets you on to their payroll and off the freelancing platform’s fee, where they take a percentage of your earnings for using their platform to be employed.

This also changes things from a tax standpoint, as you will be shifted from a 1099 employee to an hourly or salary-taxed position within the company.

To get to this point, use freelancing as trial and error. If there is work that doesn’t light your fire or isn’t what you want, drop it and try something different.

It’s like a buffet for finding your taste of what you want in a from-home job. 

It’s also low risk for businesses as well because if a person isn’t right for the position, a freelance platform contract is less burdensome than letting go of an employee who is employed through the company.

Also Read: Dollars In Words: 9 Effective Tactics To Hone Your Writing Skills

Put In The Work

Being a full-time freelancer or going from freelancer to full-time employee takes hard work, time, and patience. You won’t be raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars overnight.

But if you are diligent and focused, you can make a great living using this method of work from home employment.