Five important things every freelance worker should follow

Are you a gig worker trying to stay afloat without having to buckle down and get a job? If so, you're not alone. It's not easy being a gig worker in any economy, and with the coronavirus pandemic still wreaking havoc on the world, the economy is even tougher.

Although the economy is tough, gig workers are in a unique position. Not being tied down to a 9-5 job provides the flexibility needed to take on paid projects from around the world. 

To be a successful gig worker, you need to be a master of your craft and also have the skills to generate high-quality clients, produce top-notch work, and get paid on time. If you've got room to grow in those areas, the following courses will be an asset to you.

1. Financial accounting

Learning how to balance your own books and manage your business finances is critical when you're a gig worker. Being a gig worker isn't like getting a paycheck where you can just deposit the money and spend it as you wish. You have to keep track of more than just money in and money out.

As a gig worker, you need an organized way to track expenses and income, manage client billing, and track other aspects of your financials. It's not as easy as it looks. Taking a financial accounting course from FutureLearn will help. 

A financial accounting course will teach you bookkeeping basics like:

• How to write profit and loss statements
• How to create a balance sheet
• How to manipulate equations and formulas
• The double-entry bookkeeping system
• How to balance off accounts at the end of an accounting period
• And more

By the end of your course, you'll know how to manage your own books, which will save you valuable time and money.

2. Teamwork and collaboration

Everyone benefits from teamwork and collaboration skills. Even if you're flying solo, you'll need to collaborate with other people at some point in time, even if it's just hiring a programmer or working with a client.

Effective collaboration doesn't come naturally, even though it seems easy. For example, working in a group environment presents different dynamics than working as an individual. Even when you've got the best solution, you need solid skills to bring everyone around to your view. You can't just tell your team you have the solution and expect everyone to see it. 

Also, collaborating as a group requires letting go of minutia and staying focused on the end result, even if the road to get there isn't perfect.

3. Basic tax prep

Taking a basic tax prep course is important because you don't want to mess up your taxes. If you're paying income taxes as a business, you're subject to different rules than you would be as an individual. Gig workers (freelancers) are considered businesses for tax purposes in Russia.

Even if you normally pay someone to prepare your taxes, you'll benefit from taking a basic course. It's always good to have at least a basic understanding of the tax system, even when someone else is handling your filings for you. 

4. Time management/task management

Time management skills seem overrated, but it's truly something every gig worker can benefit from honing. 

Chances are, you've got things in your life you want to do, but can't because you're a slave to your gigs. Or, you might want to take on larger projects, but you don't feel you have the ability to get the work done quickly.

Time and task management strategies can help you tidy up your workdays to free up time to pursue your personal hobbies or take on larger projects.

5. Communication

Communication is the key to landing high paying clients, keeping good clients, understanding clients, and delivering projects on time.

A large part of communication involves persuasion, and there is power in persuasion. You can become more persuasive by learning how to use body language, building rapport, and appealing to the person you're communicating with.

The other important aspect of communication is actually listening. Listening is 50% of communication. In fact, the majority of all communication takes place inside of listening. For example, say you're explaining a difficult concept to a client. Your communication will be received only while they're listening.

Keep learning

There are countless reasons to keep learning. If you're a gig worker, you're already a self-starter and self-motivated. Continue learning about things that interest you and will help you in your career. There will always be people who know more than you, and you can learn a lot from those people.