The Rise of Asian Pacific Freelancing: Hidden Goldmines

Freelancing has risen as a proper profession, churning out successful entrepreneurs and famous online influencers over the past few years. With the growing perception amongst the global workforce that corporate jobs bring in shackles on what we call having a life, the growth spurt in the number of freelancers has been staggering.

It is interesting to note that the surge has been the highest in the Asia-pacific region. This is remarkable as it is these people who constitute the world’s major elite workforce. People from various professions like accounting, finance, management, art, design and content are increasingly taking a leap of faith and jumping into freelancing.

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A very interesting infographic by Richard Darell shows the diverseness of freelance today.

1. We can clearly see that there is worldwide surge in freelance activity. What the impeding question is that who is freelancing? The global statistics are clear enough. More than half of the world’s freelancers are still North American.

But we believe and the following stats show that there is a hidden catch. Most of these north American freelancers are the pioneers and their successors who ventured into online freelancing in the early days. The work volumes today are outsourced by them to subsequent freelancers who are new and willing to work as subsidized rates. These people are the freelancers from other parts of the world. As we can see, of that the biggest chunk is provided by the Asia-pacific that is almost 15%.

2. This can be verified by the number of hours these freelancers work per week. Asia pacific freelancers work the most when there stats are accumulated together. This proves that increased freelance work volume is flowing towards them as they work an average 40 hours a week.
3. Another interesting fact is that 49.7% of these freelancers are full timers. This means that there is trademark shift in ideology. More and more people are attracted towards the idea of work from home which guarantees independence and higher quality of life. This is supported by the fact that people opt for freelancing even though almost 49 % agree that the reimbursement is less in the struggling phases. This means a greater focus on quality of work, satisfaction of life and mental peace.
4. Towards the end of the infographic we also see that there is a passive entrepreneurial streak in these freelancers as most of them are inclined towards running their own sole or small firms.

There are some impending questions for Indians though. What is the freelance penetration in India? Should I consider freelancing? Will it offer me the job security, the financial stability and the benefits which my job does?

We are generally pondering about the above questions always. We take pride in informing our readers that how dynamic and unrestricted the Indian employee has become today. While you sit back and ponder about security, the modern Indian employee is breaking the shackles of risk-averseness and delving into freelance to attain his dreamt quality of life.

Here is our info graphic to support the fact.

At Truelancer, we have a freelancer pool dominated by Indian Freelancers. What is remarkable that as you read this article one more Indian freelancer will sign-up in the next five minutes and this rate is increasing day by day. What does that tell you?

Well, some precise conclusions can definitely be made

1. The Modern Indian Employee is changing in every possible way

The rules of the game have changed. The Indian employee is not holding anything back from getting his dreams fulfilled. That is why he is freelancing. That is why more and more people are leaving jobs every day and plunging into entrepreneurship.  Check out this post to see what you are missing.

2. Career Ideologies are changing

Gone are the days where the Indian youth used to have only two options:  A private sector job or a Government Job. The recent globalisation and increased western influx have broadened the scope for newer professions. Therefore, every day we are seeing successful entrepreneurs and freelancers in diverse and niche areas like food and beverage, graphic design, blogging and social media, digital marketing, accounting and what not.

The Indian workforce is experiencing a latent shift in ideology. He is realising the cons of risk-free profits and is getting inclined towards the idea of high-risk high-returns. That is why he is diversifying his skill-sets. This is the reason you find mechanical engineering students in a JAVA class or a medical student in a cookery class. People are realising the abundance of opportunities with the advent of internet and ecommerce and are developing new ideas every day.

3. Focus on Quality and Independence of Life

If you are thinking that freelancing is about an easy life, you are getting it all wrong. Those who are getting it right are embracing what is has to offer and ignoring what it does not.

The modern Indian wants a balanced life. He wants to be rewarded for the quality he delivers and in doing that he wants his authority to come out as his skill.

The opportunities of name, fame and entrepreneurship which Freelancing so subtly offers are being picked up by intelligent Indians. These people are turning their free space into offices and working like hell to make an identity for them out there.

The time is coming when the Indian employee will come out of his shell and completely realise the full potential of being self-employed. This is clearly evident by the diffusion of boundaries between freelancing and self-employment.

4. Companies are realising the profitability of Freelancing Contracts

How can outsourcing work to freelancer benefit a company? Well let’s think deep:

• No extra infrastructures costs
• No extra HR costs
• Freelancers do not need security benefits like Health Insurance and Pension Funds
• Freelancers give high quality service based on the principle of high risk- high return. There is an impetus on the quality of work and therefore a certain guarantee that the work quality will not be substandard.
• Diversification of risks and increased networking: This ensures the company that any immediate requirement can also be taken care off if they have a global network of freelancers across various niches.

Who can deny the profitability of effective freelancing even to the corporate giants?

Thus, it is exceedingly clear that Indian Freelance race has started. Courtesy to the western influx and rise of the Asian Pacific Freelance Goldmine where the work volume and work hours dominate in contrast to the Americas where premium rates are the play, the market for Indian freelancer has never been more bullish. As a result, intelligent career builders are increasingly opting freelancing as a worthwhile option.

The question is…. ARE YOU?[/sociallocker]

Take the plunge. There is no harm in giving it a try. Join Us

 

Read our post about how the Indian Employee is changing in this economy

 

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