Hello there,
Where do freelancers find clients? The Freelance Business Community was founded to find the answer to this question. However, five years later, I still don't have a solid answer (good job, duh!).
Of course, intuitively, we know how freelancers find potential assignments, but what do the statistics say?
I have studied 16 reports and have not found what I was looking for. So, together with 10 other freelance communities, we have initiated a
global study to collect data and answer this question from a community perspective.
Research conducted by freelance platforms (or freelance technology providers) shows that a significant number of freelancers find jobs via online marketplaces or freelance platforms. For instance, according to MBO and t
he State of Independence in America 2022, 41% of freelancers find jobs through platforms. Another platform recently reported a figure of 36%. On the other hand,
local research in Belgium indicates that only 14% of freelancers find work on platforms, with 89% finding it through their personal network. The difference is quite significant.
We would like to hear the voices of freelancers from independent communities and build a comprehensive study on how freelancers find jobs, their experiences, professional sectors, locations, ages, and levels of education. So, if you've read this far, please take 1.5 minutes to
answer the survey questions. They are really short.
An additional goal of this survey is to gather data on how freelancers educate themselves in necessary business skills and whether additional resources are needed for them to become successful (i.e., to have more work). Education is FBC's main mission, as
highlighted in Forbes recently.
According to the
IPSE report, over half of freelancers (51%) reported that they have
not undertaken any professional or work-related training in the last 12 months. Our assumption is that freelancers with relevant business skills find jobs and clients more easily. We would like to support this assumption with data.
Please help us collect as many answers as possible - we are aiming for 1000 responses - so that we can have a solid basis for analysis.Click here to participate and share what works for you.*You can grab a marketing copy
here, if you'd like to reshare it on your social media*
I am grateful for all the partners joining us in this effort:
Leapers Co.,
Freelancing.eu,
Na volné noze,
FreelancerBlog,
The Indie List,
Doerscircle.com,
Freelancing Females,
Fabian Tröltzsch and his community,
Freelancers Europe,
Hoxby.
The results of this survey and report will be presented during the
Freelance Business Month. BTW, get your ticket now at 50%. The price will increase once we announce the programme.
A few other things for you to read or watch:
--------
Let your freelance business be awesome.
As always, hit
reply and let me know what you think or suggest topics for the next newsletter.
Regards,
Elina
