Mel Dixon

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In the midst of a freelancing boom

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small business growth In the midst of a freelancing boomThe Federation of Small Businesses has recently predicted that over 300,000 new small firms will be set up over the next year.

Many of these will be people leaving corporate companies to go it alone as a freelancer, some by choice, others by necessity. It’s further evidence that for many people freelancing is the way forward.

An article in The Argus, the local newspaper for freelancing hub Brighton & Hove, detailed how 84% of jobs recently created in the Sussex economy had come courtesy of small businesses. So, with more start-ups apparently on the way, it represents positive news for the South Coast economy.

Darren Fell, founder of online accountancy Crunch.co.uk, supports the theory of a freelancing boom:

“More people are moving away from corporate companies to do their own thing. This has been partially encouraged by those with a new found interest to become an entrepreneur. They do not want to grow a massive business but become a micro-entrepreneur or freelancer,” he said.

“We have IT contractors who live in Brighton but freelance in London, graphic designers and locum physiotherapists who all work for themselves. We have seen a massive surge in small business growth.

Darren adds: “There is a complete shift by corporate companies who are more likely to use freelancers than agencies.”

Read the full article:

The Argus In the midst of a freelancing boom

Boom time for freelancers 1 In the midst of a freelancing boom

Image by Marcel Germain

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  • http://twitter.com/Bubblegumkitten Bex White

    With the economy the way it is people are turning more and more to freelance resource as a risk and hassle free way to bring extra skillsets to their company. This has been increasingly true of larger corporations needing temporary staff or specialist skillsets which are more efficiantly hired on a freelance basis but far more so increasingly true of small businesses.

    Smaller companies need particualr skills on an ad-hoc basis or without the ties and complexities brought by a fulltime employee. Freelancers offer everything they need without the strings – and as the number of small businesses being created or growing has increased recently so has the demand has been growing.

    Small busineses are often very forward thinking and willing to take new paths and new approaches to they way they run – resourcing is just one of the areas where they are leading the way using a army of freelance staff to keep their overall costs down both with regards to office space and staffing. Freelancers can work remotely or on-site with their own equipment and require a lot less paperwork and long term financial commitment. A diverse mix of freelancers can be utalised by a small business to effectively have a range of experts at their disposal when and where they need them, without any costs when they don't. This generally creates a win-win situation where small companies can have access to skills and resources which would normally be impossible to obtain if yearly salaries were required. This gives them the skills and resources to have clout against much larger competitors and is making some small companies a more formidable force in the marketplace.

    Bex
    http://www.bubblegumkitten.com
    Follow me @Bubblegumkitten

  • http://twitter.com/OfficeCavalry OfficeCavalry.com

    It makes so much sense. The barriers to doing this are so low now that I'm not surprised.

  • http://twitter.com/AjevaCom Ajeva

    I don't know if this is good news or bad news. Good news because everyone now can become a business owner, which was an exclusive privilege before for those with money to spare. With cloud computing making it possible for small businesses to compete on a global scale, I'd say we can see a future brought back to the grassroots level. Zeitgeist? Maybe.