Free Agent

Over the last decade the free market system in which traditional businesses hire independent contractors, free agents, freelancers, and short-term workers to perform specialized tasks has transformed the way we work and do business in America. It’s known as the gig economy. SMART BENEFITS has learned that access to remote work has changed the definition of work and workplace dramatically. More and more people are working from home or off-site, and more and more people are working as consultants or independent contractors. A recent study shows that 53 million Americans; a whopping 34 percent of the workforce are now free agents as their main or supplemental income. This profession contributes $715 billion each year to the economy through their freelance work.

If this seems like a lot, the gig economy is just expected to grow. 40 percent of the U.S. workforce is expected to be independent working professionals. The reason for the raped growth in independent contracting work is due to the Great Recession. Many employers began slashing costs by cutting back on benefits with long and intensively loaded working hours; unrealistic; exorbitant workloads; unreasonable expectations and illogical due dates; reduced breaks: days off and holidays; poorly organized workflows; ineffective workplace; frequent and unwanted overtime (whether paid or unpaid); rapid expansion of job responsibilities and workloads which are not suitable to impaired medical conditions. Now free agency begins to look pretty good!

What also makes becoming a free agent more attractive is being paid what you're worth. Advances in technology continue to facilitate flexible and remote work. And there’s been a steady increase of platforms that match free agent talent with business owners, manages and other decision-makers.

According to SMART BENEFITS research: If the free agent profession continues to grow at its current rate, the majority of U.S. workers will be freelancing by 2027, according to projections in the Freelancing in America Survey, released recently by the Freelancers Union. The survey found that 50.9% of the U.S. population will be a free agent in 10 years if a current up tick in freelancing continues at its current pace.

The number of U.S. free agent - independent contractors hit 57.3 million this year, from 53 million in 2014. This is an 8.1 percent increase, according to the survey. That means 36% of the U.S. workforce has worked independently this year. Meanwhile, the U.S. workforce grew from 156 million to 160 million in the same timeframe, reflecting just 2.6% growth.

The continued growth of the free agent workforce is three times faster than the traditional workforce. This is an awesome sign of just how much free agency could grow, 47% of working millennials now say they have worked as a free agent in some capacity, the survey found.

Free agency today is not just a NFL phenomenon. The rise of free agents has largely been a win-win for the free agent as well as the business owner. Employers experience financial savings with independent free agent contractors, while lower their risks. Employed workers use the free agency approach to tide them over between jobs; to add to income, and some are in it for the flexibility. So this working option is attractive to both the independent freelancer and the dependent full-time or part-time employee. It’s hard to underestimate the power of perks like the ability to work around family schedules, vacations, and of course, not having to dress up to work in your home office. Free Agency has SMART BENEFITS!

Working from home is an ideal solution for balancing work and family while supporting yourself and your family. It allows you to carve out a very comfortable lifestyle. It is entirely feasible if you're willing to do the work which will be described in greater detail upon your acceptance in the program.

With the hectic pace of life, it can be hard to manage family and work commitments. Would you want easier and flexible working hours to create more leisure time? When you’re a free agent, you can tailor your working time in a way that fits your schedule, whether it’s morning, afternoon or evening. Convenient is the name of the game. In fact, you can work around your current job or work some other jobs too. Do you want to manage all of your obligations your way?

If you work smart and have the knowledge and skills, you will very quickly advance both professionally and financially. Free agency offers great opportunities, a variety of money-making activities. You'll find that a large number of business owners need a person like you.

So you’ve read this so far because you want to become a SMART BENEFITS free agent. You’ve given thought to what specialty you want to be an expert; you’ve got a couple of contacts and you’ve already bought your sweatpants that will look great with your slippers.

Now you’re ready to bail out of your current job and get cracking on your first assignment... right?
 

Wrong! You must strive to be a full time learner. Nothing good is ever easy.

Unlike your 9-5 gig, there is nothing effortless about the free agent profession, nothing stable about it until YOU have made it that way. If it were easy, everyone would be become an independent free agent, right?

Here are some simple steps to becoming a successful free agent:

• Contact everyone you know

• Develop on your personal brand

• Have a business plan of action

Employing these steps—and with your determination—there have been people that have abandoned their desk jobs and start working comfortably for themselves in 45 days or less!

If they can do it, so can you. Your first few days, weeks and months are probably going to be challenging, and likely to take everything you’ve got but, you can do it. We use systems that are available to you. 

So what did the successful people do when they first became a free agent? 

Let’s be clear here, your path to this flexible and lucrative profession is abnormal. If you're still in school and “normal jobs” aren’t your thing, use your time in between studying and waitressing at your server job to position yourself to become an independent professional… an independent contractor.

Once you read how to make the transition, you’ll realize that if you have any experience in your field at all, you’ve got it easier than most. Always remember that becoming a successful free agent doesn’t begin the day you quit your job, but the day you decide it’s the lifestyle you want.

In between deciding to become a free agent and becoming a free agent, you need to prepare to be a free agent.

So what do you do first?

Contact everyone you've ever known. Literally. Everyone. 

The very first thing to do when deciding to make the switch is to get in touch with every single person I have ever known and tell them your decision. Tell them the field you’re are going to be working in and as it becomes clear, the date and the amount of days that you plan to retire from your current job will become crystal clear only if you plan to leave... 'cause you may not. You may want to be a part-time free agent and make...

Also tell everybody that you will be more than happy to take on projects right away.

Take on projects right away? You’re still studying, and working a job, why would you say you could take on projects? Aren’t you pretty busy already; studying/working 14+ hours a day and organizing yourself to become a free agent to take on projects whenever you have free time?

Well, the reason to tell friends and friends of friends; colleagues; ex-colleagues and ex-employers and ex-bosses that you are willing to take on projects right now is for three reasons: 

• Experience

• Contacts

• Referrals

• References 

And the earlier you do this via email, on the phone or text messages or in-person the better. Complete this task at least 30 days before you want to go into the free agency business, or do it even six months before. But the point is, don’t leave people hanging.

Not only do you want to make your announcement actionable, you’ll want to establish a great foundation the day you start because clients take time to develop. Don’t put yourself in a position to do the work in a month or less, after you make your discussion known. Again, you'll need time to develop and grow!

The more experience, contacts, referrals and references you have when you're a free agent, the easier making that final break from your job will be.

And when people ask you to do a job for them that they can’t pay... again consider your:

• Experience

• Contacts

• Referrals

• References 

If you get just one of these leads out of this strategy don't turn down the offers; money or no money. If in doubt, remember the brilliant words of the freelance expert Jon Norris: 

Start reaching out now to people to expand your network.

If you have accomplishments to show for your efforts today, your acquisition of potential clients will go much further, a reason why this step should be repeated annually even once you are a successful free agent. Keep yourself fresh in people’s minds and be their go-to-person when they need a professional independent contractor in your field.

Develop your personal brand

A Personal brand is much more than just professional jargon. It’s your valuable asset because your personal brand is also much more than just how you are perceived in your field of work. A strong personal brand can have a tremendous impact on your success. However, building your personal brand is no different from building the brand of your company but, it takes time, effort, and dedication. Dismissing this step of personal branding is a serious mistake, and one your competitors are just waiting for you to make.

What a lot of SMART BENEFITS?

A strong personal brand shouts numerous benefits besides being thought of well in your industry. Establishing and maintaining a strong, recognizable personal brand can help you win the kind of business you want from clients you prefer; it can help open doors to previously inaccessible sales opportunities and offers higher levels of professional recognition and prestige... to name just a few awesome benefits.

Simply put, the smarter you work on your personal brand, the more benefits you can expect to experience. As with anything in business, you only get out what you put in. Starting out you’re going to be a small fish in a big pond... the following things will build and strengthen your personal brand. One of your goals should be is create a household name in your industry.

To stand out in today’s media environment you'll need to do more then the average free agent... a lot more. Is your social media presence outstanding, or do you come across as just another wannabe? Are you always looking out for number one, or do you take the time to build relationships to help others?

Have a business plan of action

A plan of action is a plan that contains enough detail to achieve an objective or goal. This typically includes an outline of goals, objectives, measurements, action steps and responsibilities for each step. You may want to include dates and budgets. Even without a clear idea of a product or service, you can still write a plan of action for your free agency business. It may sound bizarre, but a plan needs to be made, whether you have a specific service or a product in mind; so do it now! It may be quite generic to start, but that’s okay. Your plan will gain specifics and definition later.

The following are illustrative examples of action plans:

• Generate a set of goals

If you’ve ever worked for a company, large or small, you’ve probably seen that goal-setting is something they take very seriously. Many companies devote large amounts of time to setting goals and objectives for the entire year... not just for the company overall, but for each division within it, and for each employee within each division and then measuring progress towards those goals at the end of the year. Yet, most free agents don’t tend to devote nearly as much energy to setting goals and objectives. Most claim to think of what they do as a business, but often don't have any plan of action other than to get more clients.

• Define specific tasks and set priorities and deadlines

This is a time-honored method that’s used by successful free agents to get organized. Your task here is to simply write down your activities or things to do on a blank sheet of paper, then prioritize them starting with the most urgent. Set time-frames within each activity which you must complete on your list. Through self discipline, push yourself to stick to the plan. The goal of course is to improve your level of productivity.

• Research professional tools offered to you and use them in order to excel as a SMART BENEFITS free agent

Learn how to research desirable potential clients and available tools. Do your do diligence. Learn how to use available tools, such as software, social media sites, marketing mobile apps, etc. and how to apply them to give you the competitive advantage that they can provide.  What is remarkable is that this action is that it causes free agents to exceed even their loftiest goals before projects were ever completed!

• Set Your Working Hours

Set yourself a daily working plan. Set your start time, your coffee break time, your lunch time, and your quitting time and stick to it. Getting into the mindset of being at work and not at home is crucial and the key to your own success. Avoid making a social interact if possible until your working hours are over. It’s crucial for your love-ones, kids or housemates respect your working hours.

• Know Your Expertise

Once you have determined your expertise or what you want to specialize in… master it for all it's worth. Carry out some research and find out who your target market is and concentrate your efforts on them. Never stop learning, always keep up to date your knowledge to impress your potential client.

• Sell Yourself

As a free agent, you need to embrace self-promotion. But that doesn’t have to mean shouting in the streets and handing out flyers! You just need to be ready to promote your services and expertise. At the most basic level, this means having a landing webpage, social webpage resume and so on.

• Listen and Understand What Your Client Want

Apparently, clients want free agents to complete a task that might entail writing a blog post; drafting a press release, customizing mobile apps or composing a social media calendar. In reality, clients want something deeper and less tangible. They want to make their lives easier. They want to solve problems, and not create more issues. Make sure that you never do a job half way! Take pride in your work so you won't give other free agents a bad name.

• Have your paperwork in order

When you start prospecting requests from potential clients, you want to be able to respond quickly. You'll need business cards, your resume, a professional looking letterhead, and possibly a logo (which you can hire a graphic designer to develop it which is pretty easy to design. You should also prepare a standard statement of work, invoice, and contract. Many clients will have their own contract template, but you should have one just in case. SMART BENEFITS uses a special billable form like lawyers use.

• Learn to reject offers

Don’t overstretch what you are capable of doing and fall into the trap of saying yes to every new prospective client. If what they are asking you to do falls outside your particular area of expertise or interest, reject the task. But instead of overwhelming yourself, refer other colleagues in your line of work and also let them know when you have room on your schedule for new work in your field. Many times, fellow busy free agents have to also pass on work due to timing or experience and often want to give a referral to another free agent like you. Free agents rely more on networking and referrals, so be realistic and not chase every project.

• Be Prepared To Be Judged

If a client is not satisfied with your work, don’t argue too much with them but try to fulfill their need. Always seek help from other freelancers if needed.

In conclusion

Once you start to form some mastery around your free agent career, you’ll be thinking of ways to solve new challenges such as increasing your free agency rate or finding bigger and better projects to work on. Take the time to get your feet wet to get the knack of independent contracting!

In the free agent profession, you’re competing with lots of other folks who are just as talented as you. So it’s crucial that you set yourself apart. Make your client’s life easier, and you’ll be the one free agent everyone wants to hire.

When choosing a free agent business, it's smart to look at your skill set... your preferences and decide to, at least, try this form of self-employment.

SMART BENEFITS is seeking free agents to provide solutions to thousands of small businesses. What's Your Expertise? Here's Your Chance to Do What Your Career Passion is. Browse the Categories Listed and Submit It on the NEXT Page. If Your Career Passion is Not Listed, Write It In...