The Holy Matrimony Of Startups and Freelancing
The bond between startups and freelancing has forged itself firmly and escalating to new heights in the internet of things.
This Holy Matrimony has proven to be a successful alliance like Rum and Coke, or say, like Batman and Joker. This is because most startups don’t have the bandwidth to hire and most freelancers don’t want a job.
So, What Makes This Bond Unbreakable and Interdependent?
With the advent of technology, businesses started mushrooming. These startups offered an excellent learning environment. Torn between demand and supply, there is another aspect to factor in, the budget.
With startups, demands are high; the supply choked, and the budget peanuts, because, startups, you know.. Mostly bootstrapped, and rarely funded, but always hopeful. This catch-22 often left them searching for workers who can complete a job on a contract basis. This makes startups and freelancing complement each other.
Companies started looking for quick fixes rather than long-term commitments with their resources. They were willing to pay a one-time fee rather than a monthly salary.
Smart individuals and freelance consultants saw the opportunity to plug this gap. They saved a significant amount of money for these smaller enterprises in two ways:
- With the apt skill sets, and tools that allowed them to work remotely, and
- By offering their services at negotiable prices.
The best part is that this void would always remain.. Or might even get wider, but not that easily bridged.. thereby bringing in more people into the freelancing structure.
What’s The Freelancing Scene In India Looking Like?
The wave began a decade back, in 2005, and it has been slowly but steadily catching up. The environment strikes a balance between part-timers and serious full-timers in the form of their earnings. Clients also get to choose from a multitude of freelancers, based on whose work they like and what budget they have.
India is ranked second as per a global survey in 2013. India has 15 million freelancers, only next to the US, which has over 53 million freelancers, constituting a whopping 34% of their workforce. The recent digitization wave in India has put the freelancers in the spotlight, with the Government is taking initiatives to hire freelancers and crowdsource information for the Digital India Platform (DIP).
The startup culture in the India now is often compared to the boom in the silicon valley during the 70s, up until early 2000s. This explosion in demand for contractual workforce has ensured skilled technicians from all fields, either moving their jobs online or finding work from online marketplaces.
Freelancing – The Higher Among Equals In This Relationship
Wait, why? How can that be? Is this supposed to be interdependent and all that?
Well, it used to be. Freelancing evolved and crossed borders, whereas startups are still geographically constrained. Freelancers have been very significant in the growth of many tech startups in the world and this trend has been tipping over to other industries with online marketplaces opening up for freelancers from all sectors.
Since India is one of the most-educated third world countries in the world, and freelancing rates comparatively lower, companies belonging to various industries from all across the globe are outsourcing work here.
So, my friends, the scene looks optimistic for the freelancers with who know their skill sets are worth something in this ever growing global freelance market.
