5 Hard-to-Resist Reasons You Should Consider Freelancing As An African
Earn in dollars. Spend in your local currency
So, in my opinion, I think one of the ‘blessings’ of COVID-19 is that it seamlessly endorsed freelancing as a top career choice in Africa — a continent where working from home was a strange practice indeed.
Thing is, the benefits of freelancing for an African based in Africa are too numerous to mention in one piece, but I’ll do my best here.
One striking case study or use case is how you can be in a remote African village and still serve clients from all over the world as long as you have access to a laptop/smartphone that’s connected to the internet.
Another one is earning in dollars right here without spending a fortune or worrying over visas, tickets or living expenses abroad.
All of a sudden, more Africans living in Africa are considering freelancing over under-paid or non-existent 9–5 jobs, and it all makes perfect sense.
How so?
Below are 5 irresistible reasons to consider freelancing as an African vs. going in search of greener pasture abroad:
#1: Earn in dollars. Spend in your local currency
Think about it. When you eventually relocate or ‘japa’ as an African in search of greener pasture, the reality is you make money in dollars, pounds or euros and spend in those same currencies.
Say you make $1K in a city like New York for instance, you’d be lucky to cover your basic expenses.
How about making $1K in an African city like Lagos, Kigali or Johannesburg? You’d live like a king, definitely!
#2: Work from anywhere
Have you ever dreamed of traveling around the globe as an African? Who hasn’t, right? Exactly!
Well, as a freelancer, you can take work round the globe via a new concept called workation.
Workation is just a smart merging of work + vacation and the idea is so appealing.
And you can start by exploring Africa first before traveling to America, Europe or Asia.
You get to explore new cities, cuisines, cultures and immerse yourself in new experiences while working simultaneously to support your trip.
As a freelancer, you can take work wherever you go and not have to apply for some leave of absence that may or may not be granted or paid in a traditional 9–5 setting.
#3: Work with multiple clients
In 3 short years, I’ve received offers from 35 different clients/brands as a freelance writer.
What this means is…if I get fired by 10 companies the same day, [tragic, right?] I’m still in contract with 25 others. It also means I can fire my clients if they stress me out unnecessarily [and I have].
There are so many possibilities available to you as an African freelancer and the super amazing thing is you get to determine how many clients you want to take on per time and how much you want to make.
#4: Compete globally
With freelancing, the world is now truly a global village.
How?
Before freelancing, you’re mostly stuck with local opportunities except you relocate abroad. But today, you can tap into the global marketplace with just your internet-enabled smartphone.
As a freelance copywriter, I’ve worked with clients in the US, UK, Australia, China, Japan, UAE, Russia, Netherlands, Singapore, Canada [the list is endless] — all from the comfort of my workspace here in Nigeria.
Even if I were to travel to the US, would I’ve that level of exposure working with brands from across the globe?
#5: Start easy
You’d think freelancing, with all its incredible benefits, would be a hard start.
Truth is, it just takes a digital skill, an internet-enabled laptop or smartphone and someone [with freelance results] to hold you by the hand and show you how to engage step by step.
Guess what?
You could start with a stupid simple skill like typing…
You could start with just your smartphone…
You just have to start right NOW and move on up.
I hope I was able to get you thinking critically about kicking off your freelance business right now?
If you would like to join my freelance community where I show you step by step how to monetize your digital skills as an African…then you can join my community for FREE here: bit.ly/joinmy10xcommunity
Gbenga Richmond,
Founder @ FCube Academy.
As a leading business development service provider in Nigeria, Dayo Adetiloye Business Hub has been recognized and certified by Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in Conjunction with Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Pan-Atlantic University (PAU) of the Lagos Business School (LBS).
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