In my two years of working freelance, I have met several companies who strongly feel that freelancers are 2nd class vendors. Not only are we supposed to be cheap(er), but our services are perceived to be inferior to a full-fledged company - only those who cannot afford the services of these big companies engage us.

How wrong they were! This post is for my fellow aspiring freelancers who are just starting out.

Such misconceptions (which ultimately led to rejections) really got to me when I first started - it was hurtful to be labeled as second rate. But as I landed more contracts, got bigger clients and a stronger resume, the jobs started rolling in. I didn’t need to advertise nor hard-sell my services - the clients came looking for me.

Here’s why (feel free to add them to your sales pitch):

1. Our services are more personalized - you speak directly to the person doing the work and not a sales guy.

2. We are more flexible and don’t mind doing extras for free. You may sometimes get an email reply from us at 12am, while a company keeps strictly to their business hours.

3. We have very little overheads and not as profit-driven so our fees are definitely lower. This may not be apparent sometimes and the company may charge you less …BUT are they providing someone with the same skillset and experience? Do the maths.

4. With a freelancer, you know exactly who you’re dealing with. A company may look and sound big, but is the person actually handling your work qualified?

5. Because we know we have limited options and that our name is our brand, we will give 110% to maintain a good reputation. Once tarnished, the company can easily register a new business name but we can’t change ours.

I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far as a freelancer. Not only has business been so good that I have to temporarily stop accepting new jobs, but I’m now recognized as 1st class or at least equal to big companies/agencies. It’s also no longer uncommon to be invited to speak at industry-recognized seminars or to train public-listed companies.

To my aspiring colleagues, don’t let these challenges put you off. With persistence and determination, you can achieve anything!

And to the detractors, if you think you’re getting “premium” service by virtue of paying top dollars to big agencies - think again! Some of these jobs end up getting outsourced to us. ;)