This is a continuation of last week’s column. Below are additional things you can do to derive income from as a freelance worker:
Photographer
You love taking pictures? Then become a freelance photographer. There are several types of photographers though, you can be any of these:
Portrait photographer
You take pictures of individuals or groups of people and usually work in your own workspace. You can usually specialize in weddings, religious ceremonies, or school photographs and may work on location.
Commercial/industrial photographer
You take pictures of buildings, models, merchandise, artifacts, and landscapes. These photographs are used for many purposes, including magazine covers, calendars, and images to supplement analysis of engineering projects.
News photographer
Also known as a photojournalist, you photograph people, places, and events for newspapers, journals, magazines, and television.
Fine arts photographer
You sell your photographs as artwork. In addition to technical knowledge, as a fine arts photographer, you must have artistic talent and must be creative.
Transcriptionist
If you can type fast, has excellent listening skills, this job is for you. You can be a home-based transcriptionist or can work in an office. Many companies in different industries — medical, legal, human resources, education — need people who have these skills as many of these firms have outsourced their tasks. If you take this job as a home-based worker, you need your own computer/laptop, a good headset with mike, and a stable internet connection. However, if you’re working in an office, then all you need are your skills since the company will provide all the necessary technical requirements.
Caterer
Do you love eating? Or preparing/cooking sumptuous dishes? Then you might try your hand at catering. There is no need to be a graduate of culinary arts or business administration. You just need to have a passion for preparing appetizing and flavorsome delicacies and creative enough to make your prepared fares appear tempting to customers. You also need to demonstrate skillful public relations and good management abilities to be able to handle the day to day operations. The food business in the Philippines is a thriving industry. So, take advantage.
Anime Costume Designer/Maker
Nowadays, the anime is an “in” thing. If you like designing stuff or creating costumes, this occupation is for you. While the market is not huge, nonetheless, it’s a growing niche. This can be an excellent source of income while you’re waiting for a fulltime job.
From the short list that I have provided, have you decided what vocation to take or what path to choose? If you have, what else is there to do?
NEVER stop learning
One of the finest truths about life is that we never have to stop learning. There are always new skills to learn, innovative techniques to espouse, new procedures to try, and new systems to experiment with.
The most fruitful, the most effective, and the most influential people in the world, understand this. They don’t act like they know everything. They all understand the fact that they need to continuously learn in order to be effective and succeed more in life. As what Albert Einstein once said, “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
HONE your craft
Even a few extra minutes of working on a write-up, graphic design, or a power point presentation each day will have a substantial effect on your style. Either you are learning from mistakes or making changes to your work, you are sanitizing how you express yourself creatively, or otherwise.
Thus, with consistent and systematic commitment to your craft, more and more people will talk about you as your skill improves, people will share your work, and get referrals and projects for you. The more time you devote to developing your craft, the more you will learn about what you are capable of doing. The more errors and inaccuracies you make, the more you learn and know what to do in the future. Because you learn every day, you have more to teach others. The more polished your craft is, the more you become prominent in your field. The farther you go, the more you can create because your skills have been refined and have become cutting-edge.
Keep UPDATING yourself
We should always better ourselves and never settle for less. Remaining where we are because we are comfortable maybe convenient but is not the right path to take if you want to succeed and achieve your goals.
A mindset that says you’re “too old” shouldn’t exist. Also, stop resorting to excuses such as, “I don’t have time.” Keep working on your strengths, or better still, create new strengths. It apparently won’t come without effort and perspiration, so never presume that everything will be offered in a silver platter, or that they will be shimmering and elegant and will just drop down from the sky. You’ve got to work and aim for the stars!
