Recently, the value of the Ringgit has decreased and as previously shared in our article on the Economic Outlook 2017, experts expect the Ringgit to stay as low as it is throughout the whole year.
Despite the gloomy outlook, however, there are still opportunities to earn money in stronger currencies such as the USD, and this seems like a good time to take advantage of freelancing platforms. These are online platforms available at your fingertips (literally), which enable you to work as a freelancer for clients anywhere in the world and you get paid in USD.
General Freelancing Platforms
Toptal
Toptal is a platform for experienced and talented freelancers. If you are able to pass their screening process, you will get access to higher quality projects with big clients such as Airbnb or JPMorgan, that come with fair salaries. As a plus, you will become a part of the Toptal community, which offers meetups and events. Toptal states, that only 3% of all applicants are being granted access to their platform.Toptal points out, that their salaries for developers and designers fall into ranges of:
Toptal points out that you can set your own hourly range once you join the community, however their salaries for developers and designers fall into ranges of:
- USD 60 – USD 95 hourly
- USD 1,000 – USD 1,600 per week for part-time and
- USD 2,000 – USD 3,2000 per week for full-time
For Finance the ranges are:
- USD 100 – USD 200 hourly
- USD 1,600 – USD 3,200 per week part-time and
- USD 3,200 – USD 6,400 per week full-time
Fiverr
Fiverr is an online marketplace for business related services. It allows you to sell your expertise in several categories which are:
- Graphics & Design
- Digital Marketing
- Writing & Translation
- Video & Animation
- Music & Audio
- Programming & Tech
- Business
- Fun & Lifestyle
How does it work? Sign up for free, set up a Gig, which is your individual offer, for example, a specific analysis of online traffic and you are ready. As soon as someone wants to buy your service the website will notify you so that you can further discuss details with your client. Finally, payment is transferred to you upon completion of your service.
Payment: You receive 80% of each transaction and you can earn USD5 (which is already RM22) – USD10,000 per Gig. You can receive your earned money either via PayPal or via a Payoneer account.
Upwork
Upwork lets you run your own business and choose your own clients and projects.
How does it work? Sign up for free and create your individual freelancer profile. Clients post their requests in various skill categories and if you find an appealing project, you can send your proposal to the potential client. Clients then assess your proposal choose their preferred freelance.
Payment: You receive between 80% for the first USD 500 you bill your client, 90% for lifetime total billings between USD 500.01 and USD 10,000 and 95% for lifetime total billings above USD 10,000. Example: If you do a project for a new client worth USD1,000, you will receive USD850. If you do a second project with the same client worth USD1,000, you will receive USD900.
The salary can be transferred to you via Direct Deposit, PayPal, Wire Transfer, Local Funds Transfer, Payoneer or Skrill.
Freelancer
Freelancer is a platform for freelancers who are just starting and also for experienced freelancers. Beyond thousands of different projects, freelancers can also take part in competitions with other platform participants in order to prove their skills.
How does it work? Sign up for free and create your freelancing profile. After having set your profile you can apply for projects and competitions.
Payment: The fee for fixed projects is 10% or USD 5 (whichever is higher) for fixed projects and 10% for hourly projects. If you participate in a contest and you are awarded a contest price, the contest fee is 10% or USD 5 (whichever is higher). Your salary can be up to USD 5,000 for fixed price projects and up to USD 100 for hourly priced projects. There are more than 19,000 project requests on freelancer.com.
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Guru
Guru tries to differentiate themselves from other freelancing platforms by giving you the opportunity to showcase your past projects, experiences and results and combines this with a daily job-matching application to ensure that you get to know about all job requests that are relevant to you.
How does it work? Sign up for free and create your profile. Once registered on the platform, you can apply for projects or advertise your services.
Payment: A fee ranging between 4.95% and 8.95% will be deducted from your earnings. You can receive your salary via bank transaction, PayPal or Credit Card. The salary will be transferred to you from guru.com after your client approved your work. There are more than 4000 project requests on guru.com.
Remote.com
Remote.com is a freelancing platform that uses an intelligent matching engine to analyse your skills, experiences and personality to display job requests for you with the highest probability of job success.
How does it work? Sign up for free and create your individual profile to display your unique skills and experiences. Now you can apply for jobs and/or be contacted by employers.
Payment: Similar to Upwork, you receive 85% of the first USD 500 you bill your client, 90% of lifetime total billings between USD 500.01 and USD 10,000 and 95% of lifetime total billings above USD10,000. You can receive your salary either via direct deposit, wire transfer or PayPal.
iFreelance
iFreelance, unlike their competitors, allow you to complete jobs without the need to pay a fee to the platform. However, you do need to sign up for a membership.
How does it work? Sign up for a membership, priced at USD 6.25 (RM28) and USD 12 (RM54) per month. Create your own portfolio which you can showcase to potential clients or submit proposals for posted projects.
Payment: You receive 100% of your salary. However, there are less than 100 projects available at the moment.
Specialised Freelancing Platforms
RentACoder
RentACoder is a more specific freelancing platform that connects programmers with companies that are looking for coding skills in order to solve a small-scale project.
How does it work? Sign up for a membership, priced between EUR 6.99 (RM33) and EUR 29.99 (RM140) per month and create your freelancer profile. After having created your profile you can start applying for projects.
Payment: You receive 100% of your salary. You can receive your money via PayPal or 2CheckOut. The minimum salary for a project is USD 50. There are more than 19,000 projects available on RentACoder.com.
99designs
99designs is a design focused platform that uses a competitive approach. Clients will put competitions online and you as a freelancer can make a proposal. The client will then choose the best offer.
How does it work? Sign up for free and create your freelancer profile. Now, on the one hand, you can start participating in competitions published by clients in order to secure your first job. On the other hand, clients can pick you as a freelancer individually and request you for a specific project.
Payment: You can receive your salary via PayPal or Payoneer after completing the design handover to your client.
Peopleperhour
Peopleperhour is a platform that focuses on web projects. This could be web development, SEO optimisation, design or other related topics. If you are specialised in any of those areas it is worth having a look on this platform.
How does it work? Sign up for free and create your freelancing profile. You now can apply for hourly priced projects as well as fixed price projects. The client will communicate through the website with you.
Payment: You can receive your salary via Credit or Debit Card or PayPal after having finished your project.
About the writer
Dennis is a Guest Writer at CompareHero.my. He is curious about trying new things, enjoys to discover the world and is interested in financial topics.
CompareHero.my strives to empower Malaysians with financial literacy and the tools to make better financial decisions in life. Find and compare the best credit cards, and personal loans on CompareHero.my today.
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